Friday, November 14, 2008

Daisy Whitney's New Media Minute - My Online Video Crystal Ball for 2009

A few days ago Daisy Whitney looked into her crystal ball and posted her online video predictions for 2009 in this episode of her New Media Minute. He crystal ball happened to be Jamison Tilsner and Joshua Cohen of Tilzy.tv.

About the predictions Jamison wrote, "A few weeks ago, Daisy Whitney reached out to ask Josh and me what we saw happening to web video in 2009. Our responses included some wishes in addition to predictions, and we’re ecstatic to have them enunciated by such a credible source for industry news." - from Tilzy.TV » Blog Archive » Daisy Whitney’s Crystal Ball for 2009



"What will the year ahead bring in online video? I asked that question of the founders of the online video review site Tilzy.tv. In this edition of the New Media Minute, I share their predictions, tips and guidance for the year 2009 with an emphasis on what they mean for traditional and independent Web programmers. In the new year, look for immersive brand experiences, new forms of interactivity, concept before craft and a shift away from sketch comedy" - from Daisy Whitney » Blog Archive » My Online Video Crystal Ball for 2009

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

NewTeeVee Live! Online Video Conference Today in San Francisco

NewTeeVee Live is the premier online video conference produced by NewTeeVee on taking place today at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. The Main Stage Presentations and Red Carpet Interviews were streamed live on Ustream from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM PDT.

Big names in Hollywood and online video were on hand for the day-long event to discuss the future of internet video with keynotes by Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Anthony E. Zuiker, creator and executive producer of the CSI franchise.

I was unable to attend do to my busy work schedule but I caught a few minutes during a break and saw some of Anthony E. Zuiker's keynote and Liz Gaines on stage with Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing TV. As I was writing this post at 6:30 PM PDT On Malik just wrapped up the day session with closing remarks and the live stream is off air.

They have archived presentations on-demand and I've featured the three major keynotes below.


Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, says success is about being obsessive.


Reed Hastings, Chairman and CEO of Netflix on how to achieve Video Nirvana.


Anthony Zuiker, creator of the CSI franchise, talks cross-platform storytelling.

NewTeeVee posted updated all day which you can read in the list below and you can subscribe their RSS feed.
Discussion on Techmeme:
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Flip MinoHD Available Now at 720p

Just in time for the holidays Pure Digital Technologies has released a HD version of its popular Flip Mino pocket camcorder with a retail price of $230, which is $50 more than the SD version. The new HD Flip weighs only 3.3 ounces and records an hour of 720p MPEG-4 video on the built-in 4GB flash memory. Also announced was Flipshare, an upgrade to the on-board editing software, which will enable drag and drop capability for editing and sharing videos on YouTube, MySpace, AOL Video or via email.

Pure Digital has sold over 1.5 million Flip Video camcorders and currently has the number one best-selling camcorder in the U.S according to leading market research firm The NPD Group. The NY Times had this to say about the maker of the innovative pocket camcorder, "In a study released last month, Deloitte said that revenues at Pure Digital, a 90-employee firm based in San Francisco, grew 44,667 percent, the highest rate in Silicon Valley over the last five years." - A Camcorder Insurgent Goes HD - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

“Consumers have embraced Flip Video because it delivers on the promise of making video simple, affordable, and fun,” said Jonathan Kaplan, Pure Digital’s chairperson and CEO. “Flip MinoHD, along with our new FlipShare software, now make it easy for anyone to capture and share their stories in stunning HD quality.” - from Flip Video - Buzz - Press Releases

Katie Boehret, from Wall Street Journal wrote an in-depth review Flip Camcorder Goes High-Def | Katherine Boehret | The Mossberg Solution | AllThingsD and was pleased with the video and improved sound quality. I included her video test from her WSJ review below. She noted a few limitations such as the fixed zoom system which allows for only 2x digital zoom, the small 1.5-inch LCD screen which is the same size as the previous Flip models so you can't preview the HD video on the camcorder and the inability to share HD footage with the Flipshare software. Keep in mind that you can edit and share the HD video footage using other applications like iMovie which I've used with my Flip Ultra videos.


Benny Goldman from Gizmodo did some field testing as well in his post: Reviews: Flip MinoHD Lightning Review (So Easy, a Caveman Can Do It).

As the news broke last night also saw this Tweet from @karaswisher:
[kara_flip.jpg]
I actually own two Flips myself, an Ultra and a Mino, and Kara Swisher has four. She recorded this silly video that assembles all her Flip Video cameras for a special Flip meet-up. A New Flip Joins the BoomTown Video Family: High-Def Hijinks Ensue! | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD




Flip Mino HD Details
•Sleek, pocket-sized camcorder shoots breathtaking HD video
•Available in black or whatever you want
•4GB of on-board memory records up to 60 minutes of video
•Dimensions: 4” x 2” x 0.6”; weighs just 3.3 oz.
•HD 720p resolution (1280 x 720) in16:9 cinematic widescreen
•No glare display (1.5”)
•Sealed, rechargeable lithium ion battery (up to 2 hours of battery life)
•Flat back-panel with touch-sensitive buttons
•Instant playback, pause, fast forward/rewind, and delete features
•Connects to TV for instant viewing
•New built-in FlipShare™ software works on any PC or Mac:
•Save, organize, and edit videos with ease
•Email videos and video greeting cards
•Upload videos directly to AOL Video, MySpace, and YouTube
•Capture HD snapshots from your videos
•Create custom movies with your own music
•Order DVDs and have them shipped anywhere in the world
Suggested Retail Pricing: $229.99
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Google Adds Videoconferencing to Gmail With Video and Voice Chat Plug-In

Earlier today Google launched a new plug-in to Gmail that enables voice and video chat within their popular free email service. Google's desktop chat application Google Talk has had voice for sometime but this marks Google's first videoconferencing product. Google says that it's also the first webmail service to include video chat and clearly has set itself up to compete directly with Skype, Tokbox, ooVoo and other video chat applications. This adds a whole new capability for consumers and businesses who use Gmail and Google apps.

The new product was made possible through Google's acquisition of the Swedish e-meeting startup Marratech last year and a licensing agreement with New Jersey start-up Vidyo. Serge Lachapelle, the Swedish Google product manager in this video had been the VP of product management at Marratech.



From the Google System blog:
"As anticipated in the post about Gmail SMS, video chat is the next big that will be added to Gmail. Justin Uberti says that video chat will be added today, along with voice chat. "We've tried to make this an easy-to-use, seamless experience, with high-quality audio and video. And we've built this product using Internet standards, such as XMPP, RTP, and the newly-standardized H.264/SVC video codec." To try the new features go to http://mail.google.com/videochat and install the required plug-in (Windows & Mac-only, for now). After restarting the browser, open Gmail, select a contact from the chat section and see if there's an option named "Video & more". If you can't find this option, your friend didn't install the plug-in yet."

Like other video chat solutions you'll need a web cam and microphone and download the plug-in. It uses about 300 kbps for bidirectional video and works with browsers that support the current version of Gmail: Chrome, Firefox 2.0+, Internet Explorer 7.0, and Safari 3.0 but there are no plans for a Linux-based plug-in. Unlike Skype Premium or ooVoo, Gmail Video and Voice does not connect to regular phone numbers and only to other Gmail users. There's currently no recording option and only capability to conferences with two people.

Learn more: http://www.google.com/mail/help/videochat/learnmore.html

Video chat with me if I'm online at: klessblog@gmail.com
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Sunday, November 9, 2008

YouTube and MGM Forge Partnership to Post Full-Length TV and Films

Tomorrow, YouTube will announce a partnership with MGM to distribute full-length television shows and films says New York Times writers Brade Stone and Brooks Barnes. Under the new agreement with 84-year-old film studio episodes of “American Gladiators” along with full-length films like “Bulletproof Monk” and “The Magnificent Seven” and clips from popular movies like “Legally Blonde” will be posted on YouTube and be free to watch with Google ads running alongside the video. While the line up is somewhat limited and not that compelling it's clear that YouTube is after a larger share of the online video market to compete for advertising dollars with the popular online video site Hulu.

Read the NY Times story here: MGM to Post Full Movies and TV Shows to YouTube - NYTimes.com

The article notes that YouTube is in the process of rebranding itself to lure studios who have avoided partnering YouTube and comaplain about their lax approach to copyight enforcement. James L. McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research, said “YouTube is essentially saying to media companies, ‘We are sorry for our past copyright stance; we weren’t thinking big enough. Let’s see how we can make some money together... "They have hundreds of millions of views,” he said, “and it will be very hard for studios to pass that up."

YouTube has introduced many new features of late including increasing uploads to 1 GB, Theater View which has been likened to Hulu's "lower lights" feature and Video ID which allows media companies to spot unauthorized clips of their content on the site and either remove it or leave them up and and sell ads on them. As part of the deal MGM will monitor the site using the Video

"We believe in comprehensiveness, and we want to have deals with everybody,” said Jordan Hoffner, the director of content partnerships for YouTube. “We want to be able to give users the most content possible.”

This partnership with MGM could be the first of many possible partneships with other studios. Hoffner hinted at other possible deals with Time Warner and Sony, a part owner of MGM.


Read more here:
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