Archives For Industry

Vlogging Killed the Blogger Star?

Mari Silbey —  November 1, 2006 — 7 Comments

brightcove.gifIt’s starting. Now that we’ve had full blog network saturation, it’s time to kick into gear with video log (vlog) networks. Brightcove announced Monday the launch of Brightcove Network, a free service for anyone looking to start their own commercial Internet video channel. In a nutshell, Brightcove is trying to capitalize on the phenomenon spawned by YouTube while making money off network ads.

The basics: Brightcove will host your video for free, but will take a 50% cut of any ad revenue and a 30% cut from any product sales. Several folks covered this Monday including Broadband Daily and TechCrunch.

What I find interesting is the debate about how far video networks will go. Like blogging, creating a regular video channel is a lot of work and a big time commitment. Will enough content creators get on board to sustain the video movement? Will enough people want to watch what they (we?) produce? (How many people have submitted content for TiVo’s video blog project?)

I love video, but I’m not convinced that video blogs are going to take off the way that blogs have. I see great niche uses: gadget reviews, celebrity sightings, and on-site reporting at news events. But a huge part of blogging revolves around commentary. Who wants to see another talking head?

Meantime, Brightcove is only part of the leading edge in ad-based video networks. Google has also begun sharing ad revenue with Internet video producers. Gotta love ads. We finally have DVRs to bypass them on TV, and Internet video manages an end-run around our favorite technology.

In Advertising, DVR, Industry, Media
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Interesting News Dave Hasn’t Covered

Dave Zatz —  October 31, 2006 — Leave a comment

Never enough time…

In Industry, Media, Mobile
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DivX Unmuzzled, Quiet Period Ends

Davis Freeberg —  October 31, 2006 — 5 Comments
divx.jpg

Over the past few months I have become increasingly obsessed with a company that I have followed for a very long time. For most people, today was like any other Monday. They went to work, talked about their weekend and couldn’t wait for it to be over, but for me I spent the day waiting in anticipation of something that I’ve been looking forward to for several months now.

For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to listen to DivX publically comment on their business plan and their execution over the last few months. In the past, I’ve followed DivX as closely as any other tech enthusiast and while I understood that the quality of their codec and the underground roots that set them apart, very little information was leaked out about this private company based in San Diego California. While many have either never heard of DivX or have no idea of what the company does, over the years, I’ve formed a fond appreciation for their technology and their inexplicable ability to survive regardless of the competitive landscape.

Continue Reading…

In Industry, Media, Software
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Placeshifting And The Law

Dave Zatz —  October 30, 2006 — Leave a comment
sling-law.jpg

Various media groups continue to choose sides in the brewing placeshifting battle. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has vocalized their support of the Slingbox as a means of remotely viewing content a consumer has paid for for, while Major League Baseball and HBO suggest placeshifting may break service agreements and violate copyright law. Now the BBC’s television licensing board and Sky are chiming in. Sky doesn’t support international place shifting while TV Licensing says placeshifting is only permissible via battery power when in a home without a television license.

What Video and High-Definition TV writes: According to TV Licensing it’s legal to use place shifting devices if your own home has a TV licence. If you’re using the device in another place that also has a TV licence (say your friend’s home) that’s not a problem, but what if the place doesn’t have one? TV Licensing says you can still use your placeshifting device, but only in battery mode.

(Thanks for the scan, Ken Westmoreland!)

In Industry, Slingbox
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Picture of the Day: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Dave Zatz —  October 29, 2006 — Leave a comment
In Industry, Media
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