Over the past few days buzz has been building over the possible launch of a Stage6 clone. According to the DivxIT.net website, a Stage6 “alternative/clone� will be revealed on April 29th. If this is true, it would be an exciting development for fans who still crave the high quality Stage6 experience.

This isn’t the first time that someone has tried to hype the launch of a Stage6 replacement. As soon as Stage6 announced their shut down, there was a flurry of fake Stage6 clone announcements. Most of those sites fizzled out before they even got started.

NewStage6.com was the first “replacement� to pop up on my radar. Initially they had a timer counting down until their launch, but today, the site is all but empty. Highlol.com was another website that tried to create buzz around the Stage6 collapse. They promised free HD DivX downloads, but there still aren’t any videos on the site today.

Having already been burned a couple of times, you can understand why I tend to be skeptical about these sorts of promises. With DivX Inc. having come out and denied any affiliation with the site, I can’t help but wonder how far they will let this get before they try to shut it down. On the other hand, because DivX benefits from having more of their content out there, maybe they are really better off ignoring it. Still, if DivxIT does gain traction, DivX might not be so happy about someone copying their site, especially when they don’t seem willing to sell it to begin with. If DivX does try to go the hostile route, I think that they may be up against more than they realize.

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Seesmic has released a WordPress plugin to enable blog video commenting. I’m somewhat lukewarm to the idea of implementing them here on ZNF… One can be efficient scanning text for interesting keywords, while video comments (in their current form) only offer a text title and an automatically selected keyframe thumbnail without a rating system. Meaning you’d have to watch the entire video to determine if there’s anything worthwhile within. And, unlike text, these video comments don’t allow editing – what you film, is what you post. Related, in chatting with a few fellow bloggers, we wonder if moderating video will significantly add to our workload. While I figure Google (YouTube) is here for the long haul, I’m generally reluctant to host content on third party sites.

The entire Crunch Network has pulled the trigger on Seesmic’s video comments (Arrington is an investor), and I left a couple of test replies to CrunchGear editor John Biggs earlier today. John offered a good response (using text) to my first video in suggesting folks utilize this video option to show off their gear. Although, I replied (with video, copied below) that I no longer read text comments and might have missed his archaically-presented insight.

So what’s the consensus here… Is there any interest in implementing this?

Well, will you lookee what I discovered down at the Circuit City. Sony’s Internet Video Link ($299)! Turns out the Xross Media Bar-powered, Bravia-specific media extender started shipping a few weeks ago with zero fanfare. According to SonyStyle, initial network content consists of:

select online music videos, movie trailers, user-generated videos, personalized weather, traffic feeds and more with no additional download or access fees. Internet video providers include AOL, Yahoo!, and Grouper (and more as they become available).

As I suggested last year, hiding this behind the set with minimal branding and limiting it to Bravia TV owners may not be the best marketing strategy. However, along with the PS3, the mere existence of the Internet Video Link reinforces that Sony will be joining the digital movie and TV rental/purchase fray at some point.

An Apple TV update (v2.0.2) was made available last week. Though, I wouldn’t have known about it without reading Sean Alexander’s blog. Since moving about a month ago, I haven’t bothered unpacking Ben’s unit. Other than the video podcasts, I don’t have a whole lot of love for this device. Speaking of which, we’re going to get going on the Battle Royale shortly – as a series of topical posts, rather than some massive essay.

Back to the ATV loaner… Periodically, in trying to use it, my HDTV has displayed an Apple logo without responding to remote control input – requiring a reboot to restore functionality. I had assumed the hard drive might be on the fritz after a jarring FedEx journey. But Sean has also been experiencing this issue and forum chatter indicates it may be related to a faulty HDMI handshake. Perhaps v2.0.2 resolves this. And if I ever hook the ATV up again, I’ll let you know.

Below is, in my opinion, a list of the best video game podcasts ordered by preference. I have listened to, and abandoned, many video game-related podcasts. Those listed below have survived the culling and, with one exception, are recommended without hesitation.

1. The 1Up Yours Podcast:

This is my favourite video game podcast. It ‘airs’ Friday evenings. Despite 1Up Yours seemingly continuous personality turnover (Luke Smith – now with the Bungie podcast; Bryan Intihar -now with Insomniac Games; Dan ‘Shoe’ Hsu – now on permanent vacation), Host Garnett Lee, with Shane Bettenhausen, John Davison and a revolving set of guests consistently provide an entertaining and informative podcast week-in and week-out. My only criticism of the show is that it is often too long and the interesting content is usually held back to the the end. Otherwise, its the best video game podcast.

2. Game Theory Podcast :

The Game Theory podcast (formerly the Next-Gen.biz podcast) is also a terrific weekly video game podcast. While 1Up Yours is strong in games coverage, the Game Theory podcast’s strength lies with its strong industry coverage. Gary Whitta & Colin Campbell are veteran video game industry reporters who put on an engaging and enlightening podcast. And, there’s something about their British accents that seems to elevate it. I highly recommend this podcast.

3. The 1Up Show (video) Podcast:

The 1Up Show is my favourite video podcast – period. It provides a comprehensive set of visual video game previews and reviews. They also feature interviews with industry luminaries and provide trade show coverage. If you want to watch a video game being played before purchase, this is the best place to do it. As a 1Up network/Ziff Davis podcast, it shares a similar set of hosts and guests with the 1Up Yours and the EGM Live podcasts. I will soon be testing TiVo’s Desktop v. 2.6 and its new support for video podcasts. This will be the first video podcast I attempt to get working with my TiVo – I like it that much.

Read the rest of this entry at The Daleisphere »

It wasn’t a good idea in 1999 when we buried Circuit City-backed Digital Video Express (Divx). It wasn’t a good idea in 2006 when MovieKlub failed to launch. And it’s not a good idea now:

DVD-D Germany Ltd’s ‘Einmal’ (German for ‘once’) – discs incorporate a self-destruct chemical coating to render them unreadable after a pre-set time. The process begins as soon as the discs are removed from vacuum-sealed packaging. After 48 hours (or longer, depending on the price) [...]

In an era of DVD kiosks and expanding cable/sat VOD options plus evolving Internet download and web streaming options (at least in the US…), I just don’t see a market for this “technology.” (via CrunchGear)

Because we just don’t have enough set-top boxes to choose from, Blockbuster will be tossing their hat into the ring. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

The home video giant is developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month. The device is believed to be a stand-alone product akin to Apple TV as opposed to embedding a Blockbuster-branded service in such existing devices as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or TiVo.

How many boxes are people willing to connect? The BBC is onto something by making their web content available via the Wii (in the UK) and perhaps one day I’ll be offered Netflix Watch Now on my Xbox 360. As a TiVo owner, I also have a variety of standard def Amazon Unbox content to choose from… For some reason, I’m much more tolerant of low-rez video when I can stream unlimited quantities for a fixed price (Netlix) or free-with-commercials (Hulu).

Along those lines, I’ve been thinking of replacing one of my TiVo units with a small form factor computer for basic ATSC DVR capabilities (or maybe clear QAM HD), plus the ability to watch web video. (And if I’m feeling flush, perhaps I’ll add a Blu-ray drive.) Though, I’m holding off for now… It looks like there’s a small chance I might be able to extend Netflix Watch Now from the office Vista Media Center to the living room Xbox 360.