Videos

Execs at MTV Networks say the best way to distribute media over the Web is to "go an inch wide but a mile deep."

Instead of one central Web destination, Viacom-owned MTV Networks is building hundreds of sites around its content. An example of that strategy can be found at Logo, the unit that serves the gay and lesbian community.

Logo launched a new video hub on Wednesday that Lisa Sherman, Logo's general manager, said will feature 3,000 ad-supported clips and be the largest central library of videos for the gay and lesbian audience.

"This … Read more

This weekend was a major time for both the video game and film industry. Whether you sat at home playing Grand Theft Auto IV or decided to head down to your local theater and check out Iron Man, you had choices to make. And it's that choice -- video game or movie -- that has been setting the movie industry's profits ablaze and creating an entertainment environment that could be turned upside down.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "the movie industry is as mainstream as you can get and the video game business is still a niche." Sure, some may espouse those beliefs, but this past week has shown that games like GTA IV are capable of competing at the same level with major movies and become a mainstream focus in this industry.

In other words, the outdated notion that the video game industry is for the geeks and the film industry is for everyone else, simply doesn't hold water anymore. Instead, we're currently knee-deep in an environment that's not only welcoming to the video game industry, but has proven to be damning to the film business.

And I, for one, couldn't be more ecstatic about it.… Read more

I chatted last week with folks at Flickr to catch up on the video hosting service it launched less than a month ago.

It's proven to be popular, despite a small uprising from a portion of its diehard users that was later quelled with Yahoo-subsidized doughnuts. Flickr wouldn't share the exact number of videos that have been added, but the site is teeming with them. A casual advanced-search for videos with a space in the title yields more than 124,000 clips, but the true number is likely to be significantly larger.

Flickr's splash into the video … Read more

In response to a copyright complaint, Google has taken down an open-source project called CoreAVC-for-Linux it had hosted on its Web site.

Google didn't share details, but said on the project site that it removed CoreAVC-for-Linux from its Google Code site after receiving a complaint under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

CoreAVC itself is proprietary software for Windows supplied by a company called CoreCodec. The software can play video encoded with the H.264 standard.

According to a cached version of the Google Code page, CoreAVC-for-Linux provides patches to open-source media player software such as MPlayer or MythTV … Read more

WASHINGTON--At the moment, most TVs and telephones must be outfitted with special features for people with hearing, vision, and speech impairments under U.S. law. Now an influential Democratic congressman wants to expand those requirements to their Internet counterparts.

The bill (PDF) being drafted by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) would require, at least in some cases, dramatic changes in the way Internet phone- and video-related products are designed, while making it more difficult than under existing law for companies to claim exemptions from those requirements.

"The wizardry of the wires and the sophistication of the software programs do little … Read more

I've mentioned before my love--no, lurve--for high-def camcorders. Here's your chance to grab one for just about the lowest price I've seen: Vanns.com and WilloughBys are both offering the Canon HV10 for $499 shipped. (Actually, it's $499.98 at Vanns, so budget accordingly.) These are factory-refurbished units that include a manufacturer's warranty (though neither site specifies the duration; I'd ask before ordering).

The tape-based Canon HV10 captures full 1080i video and 2.7-megapixel still photos. It's chock full of advanced features, including optical image stabilization, a 10x optical zoom, and lots of … Read more

We're constantly hearing that seamless integration of television and broadband video is fast approaching, but nobody's gotten it right yet. That hasn't stopped new companies from jumping into the mix.

Enter Sezmi, the latest start-up hoping to capture the market: on Thursday, the venture-backed company unveiled a piece of hardware that it claims will be able to handle broadcast and cable TV, as well as streaming and downloaded Internet video content.

Currently in testing, Sezmi has already inked partnerships with a number of broadcasters, content companies, and broadband service providers. The ambitious company hopes to start putting … Read more

Looks like it wasn't the HD DVD/Blu-ray battle that was keeping potential customers away from high-definition video players after all.

The NPD Group released some of its retail sales tracking data Wednesday that showed sales of Blu-ray standalone players (not a PlayStation 3, combo player, or PC with Blu-ray drive) had mostly decreased since the beginning of the year.

Standalone Blu-ray player unit sales in the U.S. decreased 40 percent from January to February and saw a very slight increase (2 percent) between February and March, according to NPD.

HD DVD players fared even worse--player unit sales … Read more

Programs that grab videos from Web sites such as YouTube aren't a dime a dozen--they're a dime for 200 dozen. Most of them aren't that good, either, which makes Ashampoo ClipFinder such a breath of fresh air in the video-grabbing game.

ClipFinder sports an atypical interface that's still simple to navigate. The main window holds a series of long filmstrips. Each of the 14 strips represents a video site, which are searchable either individually or globally. Unfortunately, you can't add new portals, but the ones available include all the major video sites: YouTube, Yahoo, iFilm, … Read more