Propoganda now

It's official! In an investigative piece, the Wall Street Journal looked behind the 73,000 downloads of this YouTube short, and found a public relations firm with links to Exxon.

Here are a snippet of comments posted by viewers today:

fortyfourprimer (47 minutes ago)

Hard to imagine being either young naive or maybe just plain dumb to actually think Exxon or some conspiracy would bother with Owlgore bunk. But then desperation does odd things

(reply to this)

chesterdog5 (46 minutes ago)

Busted!! Turns out, the creators of this video, while posing as amateur spoofers, actually work for a Washington lobbying firm whose clients include Exxon. (see Wall Street Journal, 8/3)

(reply to this)

KevinDeanNicewanger (45 minutes ago)

Was this a satire of Al Gore or of climate change deniers? The quality is so poor, the jokes so lazy, it's like they're spoofing themselves. That picture of David Spade and Heather Locklear was funny though.

(reply to this)

casunray (44 minutes ago)

Is the Wall Street Journal article correct? Is an ExxonMobil pr firm behind this?

(reply to this)

KevinDeanNicewanger (44 minutes ago)

But criticism should be contructive, right? So how about a heat wave caused by the hot air eminating from Gore's speeches, a tidal wave caused by his beastly sweat (remember that post-election dance?). Gross, but funnier than telling someone to take a cold shower or "walk everywhere (no matter the distance)."

(reply to this)

casunray (43 minutes ago)

I knew it...HUMMER HUGGERS!! LOL

(reply to this)

chesterdog5 (42 minutes ago)

Actually, more people voted for Gore than Bush.

(reply to this)

chesterdog5 (33 minutes ago)

Read the article in the Journal. Sneaky, how they tried to hide their involvement Or, call the DCI Group in Washington, (202) 546-4242. Ask them if they produced this video, or paid for it.

(reply to this)

EarthEngineDOTnet (24 minutes ago)

To all those reading this blog, conservative or liberal. Please do not form your opinions from reading one conservative/liberal article. A true opinion takes time and research to form. Jumping the gun on your opinion proliferates propaganda and ultimately hurts us all. In the case of Global Warming, the evidence overwhelmingly points to the negative impact our lives have had on this planet and how it will effect future generations. cont...

(reply to this)

EarthEngineDOTnet (19 minutes ago)

The blood of our future generations are on hands of those who fight to keep our population ignorant to the facts. I ask you all if you have any love, gratitude, just plain descency, please do all you can to enlighten those around you with the truth you have found through proper research. Thank you.

Movie distribution now

Moving online, studios are lining up distribution like any good packaged goods manufacturer. Today's Wall Street Journal story calls it a time for fact finding and model building.

Dateline Beirut... video sharing comes of age?

A SF Chronicle article shows where professional "news coverage" ends and amateur videos begin. With a billion cell phones in distribution, most capabable of video capture, what will TV networks do to "cover the story" with the immediacy of what amateurs can produce? And, will newspapers become the new editing desk, pointing users to newsworthy videos posted by amateurs? Indications will come from where advertising dolloars go. Maybe the predictions concerning the death of newspapers have been premature, again?

The Wall Street Journal points out that major search platforms like MSN, Yahoo and Google might be the default hubs for video stories. In it's series on Internet video it mentions that expectations are running high:

"Demand is so strong for video ads -- typically 15- or 30-second spots that run before or during an online video -- that prices are now on a par with TV. The average cost of reaching 1,000 Web viewers, the standard TV-ad-pricing measure, is about $25 to $30, about the same as a 30-second ad on ABC's hit show "Desperate Housewives" for the fall season, according to a media buyer.

"Advertisers say there aren't enough ad spots to go around."

Video ads lagging online spending for now

With all of the excitement of the internet becoming a true multimedia resource, advertisers are finding ways to get in front of highly fragmented market segments. Jupiter Research has some figures distributed through this article. It recognizes that "much of the video inventory (currently) online is haphazardly placed and users have not developed predictable viewing habits".

And, the Wall Street Journal is starting a series to chronicle the health of this trend as it matures. The first installment focuses on how the major TV producers are honing in on internet audiences. They have also provided a very well done overview, called Moguls of New Media, which examines several popular new productions, suggesting raw internet-delivered materials might become vehicles for the stars of the future.

Now we know: the Secret

What a way to launch a movie! The Secret starts from nowhere in March, as a web site, with an option to watch the 90 minute feature for $4.95 in high definition, over your broadband connection, or to buy the DVD for $29.95. An Australian production, it will be fascinating to see how much of an audience this film reaches.

We will know if others follow suit. We're months after the launch, and the buzz is still happening.

YouTube gets the center stage

Forbes recently estimated that YouTube is paying over $1 million/month for bandwidth from Akamai and other content delivery networks. Given that they acquired $9 million in funding, and rumors have them quietly getting maybe $25 million more in May, is it a matter of months before this great experiment hits the wall?

Click on the picture and see CNET's "Ten tech-related YouTube clips you shouldn't miss".

Movie distribution through "video sharing" starts in earnest

Local Web video firms team with Hollywood was featured in today's SJ Mercury News. Essentially, it's a move by filmakers and studios to choose amongst many potential distribution partners. This looks like a game where many will play (no "Blockbuster" or "NetFlix" with a clear lead), and there are many more questions than answers.

New video code generator

For playing multiple (a multitude?) of videos on a web page without clogging things, there is a new bit of free code for vloggers and web publishers. Here are some example QuickTime sequences.

Play video from a UK-based television station. The experience of living with a family in Henley must have made a lasting impression on the Freshman team from the University of California. Play to see the final portion of the Cal race against Oxford Brookes B. Cal won "easily", understroking their opponent throughout the race, and received a warm reception at the finish. The second race was against Glasgow, and again Cal won "easily". Full race coverage of the race between the Cal Freshman and the Varsity lightweight boat from Cornell. What a smooth launch ride! It's pretty clear which boat moves more efficiently, as Cornell never gives an inch.

The tool is called "videos Playing in Place". It will allow me to embed videos into this blog without taking away from the overall presentation. CAVEAT: It doesn't work correctly with Macs yet!

Publishing lessons migrating to internet video

Online Video -- Moving Forward..? points out that TV networks are getting publishing lessons. Whether they pay attention or not doesn't matter, someone will. Among the lessons pointed at in this post about a NY Times article about a sitcom called "Nobody's Watching" that got posted on uTube and now has 300,000 views:

"Publish first, ask questions later". What good is market research if, for the cost of a full survey, you can publish a project and get real feedback?

"Small is beautiful". A publication might have an audience of a few thousand, but that audience might become so vested in the production as to actually transcribe episodes so others can more easily find it via search engines. (Corellary: some books you can't kill, the audience won't let you).

So, "let Frank think so you don't have to". Check the comments under the video, and note that he inserts an ad/buy page at the end of each viewing. I wonder what kind of yield he's getting so far?

Comments within video clips

ITP Research has produced Video Comments, a WordPress Plugin. It's the first stage towards making video searchable. True, it's not automatic. It requires the efforts of users to "tag" video at certain timecodes. However, it's done in a blog interface, which promotes natural language descriptions of the video.

Whether this "brute force" method of identifying segments within videos will be more useful than automated audio track translation will remain to be seen. It's just nice to see both methods surfacing.

Pando: A BitTorrent app for sharing large files

Try this on when you have to send or receive raw footage to/from someone who doesn't really understand ftp servers. Up to 1 gig transfers are free, from one email address to another. I recently had to get materials from the UK into a video podcast and I can say it was not straightforward.

"Little" media friendly apps like this actually hide some powerful functionality under the surface. CEO Robert Levitan hints at becoming a huge distribution partner with media companies.

Veoh becomes the test case for video sharing services

And who would have thought the Wall Street Journal, of all publications, would cite bloggers so openly? The reference to a site like Uneasy Silence must send traffic skyrocketing.

Is this where newspapers and traditional media find their new position? Think of the WSJ and other "must read" publications as grown up "slashdots" that energize the news hounds of the world to unearth all the story that is summarized so professionally in print.

Post-Advertising Era?

Advertising In the Post-Advertising Era leaves the scent of death in the air. Are we over-reacting to all the attention being given YouTube and user-generated content? Maybe not.

In Flavors of Grassroots Video, JD Lasica took notes on a presentation by Mary Hodder of Dabble. Considering all the marketing-oriented TV we've grown accustomed to, it's a relief that no one says they watch commercials on the internet.

The WSJ examines video sharing

There is no doubt now... the Wall Street Journal tends to get stories right. I can only imagine the advertising budgets being re-evaluated... and many new advertisers getting into the game.

From the article:

"YouTube is a classic Silicon Valley garage-to-glory tale. Two friends, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, started a company in a garage to tackle an issue they were grappling with personally: how to share home videos online. They maxed out Mr. Chen's credit card on business expenses before a financier bankrolled them. They built a huge consumer following under the noses of richer, better-known companies with vastly larger payrolls. The young company burst forth as the dominant player.

"But for every Apple Computer Inc. or Google Inc., Silicon Valley's history is filled with dozens of hot startups that gained 15 minutes of fame but couldn't sustain their brief success. YouTube's executives, including some alumni of Internet flameouts, are now furiously planning strategy and making deals to sustain their upward arc."

How CNET mixes video and blogs into their sites

Online Video Revolution is Here and Some Online Publishers are on it, and wouldn't you know that CNET's Dan Farber is on top of it all. He was behind the original MacWorld magazine, in 1984, and he has ridden every publishing trend to hit since then.

I'm impressed how a short video presentation of his perspective does more than reading several "analysis" pieces. I want to know what CNET sees and how it moves forward. Dan shows and tells how they do it.

Things are taking shape: Beet.tv

Beet.TV: Believe it: The Video Revolution is Here

This group seems down-to-earth and aware of video as content (not just entertaining moments of dancing Christmas lights or dorm room pranks). If a picture is worth a thousand words, it only stands to reason that 30 frames a second has more potential to inform, educate and persuade.

The interviews seem newsworthy and heart-felt. I am drawn to hearing the CEOs and VCs do their own reporting on their own views. They know they are documenting their own voices with their own voices, and are willing to stand behind what they say.

We are disintermediating the editorial function and I can't think of an endpoint to this trend.

Print reporters shoot 'em themselves

'Wash Post' Reporters Get Digital Video Cameras for Online, says Editor and Publisher. The Washingtonian reports how remarkably easy it has been to just "do it".

DV Guru adds:

"Newspaper reporters are starting to be outfitted with video cameras, hinting at journalism's further expanding into the multimedia realm. Reporters who have had no shooting experience are now juggling between jotting notes and taking video clips in the field. This journalist-shot video is now popping up online, with clips accompanying news articles. If anything, it's interesting to see how the individual reporter is now taking on the role of two or three people with the proliferation of widely available and cheap digital video technology. It also goes to show you just how much emphasis and importance is put on the moving image itself."

Finally, CBS news says, "With fewer people buying the dead-tree versions of newspapers and more turning to the Internet for news, it’s no surprise that newspaper Web sites are exploring all the options available on the Web to distribute their content -- just as television outlets have expanded into more written stories on their sites. So the question becomes … how much of a threat does video on newspapers' Web sites pose for television?"

This revolution will be televised!

Drama in the living room

From BusinessWeek we get Apple's iTunes Movie Muddle, which touches on some core technology opportunities. Someone, somewhere is going to come up with a box that allows access to HD videos from the internet. But, it's simple to say and hard to do.

First of all, most "video sharing" sites present materials in less that HD, and most videos on those sites are less than 10 minutes long. Myspace.com actually restricts videos to that length, unless a user registers themselves in a special publisher's program.

Second, as the article points out, watching videos on an iPod or even a computer screen gets old. Why not video walls, retail video displays, and the old living room mainstay?

Finally, Hollywood makes far too much money the old fashioned way to want to switch. Someone has to show them how they can get even richer (or lose their shirt) before they change their "first release window" practices.

Will a breakout product cause the dam to break? Or a "must see podcast"? My bet is at the other end of the chain. Those HD flat panels are showing up in all sorts of places, playing all sorts of materials. Increasingly, they are fed by efficient, internet-sourced content.

Chevy Tahoe's online ad contest backfires

Chevy Tahoe's fiasco will have marketers scratching their heads for effective ways to harness creativity. The attack ads all use the same footage, which probably means that Chevy set the creative bar a tad low. Without much effort required, what was a "viral marketing" idea turned into a disastrous erosion of a valuable brand.

Yahoo and citizen journalism

Yahoo Wants Citizen Journalism: "Yahoo hopes to become the best-known brand name in citizen journalism."

This article raises questions about what news stories citizen journalists will cover. It sounds like Yahoo is working out a way for Verizon, Cingular and others to enable their subscribers to send videos and pictures from cell phones directly to a new Yahoo service as news. Leaving aside questions about accuracy and completeness, I would hope that cell phones are not the only source! The video clarity on digital cameras is often quite impressive, to say nothing of DV and HDV materials.

First there was "all the news fit to print", followed by "all the news that fits", and now "all the news"?

Corporate podcasting at National Semiconductor

National Semi Makes iPod Standard Issue according to Internet News. To me, this is the starting point: the iPod as a lure to get people to use iTunes for more than entertainment.

From the story:

National Semi spokesman Jeff Weir said his company has very real productivity expectations. He notes that half of the employees work in chip fabrication and test facilities where they aren't near a PC.

"They aren't checking emails from management all the time," said Weir. "This is another method for us to communicate information to employees, whether it's corporate speeches from the CEO, flash podcasts or new product snippets. It will all be available on iTunes for them to view at their leisure."

Video blogging event

Videoblog about videoblogging and Vloggercon appeared from a San Francisco Chronicle reporter. I went to the conference, and was amazed. It felt like early Macintosh days, or maybe even home brew stuff. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, even when someone was presenting something from the stage. In the chaos was an underlying expectation that this was big, even though no one seems to be making money yet.

One guy who might make money before others is Robert Scoble, who has been Microsoft's "blog guy" for years. He's just left MS for Podtech.net in Menlo Park. They have his announcement on their home page.

TiVo casting

New service from TiVo will start with the New York Times and the NBA and promises to bring internet content to the living room TV.

This sounds just right, and I'll investigate. Would be great to send out the Cal Crew Video Archive this way, in addition to iTunes. Many alumns and family members of the crew would rather watch our work on TV than on their computers.

Tagging video steps forward

Sure, video is a great entertainment medium. But when we start extracting value for future uses, then tagging video elements becomes paramount. One interesting startup is Veotag, which allows you to browse through longer segments by way of an outline of tags. They have a marvelous example online, Wynton Marsalis talking to the National Press Club about the state of cultural education and it's meaning in the US.

I wish I could direct URLs to specific segments! How many times have we seen video programs that create a huge impact, yet we are unable to link to specific points within them and share just those easily? Maybe Veotag's system will enable this at some point.

Google's new video advertising network

Now Google is offering "Click to play" video ads via it's AdSense network.

Don't you just love how Google makes everything seem easy? Video is a very powerful medium, but has been incredibly expensive to distribute. Google senses that their advertising distribution mechanism might encourage more advertisers to embrace video:

"But, you may say, video is only for big branding oriented advertisers. We beg to differ. This feature makes video ads much more accessible to all advertisers. Now, an owner of a small bed & breakfast in Lake Tahoe can put a video tour of his beautiful chalet right next to an article that talks about skiing the epic slopes of Squaw Valley".

Fortune predicts growth

The big picture Forget the dire predictions: The U.S. entertainment and media market is still strong. 2005 (billion) 2009 projected (billion) TV distribution: Subscriber fees paid to cable and satellite networks $90.3 $109.0 TV networks: Advertising revenues of broadcast and cable networks $57.3 $73.2 Filmed entertainment: Box office, DVDs $37.2 $48.1 Total $184.8 $230.3

The transformation is underway, although it will take years to unfold. We are a media society. Our kids wear what they see on TV, we build workplaces and retail environments that look like movie sets.

This article, part of a multi-part feature in this month's Fortune magazine, looks at how Hollywood movies and TV content is changing. It pays no attention to media ditributions into retail, workplace, and educational environments.

The numbers are still huge: and you can double the figures to come up with a world wide market size.

So, the question becomes: where do "the studios" end and "user generated content" begin?

This blog has highlighted changes in technologies and process that enable media production and distribution outside the studio process. These trends will only continue. Ultimately, users will find the content that interests them, and they will deliver it to their viewing environment of choice. The financial ramifications of this are huge.

So, if you own a chain of movie theatres, your business will become more efficient, displays in retail stores will become more flexible, and students will learn from the best teachers in their chosen discipline.

Will we still watch TV and movies? Looks like we will.

Myspace.com to sell videos

More user-generated video is uploaded to Myspace.com than to any other video sharing service. With this in mind, Fox Corporation, which bought Myspace for $580 million last year, will soon distribute episodes of the hit show "24" for $1.99 each.

Burger King will sponsor a "Have it your way" page where Myspace.com users can download two episodes for free during a limited time promotion, to kick off on May 22.

Online video primed for explosive growth

IDC forecasts explosive growth in online video services. The current $200 million market with grow to $1.7 billion by 2010, says IDC analyst Josh Martin, as reported on Indiantelevision.com.

From the report:

"In order to sustain the momentum gathered in 2005 and maximise opportunities for success, content owners and service providers will need to overcome several important problems, including licensing issues, inadequate video search, competitive challenges, and the issue of how to move content beyond the PC. IDC believes that companies involved from the creation to distribution of content will have to partner with others across the value chain to create appealing, flexible services that will evolve into viable businesses."

Wired Magazine Exposes Vodcasts as a Big Deal

The May issue of Wired Magazine features a full section described by A Guide to the Online Video Explosion. They do an excellent job bringing forward many elements we have been tracking here.

Going Mainstream... fast.

YouTube and Google Video taking away BitTorrent marketshare?

Now here's a nice explanation for what is going on with "video sharing".

The excitement and focus on Yahoo Video, YouTube, and others sometimes obscures what these services do and don't do. One way to view the shift is to see what they have replaced, which is the use of BitTorrent for distributing short movies and clips.

Amazon.com launches CustomFlix

You know how you can purchase tapes of certain broadcasts on TV? Amazon has a better idea: Make every TV show available via a print on demand DVD service. Their announcement today indicates NBC, A&E and PBS will be the first ones to offer DVD versions of their programming through Amazon.

Funny, they take out another press release to target the sale of archived TV shows from years past. Opening their vaults are the same networks.

And, in a final announcement featuring a relationship with Mark Cuban's HDnet, CustomFlix will print in every high definition DVD format: WMV-HD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD.

Mashups and remixes to market movies?

The New York Times reports that a new movie is focusing its marketing budget on engaging the creativity of their audience... who can download their trailer and then edit it, create new music, and upload the results.

Internet and TV in 2006

There is no doubt about the shifts bringing major media through the internet. Here are three items that serve to document where we are today.

Mark Cuban analysis of TV on the internet

Live streaming TV from the BBC

Tom Coates (Yahoo) on TV distribution

And from Tom's brief followup to that post:

... "I'm not so much predicting that, "Internet TV will move from pay-per-episode to a pay-per-season, one-time subscription model" but that pay-per-season, one-time subscription is the best way to get down the programmes that you actually always want to watch, and that implementing the podcast-like functionality alongside individual downloads at a higher price is the best way to meet user needs and to make downloadable programming a real partner to traditional broadcast."

Podcasting tools improve

right-click here to download


The focus of this plugin from MightySeek allows password protected access to premium content, even for users subscribing through iTunes. Is this the mechanism publishers need for providing easy access to some materials while also restricting access to paying subscribers? Certainly it's a step in the right direction.

Dealing with ownership at YouTube

Make it 10 minutes or less... is a post on the YouTube blog, letting users know there have been intellectual property abuses on the system. Basically, most long-form submissions are pirated movies and TV shows. So, the quick fix is to limit the length of submissions.

Like Google Video, YouTube has set up a Premium Content Program for professionally produced videos. Looks like things are sorting themselves out.

The state of Digital Cinema

According to Variety's story, Digital Cinema might finally hit theatres this year.

Fox and Disney are now releasing their movies in both film and digital formats. Theatre chains have a variety of vendors to work with. Customers are asking for the digital experience.

The issue here is where will customers go? Over a million home theatre systems are already installed. Millions of consumers now watch movies (legally) using a variety of internet services. DVD sales have proven how much money can be made outsidee theatrical releases. Theatre owners have to move now, or see their franchises erode.

Apple's new Mini reviewed

The big questions in this review deal with playing (and streaming) HD video through the Mini. It sounds just a tad under-powered.

"There was also the little problem of the Mac mini being slightly underpowered for playing high resolution HD streams at an acceptable frame rate. To see just how much better the new mini is at rendering HD streams, we've taken some HD movie trailers from the Apple website and run them through QuickTime. We monitored the frame rate and took note of dropped frames. The trailers we used were the IMAX Deep Sea and IMAX Magnificent Desolation. Each of these were available from Apple in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We ran all six trailers on each machine in QuickTime and monitored the Window > Movie Info palette while the video played. These two movies were carefully selected because each exhibited a different type of motion throughout. The Deep Sea video featured some medium-paced action interspersed with some heavy, quick-moving scenes. These are important to test, because they're generally more taxing on a system's ability to decode the stream in real-time. The second video, Magnificent Desolation was chosen because it is slow-paced with relatively few scenes with any action and is full of slow moving characters and slow scene fades.

"Playing the Deep Sea trailer on the Mac mini Core Solo had interesting results. It played the 480p version flawlessly with a constant frame rate of 24 fps. The 720p formatted film was a slightly different story. The video played very well, but when the video had quick-moving segments (schools of fish moving and changing direction quickly) the frame rate would dip slightly into the 18-20 fps region. The 1080p version was simply unplayable. There were frequent skips and jumps in the video playback and the actual frame rate hovered somewhere around 10-13 fps. By way of contrast, a dual 2.5GHz PowerMacintosh G5 with an ATI Radeon 9800 handled the 1080p video very well, with the frame rate dropping below 23.5 on three occasions. A 1.83GHz iMac Core Duo did better than the G5 on the 1080p video. Both the PowerMac G5 and Core Duo iMac played the 720p version without dropping a frame."

And now, in the Microsoft camp...

Interview with Microsoft's Joe Belfiore (Part I) and Interview with Microsoft's Joe Belfiore (Part II) provide a glimpse into what to expect as Microsoft brings Vista to market.

* Certified, digital cable ready PCs
* HD DVDs that allow copying programming to the hard disk

And, a comment about TV content by-passing cable and satellite distribution entirely:

"I think we're going to see content-providers/content-creators increasingly trying to make their content available directly to consumers through the web, and the announcements are coming from the broadcast networks and content creators bi-weekly. They're happening all the time. So the trend is clearly happening. As a result, we'll see cable and satellite do lots of innovative things to show that their value-add is more than just a pipe to deliver content. They'll aggregate effectively. They'll help you discover stuff. They'll tie things together in service packages that are inexpensive, compelling, and ease to use. I think that we'll see them invest more in the PC as a result of the fact that content providers will go directly to the PC."

Feature-length Movies, full-length TV shows

iTunes Offers First Feature-Length Movie

AOL launches In2TV with High Quality option

The world is embracing file downloads of 500 megabytes and more.

At the same time, Google Video is receiving full-length public domain feature films, of which there are thousands. This one is from 1927, and runs for over 2 hours. Google's approach is to let "packaging" and "promotion" to remain in the background while providing access tools.

Universities thinking like TV stations

UCTV now on Google Video
More than 1,000 hours of University of California Television (UCTV) programming is now available to be downloaded and viewed for free on the Google Video service. UCTV brings to Google Video its largest collection of educational video content, with programs from throughout the ten-campus UC system in subjects such as public affairs, science, health and medicine, humanities, and the arts.

Google is digging into a treasure trove, as they continue to acquire compelling, targeted content from trusted sources. This is starting to get interesting!

Walt Mossberg on Mac Mini as media hub

Not only is the content relevant, but note how the Wall Street Journal is bringing video into their publication. The credibility of top notch journalists can only be bolstered by this practice.

Read the story and then Watch the video interview

Certainly the video presentation brings out more of the story.

The light of day

American Airlines subpoenas Google, YouTube

The popularity of the internet has been due in part to "anonymous participation" (remember the "on the internet, no one knows you're a dog" joke?). Video changes that. This action by American Airlines is just the tip of the iceberg. How many amateur video producers have obtained signed releases from everyone in their works? They better learn how, and services need to evolve that support better record keeping. The video linked to this posting is not the one cited by United Airlines, but I wonder if those involved have signed releases?

The trend will be towards transparency here, in my opinion. Some contributors will continue to practice under the shroud of darkness, of course, but the sourcing of video content via the internet will have to develop practices for authenticating and authorizing materials. American Airlines and other enterprises have large training libraries and innovative ways they can deploy internet video resources. They need to know it is safe to do so.

Video Podcasting at ABC News

ABC News: PODCASTING

So Disney owns ABC, and Disney is buying Pixar, and Pixar is owned by Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, and Apple owns "podcasting". Connect the dots?

Apple reports more than 15 million videos purchased and downloaded.

"The iTunes Music Store is also the world's most popular video download store with more than 15 million videos purchased and downloaded. iTunes offers over 60 popular TV shows for just $1.99 for viewing on a computer or iPod and recently added new hit programming from ABC, Bravo, NBC, MTV Networks and SHOWTIME."

Digital Cinema college degree offered

University Film and Video Association and the School of Animation and Film
of Rochester Institute of Technology will be offering a new degree program next Fall. Digital Cinema comes of age?

Film as Teaching Tool

I'm struck by two news items today. One reflects the growth of "bottom up media" production. The other illustrates to decline of "top down" production approaches.

YOUTH-POWERED VIDEO:

This curriculum helps middle and high school teachers and out-of-school program instructors guide youth in producing documentary videos. It's a practical toolkit of instructional strategies uses media and technology to engage students in creative and rigorous inquiry-based projects on current issues of importance to them.

"Using this multidisciplinary approach, teachers can integrate English, social studies, art, and technology into video projects as students develop their literacy, research, critical thinking, and civic engagement skills."

Yahoo Says It Is Backing Away From TV-Style Web Shows

This is a huge shift. A year ago, Yahoo brought on-board the man responsible for hit ABC shows like "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" and started up a large LA-based operation around him. A year later, this is what he says:

"I now get excited about user-generated content the way I used to get excited about thinking about what television shows would work," he said.

National Archives tests Google Video

The largest moving image archive in the US has started to provide access to some of its materials through Google Video. Read about it here.

Go to the films here.

It's a start! There are millions of hours of historic footage that can be accessed this way. It will be interesting to see how schools make use of this material. The end of the A/V specialist? Somehow, I doubt it. We might even see demand for this footage grow, to be inserted into news reports or advertising, which would increase the licensing fees generated by the National Archives.

Good Morning America asks for video submissions

Participartory journalism is rising in various forms, and ABC has now started to ask viewers to submit materials.

This reflects a movement that is evolving beyond "reality TV" productions into lots of new productions targeting niche audiences. For example, Bravo TV now reports on "viral videos".

"It's almost as if networks have cheap labour now for creating new shows and concepts," said Tim Hanlon, senior vice president of Starcom Mediavest Group, a Chicago-based advertising agency.

Video over the Internet... WSJ

The shift is coming where TVs get content from internet sources. Until then, many video sources are being displayed through web sites. This article notes several players in the middle of the shift: Reuters, Brightcove, Roo Group, Blinkx, YouTube, and thePlatform for Media.

And example customer for Brightcove is the National Lampoon's site: Toga.

Google Video goes embedded

This shows a Google Video embedded into a web page. Growing up, I used to watch the Mike Douglas Show on a friend's TV (we didn't have one). I remember how grainy the black and white image was, and also how compelling it was to watch young prodigies display their talents. Now Google Video is grainy but it's getting great content (from the NBA: you can buy the game with Kobe Bryant scoring his 81 points for $4).

Google Video release of "Waterborne" Feature film

"Waterborne" - Feature Film - Google Video: This is a first. Read the story behind the publication here. You can buy it now, or buy the DVD at the end of February. This story mentions the production credits the Google Video release for increasing DVD pre-orders to over 15,000 after three weeks.

UPDATE: March 21, 2006

CinemaTech has a great take on reports from The Hollywood Reporter. Bottom line, the project sold 22,000 DVDs after some great exposure through Google Video.

Olympic productions in Torino

Three formats will be used simultaneously at the winter Olympics. I'll just have to see it to appreciate the complexity.

Excellence... Super Bowl XL

This year, the Super Bowl is all HD and wired. There are virtually no budget constraints, so managing the production is a huge challenge.

Excellence... Current TV segment

Current TV // Video

What seems obvious to me in this piece is what a "citizen journalist" captures, and what "professional journalists" miss. Do you see it too? Yes, that's right, you see how real people live as real people, even in horrific circumstances. "Caves of Tora Bora" does for me what Current advertises as their mission: it brings a human voice to television. By doing so, they cross the boundaries of "mass media" and become a leading example of "video publishing".

Domino effect on TV landscape

As TV Networks Use Web, Affiliates Seek Piece of the Action

It's the Wall Street Journal's subscription site, but worth reading. A similar article recently appeared in the New York Times (also a subscription site). They both cite a new company called Decisionmark. A segment from the NYT article:

"Under federal law, a subscriber to EchoStar's Dish Network in Decisionmark's hometown, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for example, can receive network affiliates only from that area, because, after all, those stations own the regional rights to the networks' programming, sell advertisements against them and promote them within their own programs, such as local newscasts.

Jack Perry, the chief executive of Decisionmark, has come up with a way to limit the geographic reach of broadcast signals online, too. It is roughly similar to the way satellite companies determine where you live: by credit card billing address, although Mr. Perry adds that he can also limit a computer's access to a signal based on its Internet Protocol, or IP, address."

The impact of this on publishing and production methods is profound. If local stations web sites end up delivering national shows to their local audiences, will they also be inclinded to (fund and) deliver local productions as well?

Furthermore, these new opportunities require delivery methods beyond the current mpeg2 feed to local transmission towers and cable head-ends. How will local stations transcode and stitch on advertising to the shows they deliver?

Excellence... Arizona Heart Association

CVMD.org - The Cardiovascular Multi-Media Information Network brought to you by Arizona Heart

In Arizona, heart patients are getting iPods filled with videos to increase their retention of vital guidance, and to reduce risks of non-compliance. Patient education has long been a burden within the medical system. Read about it.

Amateur Video Sharing Grows Online

Amateur Video Sharing Grows Online - Yahoo! News

I couldn't resist the juxtaposition of this story with the previous. The amateur railroad footage noted in the article is fascinating. Video sharing services mentioned: Clipshack, uTube, Vimeo, Revver, Sharkle and Google Video.

HD adoption: 2005

This tracking report illuminates the move to higher definition electronic capture and presentation. Follow the link for the full report (with detail on which cameras were used for major motion picture and TV projects last year).

Fletcher Chicago's
2005 High Definition: A Year in Review

Compiled by Thomas Fletcher

January
ESPN launched its second High Definition network, ESPN2HD. Link

Apple’s Steve Jobs declares 2005 as "The Year of HD Video Editing.” High Definition editing reaches all the way down to the consumer with released of iMovie HD supporting the HDV 720p and 1080i formats. Link

For the first time in the history of the Sundance Film Festival more films are projected using digital projection than conventional 35mm. One film, "Rize", was delivered via the internet. Link

February
FOX's Super Bowl broadcast sees a 150% increase in the number of HD finished commercials over the previous year (up from 10 HD spots to 25). 87% of viewers said that watching commercials in HD increased their enjoyment of the spot. Link

HD Super Bowl spots that originated electronically included Heineken's "Beer Run" directed by David Fincher using a Viper, and General Motors/Cadillac "Elope" directed by Antony Hoffman mixing VariCam and Sony HDV. Link

"Superman Returns" beings production in Australia. It is the first feature film to use Panavision's new single, imager HD digital cinematography camera Genesis. Director Bryan Singer mixes Sony's HDW-F950 for underwater cinematography. Link

Canadians are purchasing HDTV sets faster the Americans. 16% of Canadian households compared with 10% of their American counterparts. Link

The BBC starts principal photography of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, its first period drama shot on HD. Throughout the 22-week shoot, DP Kieran McGuigan utilizes two modified HDW-750P cameras via ARRI Media. Link

March
"Collateral" is the first digital feature film (approx. 80% shot with Viper and F900) to be honored for Outstanding Cinematography. Wins British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Cinematography and was also nominated by American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). Link

CBS triples the number of March Madness basketball games to be broadcast in HDTV Link

Ireland announces intention to be first country to go all-digital in theaters. Link

April
Canon's anamorphic converter makes its debut with Spain's production company MediaPro shooting the feature "Salvador". Link

"Sin City" opens. Shot using Sony's F950/HDCAM SR/Fujinon E-Series, director Robert Rodriquez's utilizes his local Austin, Texas post house, 501 Post, to conform and color correct via Quantel's eQ 4:4:4. Link

NAB HD Product Launches
- Pace Advantage 4:4:4 Camera with the style, form, fit and feel of a film body. Link
- Sony introduces 1080/60p cameras. Link
- Quantel launches "Pay as you Go HD" to ease transition to HD finishing. Link
- Panasonic introduces HVX-200 P2 Camera (Ships Dec 29, 2005) Link
- Venom Flash Pack - Small Portable 4:4:4 Recorder Link
- Arri & Kodak Infrared-Based dust & scratch removal system for ARRISCAN Link

Mark Cuban's HDNet signed Steven Soderbergh to direct six films using high definition which will be released "day and date" in theaters, on HDTV (HDNET) and in DVDs all on the same day. This is the first series of films with simultaneous releases in movie history. Link

May
Star Wars III "Revenge of the Sith" Episode III opens. The film was shot using Sony's F950/HDCAM SR/Fujinon E-Series lenses via Plus 8 Digital and posted on Quantel iQ. Link

Advances in film stocks and post production processes spark increase in Super 16mm for High Definition television show production. Link

Dalsa opens Digital Cinema Center in Los Angeles to showcase their 4K Origin camera to Hollywood production community. Link

Scripps Networks announces HGTV and Food Networks will begin broadcast in HDTV in January 2006. Scripps will double the hours of HD production it originally planned, with more than 1,000 hours scheduled for 2006. Link

June
At Cine Gear Expo in Los Angeles, ASC Digital Master class conducts a side-by-side comparison of the Arri 435 film camera, Dalsa Origin, Panavision Genesis and the Arri D20. The event was organized by Bill Bennett ASC and lit by Russell Carpenter ASC with digital engineering provided by Marinder Snie. Link

Michael Mann begins principal photography on "Miami Vice". Over the course of June to December in locations throughout Florida, South American and the Dominican Republic, the feature mixes Viper, F900, F950 and 35mm film cameras. Link

Soho Images, the London based film and Digital Intermediate lab takes delivery the first ARRISCAN now capable of scanning a 6K image from a 35mm negative. Link

July
The Digital Signage Business, which involves sending out content to HD displays located in shopping malls and other public areas, is growing 40% annually with revenues at $1.4 billion. July featured two big deals. Thomson purchases Premiere Retail Networks for $284 million; during the same week, 3M purchases Mercury Online Solutions. Falling HD display prices are enabling retailers like Wal-Mart and Kroger to add multiple plasma and LCD displays at their 23,000 and 2,500 stores, respectively. Link

Consumer HDV Cameras arrive. Sony releases a sub $2000 consumer HDV 1080i camera - HDR-HC1. This is pretty impressive when you consider the price of Sony's previous five generations of HD camera systems. Link

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) announces final overall system requirements and specifications. Agreement gives manufacturers of digital projectors and theater equipment one universal standard to create the next generation of cinemas. Link

August
"The Late Show with David Letterman" goes on the air in HDTV August 29. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has been available in HD since 1999 and "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" joined the HD club last spring. Link

European broadcaster Sky reveals HDTV launch lineup which is scheduled to begin April 2006 will feature Sky Sports, Sky Box Office, two Sky movie channels and simulcast HD versions of Sky One and Artsworld. MTV, Discovery, History Channel and National Geographic's networks are also added later in 2005. Link

DVD format war inevitable. The peace talks broke off between to the two rivals High Definition DVDs format HD-DVD and Blu-ray. The two technology camps have held weeks of negotiations in an attempt to unify their formats, but negotiations fell through as neither side yielded. Link

Fox Networks Group announced plans to offer a high-definition feed National Geographic Channel. NGC HD will launch in January 2006. For the past year, Nat Geo has been producing its original series in high definition in anticipation of the rollout. Link

In response to the growing number of networks launching HD channels, HD EXPO, known for its VariCamp Workshops, announces a HD Broadcast Workshop covering news, magazine, and sports - ENG and EFP camera workshop. Link

September
With the HD transition finally beginning in earnest in Europe, this year's International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) hosted a number of HD focused events. Keynote speaker, David Hill, chairman of Fox Sports Inc. and president of the DirecTV Entertainment Group, ends HD address by commenting that "the future... is 3D". Link

IBC HD Product Highlights
- Thomson's Infinity 2/3" camcorder records to Iomega disks & CompactFlash Link
- Sony XDCAM HD 1/2" camcorder switchable between 18, 25 and 35 Mbps Link
- Quantel Pablo Color Correction - faster than real time HD, 2K & 4K workflow. Link
- Reference-grade, color-calibrated, full HD resolution LCD monitors from Cine-tal and e-Cinema. Link

MTV announces MHD to begin broadcasts in January 2006. The channel will showcase content from various MTV Networks channels. Expected shows include "MTV Unplugged" and "VH-1 Storytellers." MHD will also have some original content including HD music videos. Sees HD concerts as the next big thing. Link

Bob Primes ASC and Rick Maguire, ASC are first DP's to utilize Panavision's Genesis next generation HD camera system for a prime-time drama - "NightStalker". Link

October
"Saturday Night Live" goes HD and letterboxes standard definition broadcast. Link

Curtis Clark ASC, working with director Eric Steinman on "Sing It", for LG Electronics, becomes the first DP to use the ARRIFLEX D-20 on a commercial. Clark comments “the camera doesn’t come from a video lineage. It’s designed as a digital motion-picture camera.” Link

Sony announces it is restructuring 75% of product to be High Definition by March 2008 - up from 35% in 2005. The HD focus is to be an overarching strategy bringing Sony's 4K digital cinema projectors to consumers, mating them with Blu-ray disks, with the Playstation 3, and with specialized content from Sony Pictures Entertainment. Link

World Series in HDTV with 28 cameras! While that is not necessarily noteworthy in of itself in 2005. What is newsworthy, according to FOX Sports Vice President of Field Operations Jerry Steinberg is HDTV has come of age. "What was a science project has become television.” Link

Paramount, which was among the earliest studios to announce HD-DVD support, said it now intends to release films in both formats, making it the first movie studio to do so. Link

November
Disney and REAL D launch new digital 3D projection system in 85 theaters with release of "Chicken Little". System uses a single projector displaying 144 frames per second alternating left and right eye images. Results reported in December: 3D screens generated nearly 3 times the revenue of the average 2D screen. Link

The HDTV launch of "Good Morning America" marks the first time ever that regularly scheduled commercial network news program will be air in HD. Link

The BBC announces trial HD broadcasts set for 2006. "From colour and widescreen to digital radio and television, the BBC has always been at the forefront of innovations in broadcasting," said director of television, Jana Bennett. "Our promise to our license payers is to give them the highest quality television, so the time is right for the BBC to get involved in high definition. Link

HDTV-3D that does not require glasses introduced. Link

Video games HDTV compatible. Microsoft's Xbox 360 beats Sony to market. Link

December
One of the missing tools for HDTV sports production (especially golf) has been a practical wireless HD camera system. ABC Sports successfully uses the LinkHD and Thomson LDK6000 on Monday Night Football. Link

History Channel announces HD service coming in 2006 Link

Panasonic ships the first HVX-200 P2 camera December 29th. This was one of the most eagerly awaited HD products of the year since it records the full DVCPRO 100 format at a cost of under $6,000. It combines multiple HD and SD formats, recording modes and variable frames rates, and the vast benefits of P2 solid state memory recording in a rugged, compact design. Link

Digital Cinema Announcements in December
- Technicolor partners with major studios to install digital projectors into theaters, charging the studios what they would ordinarily have to pay for a film print (a "virtual print fee") until the projectors are paid off. In December adds Twentieth Century Fox along with previous agreements with DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Initial rollout to be 5000 DCI compliant screens over next few years primarily using Sony’s 4K SXRD projectors and Grass Valley servers. Link

- Carmike Cinemas, the nation's third-largest chain, said it would convert 2,300 auditoriums by October 2007 using Christie Digital projectors. Link

- Mark Cuban's, independent film friendly, Landmark Cinema announces plans to outfit 85 with Sony 4K SXRD projectors. Link

Both the US House and Senate agree to set hard cut off date for analog television - February 17, 2009 (after Super Bowl and before March Madness Basketball). Includes $1.5 billion for a "digital-to-analog converter box program" to allow viewers without DTV receivers to obtain up to two, $40 converter-box coupons. Link

DG Systems' merger with FastChannel creates the first HD advertising distribution network. Link

2005 Year End Numbers:

276 Digital Cinema installations worldwide. Link

An estimated 8.9 million units of HDTV were sold in 2005. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates the total HDTV households at the end of 2005 to be at 20 million. Link

It's a big deal!

Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion

Begin "dream sequence".

The rumors have been flying, such as this from a blog called HD for Indies. The hidden "synergy" of this deal is obviously Apple's position enabling digital production and distribution of moving image materials.

Not too hard to image "Sleeping Beauty" coming to iPods soon! There is so much "gold" locked inside Disney vaults, yet kids are kids for only a few years. What parent wouldn't jump to subscribe to a service that enables them to relive all the masterworks while their kids are still kids?

Converse uses user video

ConverseGallery.com is a great showcase for video, with winning 24 second films being featured on TV (along with a $10k prize). They give filmakers 10 days to submit their materials. WOW.

Online video services: Google vs Apple

REVIEW : Tech giants hope TV show downloads are next big thing

The SF Chronicle got it pretty much the way it felt doing it myself. I really like watching shows on my computer now (I purchased a segment of Charlie Rose in which he talks with Walt Mossberg and Reed Hastings about the downloading business, among other topics). I know this may sound like bad manners, but I've found Azureus does it's magic with pirated TV shows more smoothly than either system. What with bit torrents accounting for over a third of all internet traffic, I'm sure Apple and Google will improve their services... and we'll see who "gets it right" by their improvements.

In my view, the big difference is portability. Since Apple targeted the iPod, it's way ahead here, and I expect they will be able to target HD screens, too.

IPTV over "Open Cable"?

Open Cable? describes the difference between what is called "internet TV" and what is known as "IPTV". This article references another in Xchange.

A snippet:

The announcement last week of Google Video, Yahoo Video and Media PCs from Microsoft, Intel (and likely) Apple have brought the issue of internet delivered television to the front burner.

But what is internet television? How does it differ from IPTV (or does it). Xchange Magazine explains it all.

Current TV Survival Guide

Current TV is tweaking their process for acquiring Viewer Created Content (or VC2). They are increasing their rewards for those segments used on-air, and they have created a straight-forward training guide to help producers get their materials ready for "prime time".

Current Studio // VC2 Survival Guide

They describe the pay scale as follows in the Studio Blog:

"Based on the quality of the pieces that we’ve licensed to date, we’ve decided that we want to reward producers with more monetary incentives and visibility at a faster rate. As a result, we are collapsing and increasing the VC2 payscale. Beginning today, if we option your first VC2 pod from the Studio, you will be paid $500. The second piece is also at $500. Your third piece is at $750 and your fourth piece is at $1000. You also get new titles (plus an additional square!) and more visibility as you move up the scale. Check out the graphic here. When your second piece airs, we’ll do an interview with you published in the Online Studio and in our monthly newsletter to our extended Current community. With your third piece, we’ll do an on-air interview with you – both of these interviews are optional, but will give you and your work even more exposure. Finally, by your fourth piece, you will receive a guaranteed commission.

"Current promos and raw footage will not be part of this incentive program and will be paid at a flat rate of $250. Just to be clear, promos generally run 10-15 seconds and incorporate our logo. Raw footage is just unedited jaw dropping footage".

Broadcasters view the transition

How broadcasters bring their content onto the Internet poses issues that strike to the core of their operations. This article gives broadcasters an overview of a multiplatform media lifecycle.

A snippet: How do broadcasters adapt?

Disruptive transition of this magnitude challenges broadcasters to insure that they are not backed into a corner. All potential revenue models must be anticipated. It is not a question of implementing IPTV, content download capability or targeted advertising, but how to engineer the infrastructure, production processes and distribution methodologies to optimize the efficiency of the media lifecycle, minimize cost and time, create the most compelling content and thereby derive maximum profit.

And this Broadcasting and Cable article looks at the dollars behind the bets being made today.

A snippet:

“We are now investing in new media and beginning to affect the DNA structure of our organization,” says Huntsberry (of NBC U). “How do I license content to hundreds of on-demand customers around the globe who want to do business with me? I can walk away from them and only deal with the top 10 big ones, or change my processes whereby I can do business with the bulk of them, collect my money faster and be able to go into business with more people.”

Coming Soon... Internet-connected TV

John Markoff typically gets things right. Here's his view of the shift to internet-based TV in the New York Times.

Here's a snippet:

Microsoft has an early lead in offering IPTV technology both to the industry and to consumers, but at the electronics show this year Intel showed significant independence and introduced its own software features including digital video recording abilities with its ViiV platform.

Both companies, however, are trying to change the nature of television by making it possible for small start-ups to compete with giant networks by making available content that has never before been able to reach a global audience.

One such company is International Television Networks Inc. of Laguna Niguel, Calif. It recently struck an agreement with the National Lacrosse League to broadcast all of the league's games as well as customized player descriptions.

The company has adopted a strategy of making video content available for specialized markets, which was previously not possible using traditional television broadcasting technology.
"I can do everything a cable company can do," said David Koenig, the company's founder and chief technology officer, "but I will have 100,000 channels."

Google Keynote with Robin Williams - at CES

Live coverage of Google Keynote with Robin Williams - Engadget

Blogs truly are amazing for being there without being there. I feel like I know Google better now.

As for the Google Video Store announement, this piece in the LA Times notes:

Much as online auctioneer EBay Inc. turned pack rats into retailers, Google's service also will allow anyone to distribute filmed or animated material they create — something digital tools make easier than ever.

Independent filmmakers, for instance, can try to bypass Hollywood; dog trainers and yoga instructors can offer how-to videos; and someone who captures a plane crash or other major news event on video can skip the traditional media — all in favor of selling their work as a digital download.

"Now any guy with a camera who believes in what they're doing can compete with the Sonys and Warner Bros. of the world," said director Ben Rekhi, who said he turned down a $125,000 distribution deal to instead sell his film "Waterborne" through Google for $4.99 a download.

Best content award: Real People Network

Sometimes it takes a while for art to adapt to technology. RealPeopleNetwork seems to provide a blueprint for anyone who wants to provide meaninful content via short video clips. No need for fancy lighting, scripts, or heavy edits.

JD Lasica has boiled down "citizen journalism" to its basic elements, and provides his materials so users can remix or reauthor them as needed.

Google launches Video Store

Google Press Center: Press Release

This just might give Apple a run for the money. There is also a for-pay download service coming from DivX, and Yahoo has pre-announced Go TV, which promises to allow downloaded internet video to be played on TV sets.

It must be CES time!

Steve Jobs will have his say next week at MacWorld Expo. In the meantime, Wired magazine has produced an in depth article about Google's program. I'm struck that Charlie Rose now sells DVDs of his show at $35 per show. With the new Google program, he will charge $4 for a stream of the show within 24 hrs of its airtime, and then $1 per show as a download thereafter.

BBC and the Open News Archive

The Open News Archive of the BBC is now in pilot and available for use in the UK only. We can get a bit of an idea what is going on by reading their vision statement.

"We're often asked: Why is the BBC involved in piloting the Creative Archive Licence and only releasing a small amount of material? Why don't we just get on with it and open up as much of the archive as possible?

How you share and what you do with BBC clips will have great impact.

Well, this is an entirely new kind of service from the BBC. For the first time we are sharing content with the public, who have already paid for it, and also allowing you to share it with others - as long as it is not used for commercial purposes. The Creative Archive is also about the potential of technology and the ways in which we can now all create moving images, as well as consume them.

So, for the Creative Archive to be a part of the future BBC, there are some important things to find out. How many people are likely to use this service? Are the legal arrangements clear? And with the Creative Archive being free, what is its impact on the existing commercial market for tv, film and sound?

How you use these clips, extracts and programmes will certainly have an impact on our research. The answers will help to decide the future of the Creative Archive from the BBC. Meanwhile, our partners in the Creative Archive Licence Group are also testing their own ideas in partnership with their audiences."

The download totals of the CALG are quite revealing. Hamlet's "ghost scene" was downloaded over 1,000 times in November, and it seems the totals are increasing over time. The new BBC footage should be popular, but I can't tell if they will share their results.

Forrester Report on Video

It's nice to get external validation from research. Forrester Research applies a proven methodogy to "early adopter" research, contained in a report (sponsored by Akamai), The Real Potential of Internet Video. View the webcast.

Their findings, after interviewing executives at a dozen leading sites:

Web video is now where Web graphics were in 1996 — sites without it are going to look awfully vanilla. Google and Yahoo! are indexing Web video, making it increasingly likely that most Web media experiences will include video. As a result:

· Advertisers must combine video and interactive thinking. Advertisers have learned interactive competencies — from the Web to email — to complement the mass-market video-branding expertise they developed with TV. Now it’s time to combine the skills. The video Web will combine the awareness characteristics of commercials with the engagement of click-throughs. Smart advertisers will create cross-functional teams that combine advertising, interactive, and direct marketing skills to connect with consumers throughout the sales and support process.

· TV networks will become video distributors, not channels in a lineup. For five decades now, a TV network has been defined by its ability to program half-hour-long and hourlong programs, especially in prime time. That era is ending. Networks can now reach consumers with short and long clips through broadcast, cable VOD, Internet streaming, and even mobile phones. Networks will now define themselves by their audience, and by re-engineering their creative capabilities to spin off video for multiple distribution channels.

· Devices will seek differentiation by accessing the video Web. As tens of millions of video clips spread across the Web, why should PCs be the only devices that can see them? TiVo, already capable of hooking up to home networks, will differentiate against cable DVRs by linking to on-demand clips from CNN, E!, ESPN, IFILM, and anyone else that will provide them. TV manufacturers facing commoditization will build smart TVs that link to their own portals featuring movie trailers and weather forecast videos. Satellite operators will use broadband connections to provide the on-demand programming that only cable can now offer. And cable will be faced with a choice: open up set-top boxes to Internet content or suffer against the telcos’ built-for-online-content IPTV offerings.

· The text Web will lose out in the competition with the video Web. People used to complain that nobody reads anymore, but the Web changed that — everybody reads online. But as the Web fills with video, text will look flat again. Already, podcasts have made audio searchable and easily enjoyed. Those with online videos will soon learn that attaching the closed-captioned transcript makes their videos easier for search engines to locate. Result: Google and Yahoo! video searches will begin to rival text searches as consumers seek answers online.