YouTube Tests "Click-to-Buy" Ads
YouTube announced that it has begun testing new ads which direct users to purchase items featured within individual videos played on the popular video sharing site, such as songs and video games.
Judge keeps RealDVD restraining order in place
RealNetworks on Tuesday failed to convince a district judge to lift a restraining order and allow the company to start selling RealDVD again until she learns from experts, including the court's, how the DVD-copying software functions.
That means RealDVD, a software that enables users to copy a DVD and store it on their hard drive, is unlikely to reappear in the marketplace for at least another month and perhaps longer. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel indicated she wouldn't be available for another hearing until after Nov. 17.
"I am extending the temporary restraining order because I'm not satisfied in the fact that this technology is not in violation," Patel said explaining her decision. "There are serious questions about copyright violations. There are questions about violations of the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and violations of these companies' agreement."
Google's YouTube increases video upload size by 10 times
Google announced recently that it was upping the file size of uploaded video to the site as well -- by a factor of 10. Going from 100 Megabytes to 1 Gigabyte per uploaded video is amazing in and of itself, but this will make YouTube all the more attractive to those who want to take rather exhaustive video and upload it for all to see while not being constrained.
For example, five minutes of video on a standard digital camera (just an average, of course) will easily eat up 100 Megabytes of storage. Since we're not all video compression experts, Google -- with this change -- has just allowed its online video universe to expand in a huge way.
Joel Osteen Weighs In On White Spaces
Add mega-church pastor Joel Osteen (Lakewood and Joel Osteen Ministries) to the list of clerics concerned about the white spaces issue, saying the wrong decision by the FCC could cause "immeasurable damage" to his ministry.
Viacom targets venture capitalists behind YouTube
Comcast Buys Video Delivery Firm Radiance For $5 Million
Comcast Media Center, the video delivery unit of Comcast Cable, has bought out all of the assets of Radiance Technologies, a provider of asset-delivery systems for distributing and managing large digital video files, for about $5 million, reports Multichannel.
IAB: $345M in Online Video Revenue in First Half of 2008
The Interactive Advertising Bureau said today that U.S. online advertising revenues in the first half of 2008 were up 15.2 percent over the same period in 2007. Of $11.5 billion in total online revenue, 3 percent came from digital video advertising. That’s $345 million in video revenue in the first half of 2008, with $173 million in the first quarter and $172 million in the second. Looking back a year, to the first half of 2007, video revenue was only $100 million, or 1 percent of total online revenue for the period.
Hulu to Stream Second Obama-McCain Debate Live
Hulu broadened its programming lineup further with the news that it will stream the Tuesday night presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama live on Hulu.com. The feed will be provided by NBC News and will run about 90 minutes. In addition, Hulu will live stream the final presidential debated slated to be held Oct. 15. In that case, Hulu will carry the Fox News coverage. Fox and NBC are joint partners in Hulu.
YouTube Plays with Theater View for Long-Form Videos
YouTube is experimenting with two new viewing options for long-form content: “Theater View,” which shoves down creator information, pulls a clip into widescreen mode, and frames it with red curtains, and “Lights Off,” which dims the browser window outside the video player. The options were documented in a Google Operating System post earlier today
