The Blog for Video 2.0

As Old Media gears up for the start of the fall TV season, we seem to be getting weekly updates on who is and who is not playing nice with Apple's powerful iTunes distribution model.

NBC fought for tiered pricing, Apple held firm, and NBC walked in favor of pushing shows as free streams and as downloads via Amazon Unbox and the yet-to-be-seen Hulu.com.

FOX and CBS seem to be happy with Apple and iTunes. These networks view iTunes as more of a promotional avenue and not for pure revenue.

The iPod/iTunes backlash is growing and it will be interesting to see what the Next Big Thing will be.

All of this is well and good for the big guys and their major studio titles. But as we continue to look at great independent content being produced and distributed online we hope that sites like HungryFlix.com continue to grow.

HungryFlix provides iPod movies free from DRM restrictions. We hope to continue to help indie producers get their works seen.

Labels: download, hungryflix, ipod, iTunes, video, video distribution

Are you looking to convert DVDs or other videos for the iPod or iPhone? Here is how to get video on your iPod or iPhone. Follow these notes for converting your DVDs or home movies for your iPod or iPhone.

Video content must be MPEG4. We highly recommend encoding with the H.264 codec. While encoding times will increase, H.264 will yield higher quality video with smaller file sizes.

MPEG4 with H.264 Codec (file formats: .m4v, .mp4)
Lower-quality iPod/iTunes Video: Up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3. Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio
High-quality iPod: Up to 1.5 Mbps, Baseline Low-Complexity with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 640x480 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v format
High-quality Apple TV: Up to 3 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats

MPEG-4 video
PSP Video: Up to 2.5 Mbps, 480 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile. Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio
High-quality iPod/Apple TV MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats

MPEG-4 High Definition Video
File formats: .m4v, .mp4 and .mov
Video: 1280 x 720 pixels, 30 frames per second. Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo

MP3 Audio
Up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio

AAC Audio
AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio

Labels: convert DVD, DVD to iPod, iphone, ipod, video

Move over YouTube---you can now view HungryFlix trailers right on your iPhone.

We are proud to release a Beta version of the HungryFlix Trailer application for iPhone users.

Click on a thumbnail to view the trailer. You will see a QuickTime image with a blue play button. Click the blue play button. Bbe patient for the file to download.

http://www.hungryflix.com/iphone.php

Labels: apple, indie film, iphone, movies, trailers, video, youtube

We've been working hard to fix issues with the web site in order to make everything work well under the iPhone's Safari. Good news is that progress has been made. You can now view MPEG4 trailers right on your iPhone!

So for all you movie fans on the go, you can now view free trailers right on your iPhone. Move over YouTube--HungryFlix is coming.

We are thrilled with this development. To see some examples visit:

The Prisoner:
http://www.hungryflix.com/view_media_movie.php?mid=550

Wages of Sin:
http://www.hungryflix.com/view_media_movie.php?mid=488

The trailer window will appear with a small blue "Play" button in the lower right corner. Click that to activate the iPhone's built-in QuickTime player.

Labels: digital video, hungryflix, iphone, movies, trailers, video, youtube

NewTeeVee's Om Malik is reporting that YouTube is going to pay their top users. While the plans are not crystal clear, it seems that YouTube will be sharing some portion of AdSense revenue with their current top producers.

The company will launch a program that puts the creators of some of the more popular YouTube channels — including Lonelygirl15, LisaNova, HappySlip, renetto, Smosh, and valsartdiary — on the same playing field as large media partners like CBS.

Time will tell in how effective this program is...it is interesting that YouTube has limited the inital rollout to just "star" users. HungryFlix.com has run with a revenue sharing model from Day One of launch in 2005.

Labels: hungryflix, revenue sharing, video, youtube

We are living in an exciting time. As the Web 2.0 bubble expands and the popularity and acceptance of user-driven ( which is just another word for independent, btw) content increases, we are finally seeing "new and improved" ways of consuming this content. Streaming is still the most popular method of watching internet distributed content. But, with the introduction of the slingmedia slingbox and the Apple tv, we are begining to see the completion of the distribution channel from content creation to internet distribution to delivery in the family room.

I don't think the importance of this can be underestimated. Think back to 5 years ago...how much online video was distributed? What were the levels of quality? It is easy to see how far we have come. A parallel can be made to the software industry. It is now very rare to run off to the store to purchase software. Yes, major packages such as an OS upgrade, Office suite or design/production software are still delivered on physical media. But most small to medium sized software packages are purchased and distributed online. This trend has moved to the music industry with iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster. This is a huge shift that will also sweep up the video industry.

The audience for watching video on a computer is small. I doubt that anyone over 45 is even willing to try watching more than a 3 minute clip on a computer screen. We are just too programmed in our ways. Long form programs belong on a TV. Another important factor is comfort. Most people want to sit, back, relax and enjoy the show...that is hard to do in an office or den setting. The final issue is that TV viewing-especially for movies-is considered to be a group activity. Many people like to watch movies with family and friends, this is impossible to do when all huddled around the computer.

So, we have new exciting options available. While geeks have been pumping online content to media center PCs or hacked Xboxes for years, we are now moving into the land of the rest of us. The new devices promise plug-and-play simplicity and a "look mom, no wires" approach to grabbing content off the net or from other networked computers.

The abiity to watch independent content in the family room is a huge win for content creators. Anyone can grab a DV camera and make a movie. We've seen this through the past five years in the explosion of no-budget filmmaking. The hardest part has always been getting your movie seen. Now with the internet as the distribution channel we've eliminated the need for getting a "real" distribution deal. And now, that we can get into the family room it's time to grab the popcorn!

Hungry for content? http://www.hungryflix.com

Labels: apple tv, indie film, online video, short films, slingbox, video, video distribution