How YouTube Works + YouTube Comment Reconstruction

How YouTube Works, posted at PVC, still has me wondering about caching, but they say more is in the works.

Not surfing the biggest swell, here's YouTube Comment Reconstruction #1, a Dead Parrot reading of music video comments, that's slightly derivative but still unexpected and funny. It's hard to see yet what effects the new YT comments system will have.

Adobe Anywhere released

Early today announced the immediate availability of Adobe Anywhere for video, which was previewed in April at NAB. There's more at PVC in Adobe Anywhere released.

Viral videos capture devastation in Japan

If you saw the recent 1st-person video from the Japan tsunami (embedded below; watch the whole thing), you may be interested in more of them. This disaster so far pales compares to the Indonesia tsunami (left) and Haitian earthquake (and US-related wars) where the death tolls were each over 200,000 -- but the nuclear monster is not yet contained. See The Rachel Maddow Show for balanced info on the nuke angle.

Check out 2 from Viral videos capture devastation in Japan below (there's more at CitizenTube):

Encoding WebM: a first pass [+ 2nd pass for HEVC-H.265]

Update: codec development has moved on with HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), a new version of WebM to compete, and other schemes.  

For details on the new AdobeWebM plug-in -- and more -- see WebM and HEVC in Premiere and After Effects at PVC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original post:

Whatever your views on h.264, there may be a call to encode to WebM since pay per or subscription video using h.264 will eventually require a license fee if you ship many units over 12 minutes. The official WebM Project has a list of tools that encode to the WebM container, but here are some additional highlights:

• Sorenson Squish is among several free-to-try online services springing up.

• SUPER now installs spyware and must be avoided in 2013 (OpenCandy in the guise of browser toolbar, even if you choose not to install it).  ***WAS: the Windows freeware GUI frontend, seems to have implemented the FFMEG patch. Super is quirky but packed with features and easy to use, though you may wonder why it wants to call home surreptitiously.

• The rest of the GUIs for FFMPEG are bound to follow. If you must have command line control, see Encoding WebM Video with ffmpeg Dive Into HTML5 by Mark Pilgram.

• A QuickTime component is in early development.

• Andy Beach posted a video on Using WebM in Episode 6.

• Jan Ozer surveyed the scene last month in How to Encode to WebM. He later posted a video, WebM Encoding Tools: Five Popular Encoders Compared.

Unsecured IP security cameras

Mark Coleran noted Peep show: inside the world of unsecured IP security cameras by Tom Conno at Ars Technica (photo from William Lamson).

Live cams are almost as old as the Internet, so there's an active microculture and even live screensavers(eg, SurveillanceSaver for Mac OS and iPhone). It's not quite this era's found footage because of poor quality, but more hi-res frames could be tweened with After Effects. For related tutorials see Motion estimated morphing time-remapping on stills and More slow motion from pictures using Pixel Motion.

Here's an excerpt from Ars Technica's Peep Show and a video from digitalfxcube:

"Using the same basic technology that your computer uses, IP cameras take their own IP addresses and stream video directly onto a network without connecting to a DVR or control platform. Larger systems can integrate multiple IP cameras together using an NVR (network video recorder) that connects to and records multiple cameras at the same time. This capability can cut installation cost by literally thousands of dollars on sites where analog cameras would require long or complex cable runs.

Additionally, IP cameras frequently offer the additional benefits of higher resolution (with some models capable of 10 megapixels or more) and a more familiar platform for users to work with, meaning that they are also frequent favorites for smaller installations, too. Many forward-looking government, commercial, and even residential users are already standardizing their security on an entirely IP-based system, and most surveillance industry insiders feel this trend will continue into the foreseeable future."

PVC: Canon hacks + video is changing

Chris Meyer notes a few news items with 4 Ways Video Is Fundamentally Changing (from the head of Google’s “video monetization initiatives”) and a partial (6 second) breakthrough or hoax in 2k-4k @ 24fps on a Canon HDSLR? (with video from Philip Bloom).

The last bit has nothing to do with the Magic Lantern firmware hacks, though they should co-exist OK. Magic Lantern enables additional features on Canon cameras like onscreen audio meters, zebra stripes, crop marks, manual audio level controls, lower noise than stock firmware, etc. For the most recent release on those see Magic Lantern now on T2i/ 550D and 60D coming…no sign of 7D yet and the video below, also from Philip Bloom.

Magic Lantern 550d Update, December 12th from Renny Hayes on Vimeo.

Cord Cutters: turn Mac or PC into media center

NewTeeVee has a web video series Cord Cutters, on turning your Mac or PC into a media center. Cutting the cord of cable TV providers is probably why there's a fight over a tiered Internet leading to Snow Crash or Blade Runner style ghettos. The show is introductory at the moment but they're gaining steam with 9 episodes; here's the holiday buying guide:

The new Twitter

For awhile AE Portal was often first to post AE news but Twitter changed that, even as made it easier to track news. A new Twitter will be rolled out in the coming weeks. There's much more in a Techmeme cluster and in the video intro (skip the first :50 sec):

Best Vimeo settings + FCP tutorials +iPad video

Lafcpug has lots of good info and an especially good newsletter. Here's a sampling of the current one:

"So what are the best settings to use for uploading my video to Vimeo? Probably this: [vimeo settings from A Final Cut User's Blog; in a nutshell, the QT dialog settings are mp4, h.264, 1280×720, 7-9000 kbits/s, AAC 256 kbps 48kHz].

[update: iPad video encoding settings are similar, but at 3000 Kbps with audio at 128 kbp 44.1 kHz]

Shane Ross is busy. Here are four Tutorials for Final Cut Pro:
1) FCP: Export Multiple Channels of Audio
2) FCP: Tapeless Offline / Online Workflow
3) FCP: Add Visible Timecode to Quicktime Exports
4) How to Make Smooth Slow Motion with Cinema Tools

The FCP Shortcutter is a must bookmark site. All you need to know about the keyframing shortcut, Control + K.

Oliver Peters has some more Solutions to Improve FCP’s Media Management."

Update: Philip Bloom has more, "Framing wise for 2:35 to 1 you can either mark tape on the LCD or do what I do and guesstimate! That is where the very usual matte effect built into FCP comes in handy. The Widescreen matte is very cool as it lets you set the matte to what you want then simply shift the image within that matte to make the framing work for you. Watch the video to learn more."

iPhone 4 & Canon 7D movies + mobile video out

Here's an iPhone 4 film (via CNET) and an article and video Comparing Video Quality Between iPhone 4 and Canon 7D -- and a music video.

"Apple of My Eye" - an iPhone 4 film from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.

iPhone 4 versus Canon 7D from Take Zero Productions on Vimeo.

Update: see also Mobile Video Out Everywhere: iPhone 4, HTC Evo, and Droid X.

Also, Andy Beach notes What Video Codec does iPhone's FaceTime use? and Details on iPhone 4 video.

Update 2: here's the Apple iPhone 4 and HTC EVO 4G: side by side,

Google to Open-source VP8 + iPhone OS evil

There are more wrinkles ahead if NewTeeVee is right about Google to Open-source VP8 for HTML5 Video :

"a divide between which video format can be viewed in which browser. H.264-encoded HTML5 video can be viewed in Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome and in the upcoming Internet Explorer 9 browser from Microsoft. Meanwhile, Ogg Theora playback for HTML5 video is supported by Firefox, Chrome and Opera. Google hopes to stem that divide by making VP8 open source, providing a high-quality and open alternative to existing codecs. [...]

While an open-source VP8 could end concerns about H.264’s licensing issues and Theora’s quality, questions still remain about whether Google can provide a video standard on which everyone can agree. Microsoft only recently announced support for H.264 for HTML5 playback, and has never been quick to adopt open standards. And Apple, which has been the driving force behind HTML5 video and H.264 playback on the iPhone and iPad, might not be keen on the idea of switching up its codec support on those devices anytime soon."

Update: via @tgaul, iPhone OS 4.0: Now With Added Evil by James Higgs agrees with Steve Jobs on many points but says that Apple will make exceptions on certain development tools, invalidating Jobs' claims. He concludes that:

"What should be clear from this analysis is that the target of Apple’s hostility is not Adobe, but Google [soon an iPad rival too]. Taken together with iAds, section 3.3.1 is a way to preserve Apple’s current domination of the mobile app market. (Of course, that doesn’t stop Apple relishing a further knock to Adobe.) [...]

Instead of a confident Apple heralding the next stage in the iPhone’s development as the best mobile OS on the planet, Thursday’s announcement ensures that Apple now looks scared of Android, and is prepared to act rashly to defend itself. Rather than take on Android with superior features, better build quality, better usability and aggressive pricing, Apple shows its anxiety by hamfistedly trampling all over the people who helped them become the number on mobile app platform in the first place: the developers."

Update 2: it's the nature of business, Tensions Rise for Twitter and App Developers.

HTML5Video.org + Videoonwikipedia.org

Excerpts from NewTeeVee, Kaltura Launches HTML5Video.org, Publishes HTML5 Media Library:

Open source video platform provider Kaltura launched a new site called HTML5Video.org today that is meant to be an industry resource for HTML5 video-related issues. The site is supported by Mozilla, the Open Video Alliance and the Wikimedia Foundation. The launch coincides with the release of Kaltura’s HTML5 Media Library, which enables web site owners to embed videos in their sites through HTML5 without locking out users of older browsers that don’t support Flash-free web video just yet.
[...]
The unveiling of HTML5Video.org comes only one day after the launch of another site promoting HTML5 video to end users. Videoonwikipedia.org, which was launched yesterday by the Participatory Culture Foundation with support from Kaltura and others also involved with HTML5Video.org, wants to get users to contribute more video to Wikipedia. HTML5Video.org, on the other hand, seems much more geared toward professionals, offering business headlines as well as a link to a forum hosted by Kaltura’s open source video developer community at Kaltura.org.

Read more on NewTeeVee.

Broadcast Yourself: YouTube answers Viacom

As GoogleTV tries to get off the ground, YouTube has some interesting comments about a Viacom lawsuit:

'For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately "roughed up" the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko's to upload clips from computers that couldn't be traced to Viacom. And in an effort to promote its own shows, as a matter of company policy Viacom routinely left up clips from shows that had been uploaded to YouTube by ordinary users. Executives as high up as the president of Comedy Central and the head of MTV Networks felt "very strongly" that clips from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should remain on YouTube.

Viacom's efforts to disguise its promotional use of YouTube worked so well that even its own employees could not keep track of everything it was posting or leaving up on the site. As a result, on countless occasions Viacom demanded the removal of clips that it had uploaded to YouTube, only to return later to sheepishly ask for their reinstatement. In fact, some of the very clips that Viacom is suing us over were actually uploaded by Viacom itself.'

Here's a TechMeme cluster for background.

Update: TechDirt goes in deep with Analysis Of Google And Viacom's Arguments Over YouTube: A Lot Of He Said/She Said.

Can You Legally Use H.264 for Professional Video?

In the context of the Flash - HTML5 controversy, Jan Ozer has been comparing the Ogg and h.264 codecs recently -- see Google Closes On2 acquision - Better check your wallet and Ogg, MPEG-LA and Submarine Patents -- and warns against the cost of encoding and storage for multiple codecs.

[Update: ReadWriteWeb summarizes some of Ozer's benchmarks in Does HTML5 Really Beat Flash? The Surprising Results of New Tests]

Now, Larry Jordan and Philip Hodgetts have dealt with a related issue -- Can You Legally Use H.264 for Professional Video?

You can listen to their discussion on Digital Production Buzz, of March 4 2010, plus Larry has provided a summary on his blog:

"Note: This is not legal advice - for that, see your lawyer. However, this is our understanding of the problem, with a link to learn more. A license fee for H.264 use is probably required for professional use if ALL the following conditions are all met:

1. The video program must be encoded using the H.264 codec. (Other codecs are not covered by this license agreement.)
2. You sell the program. (If no money changes hands, no license fee is required.)
3. The program is sold to the ultimate end user. (If you are compressing files for use by someone else, say, digital dailies, no license fee is due.)
4. These programs must be in excess of 12 minutes. (Shorter programs do not require a license fee.)

If required, the license fee is very small: $0.02 per disc sold or about 2% of gross revenue, whichever is smaller."

Transforming the Magazine Experience with WIRED

Adobe TV is hosting the video below from Adobe's XD Inspire RIA magazine, Transforming the Magazine Experience with WIRED:

"Built on Adobe AIR and developed with Condé Nast, the tablet prototype we showed during TED... Adobe and WIRED magazine introduce a new digital magazine concept that provides an immersive, interactive content experience for readers and innovative possibilities for advertisers...

There's more at the blog Adobe Digital Publishing. Other demos can be found in the recent AEP post Video in magazines of the future + Apple's Tabula Rasa.



Update: see also iPad e-Books Have No Part in Adobe’s Story from jkOnTheRun.

'Satellite truck in a backpack' by Livestream

Lagging a bit here, but mobile live video services from UStream, Qik, and Skype are joined by Livestream. Via NYT Lens then Engadget, Red Ferret explains :

"They’re calling it a satellite truck in a backpack, and at $2500 a month rental ($1500 a month on the annual plan) it could just revolutionise the whole news and local event reporting business in a big way. The monthly fee covers 30 hours of streaming including data fees, so small operators suddenly have a way to compete with the big shot news reporting outfits at a price that’s a game changer. Amazing tech. US only at the moment alas.

Just hook your Firewire DV camera up to the backpack, which contains 6 load balanced 3G/EVDO SIM card modems [over three carriers - AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint], press the record button and you’re live to the world from anywhere there’s a 3G cell phone signal. The box contains the encoder and battery, and you can attach an external battery to give up to 3 hours of continuous recording at a time. The video is HD, 1 Mbps, H.264, so your viewers will not be disappointed with the image quality either."



Update: There are a few other implementations, one by AVIWest, and another release of LivePro by Kyte.

Comments from the latter article note that they'll all have to compete with 4G and the iPhone during the failing of traditional media, and "TWIT did this at CES a month ago using a home-built setup with the same basic configuration (multiple synchronous 3G cards)."

The basics of web video quality

Jan Ozer posted a video of his basic session on improving web video quality from Streaming Media West:

Mobile video of the Apple iPad

Leo Laporte's mobile video of the Flash-less Apple iPad is up already, and coming live and/or in pieces at Qik, http://qik.com/twit. For more on Qik and related info, see Live video from iPhone... There’s now apps for that.

Update: Everyone is broadcasting pieces. CNN Live -- in delay! -- is working big and has good quality. Also, Twit.tv is up and down but big, but there's also nickarodriguez mobile on Qik.

Finally, Apple has the event recording posted.

But wait, there's more:

Jim Feeley adds "engadget's coverage of the iPad announcement is much much better than that of either the New York Times or Macworld. It's a new era... jasondiamond: MCGrawHill CEO must be at the bottom of a lake in cement iShoes by now. #iPad #Leak

5tu: If nothing else, I think the #iPad would make a terrific control surface for Magic Bullet Looks. Videoguys: iPad - can we attach it to a 5D as field monitor? Or use 3G/wifi to enter metadata and clip info as we record?

Reactions to HTML 5 implementations

There was a flourish of stories on the unfinished spec HTML5 or HTTP video last summer that were noted here: HTTP video: reports on Firefox and Apple and Codec Wars 2009. Now that YouTube and Vimeo have started to implement, there's been some reaction from the Flash camp and from Open Source advocates.

Check out Adobe Photoshopper John Nack's Sympathy for the Devil (via John Dowdell) and Mozilla's Chris Blizzard Blasts HTML5 Efforts at YouTube and Vimeo from Beet.TV, which notes that the new HTML5 experiments do not work in the Firefox 3.6. Beet also notes Blizzard's observation that the initiatives are not really open source or free ($5 million/yr) since they use the proprietary H.264 codec, as well essential context provided by Stephen Shankland at CNET.

See also Google talks Chrome OS, HTML5, and the future of software at ArsTechnica and Apple Event to Focus on Reinventing Content, Not Tablets at Wired. Here's Beet with Chris Blizzard from last summer on open source video at Mozilla and the implementation of HTML5 in Firefox:


Update: CDM looks at some of the wrinkles in HTML5 and a Brave, Flash-Free, Open World? Uh… Not So Fast.

Update 2: There have been a few flare-ups over Flash & HTML5, see Teacup, Meet Storm, pt. IV: Adobe Blocking HTML5?, but that's no reason for a potty-mouth, Adobe is "sabotaging" HTML5?? A few other issues were mentioned earlier in CS Next: "PS and AI will be great".

Update 3: the dustup continues in comments to a post by Adobe's John Dowdell, How I want Apple to talk.

CaptionTube: add captions to YouTube

Mashable has a How-To on adding captions to YouTube videos with CaptionTube from Google.