The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay is refusing to die. It’s been the largest and one of the most popular torrent trackers in the world for a few years now. But its notoriety and ability to taunt copyright owners meant trouble was never far away.

The Pirate Bay’s legal woes came to a head in February when a three-year investigation into the site arrived in court. By April, the four defendants had been found guilty and it looked as though this was the beginning of the end for TPB.

The TPB Tracker Is Dead

The last few months have seen The Pirate Bay tracker unavailable at various times as copyright owners managed to pressure its ISPs to cut off service to the site. But instead of fighting against it, TPB has decided to roll with it.

As announced in a blog post today, The Pirate Bay has now shut down its tracker completely, and there’s no going back. However, this doesn’t mean the end of the site and the end of torrents.

Decentralizing Power

The Pirate Bay claims that torrent trackers are now unnecessary. In its place comes trackerless solutions such as distributed hash tables (DHT) and peer exchange (PEX).

These methods mean that instead of locating .torrent files from a central repository, files can be found simply by querying other peers in the swarm.

In essence, this removes the central power needed for torrents to be shared over a network. And that has clear (positive) legal ramifications for The Pirate Bay and could make the IFPI and MPAA’s mission to control filesharing an impossible one.

The Pirate Bay is now offering magnet links, hence the new logo as seen above. These simply direct a BitTorrent client to the BitTorrent peers which contain the file in question.

Conclusions

This is a genius move on the part of The Pirate Bay as it appears to throw a very large spanner in the legal victory celebrated by copyright owners earlier this year.

I doubt they’ll give up without a fight but they’re now fighting an activity that is impossible to track and is clearly not going to cease anytime soon.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer has shone like a beacon since its full launch almost two years ago in December 2007. The catch-up TV service lead the way not only in the U.K. but around the world, with Hulu being its big-name opposite in the U.S.

Rather than rest on its laurels, the BBC carried on improving the service despite already providing millions of streams to viewers. The current iteration of the iPlayer service is more user-friendly and easy-to-use than any Web application or online video site.

RTS Judges’ Award

Last week saw the iPlayer praised to the highest degree when the BBC won the Judges’ Award at the 2009 Royal Television Society Innovation Awards. Jeff Henry, chair of the awards, said:

“There have been great British innovations – the steam engine, the gas turbine, radio waves, jet engines and arguably video games. Even the inventors of Viagra. But seriously, the role of honour of great British innovation now has a proud new addition,”

“For all the hard work, commitment and belief shown by the BBC and its staff, with particular recognition of Anthony Rose’s contribution, the RTS Innovation Awards proudly presents the Judges Award to the BBC iPlayer, proving that it is not just a gift for Christmas, but for life.”

Being placed alongside such great inventions as the steam engine and radio waves is pretty unbelievable. But the iPlayer may well prove to be as innovative and important as those inventions in years to come for what it represents – a world where online television is the norm rather than niche.

IPlayer Wii Channel

The BBC topped off an already great week by unveiling its plans to launch a dedicated channel on the Nintendo Wii games console. The service has been available on the console for a while through the Web browser, but a dedicated channel should be much more accessible and user-friendly.

All Wii owners in the U.K. with a Broadband connection will be able to use the Wii iPlayer. From Nov. 18, the BBC iPlayer can be downloaded for free from the console’s online shop.

Conclusions

The iPlayer is a fantastic service that continues to improve and be added to more devices in order to gain viewers. And the RTS award for innovation is wholly deserved.

The only thing that the BBC now needs to do is launch the iPlayer internationally. Whether that’ll ever happen, and whether if it did it would be free, are questions that I personally cannot answer. But I can hope.

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This is an important move not just to support the increasing number of home video cameras with HD options but also to give professional content creators confidence that the platform is right for their work.

YouTube Video Quality

When YouTube first launched four years ago, video quality (360p) on the site wasn’t great. But that wasn’t what the site was about so it didn’t matter. YouTube was there to offer a free and easy way for people to host video online. And it did that so well that Google paid $1.65 billion for the site a year later.

But times move on, as does technology.

YouTube first started offering a ‘High Quality’ (480p) version of some videos, and while the difference wasn’t vast it was noticeable. Then in December 2008 YouTube launched ‘High-Definition’ video, which took the clips to a native 720p.

Full HD On YouTube

Now, after an announcement on the YouTube Blog, the site is starting to offer Full HD of 1080p. There’s already a test video running at that super high quality and the rest of the videos on the site will begin airing in 1080p from next week.

YouTube is in the process of re-encoding all content that has been uploaded at 1080p back to its original resolution. However, there will still be a 720p option available on all videos so as to support viewers who can’t view 1080p without massive lag or hardware problems.

There will still be a 10-minute limit on video uploads but the 2GB size limit will surely be increased to cater for this new breed of high-definition video clips.

Conclusions

This change could have a huge impact in a couple of different ways.

For the average home user of YouTube it’ll make the viewing experience more pleasurable than ever, especially for those watching on HD televisions via their games console, set-top box, or connected laptop.

But more importantly than that, it will surely help YouTube in its quest to entice professional content creators to the site. Some may have been resistant all the while their content was going to look relatively poor, but now it’s widescreen and in Full HD, that reason not to get involved flies out the window.

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Livestream Livepack Goes Live

Livestream, formerly known as Mogulus, is one of several live streaming companies which offer everyone the chance to be the star of their own television channel. It’s a competitive sector, with Ustream and Justin.tv the other big contenders.

But yesterday saw Livestream launch a new service which could mark it out against its competitors. Livepack is “the world’s first solution for wireless live streaming at HD quality,” and the hardware which makes that possible fits in a specially designed backpack.

Livepack Details

Livepack is designed for broadcasting any and all events live over the Internet. This includes concerts, sporting events, wedding, graduations, and everything in between.

There are other options already for doing this, but all rely on a reliable fixed Internet connection and none can yet deliver high quality video. Livestream maintains that its new Livepack solves both these issued at a stroke.

The hardware comes courtesy of LiveU, fits in a backpack, and includes “a built-in wireless connection with six load-balanced 3G/EVDO modems over three carriers, encoding hardware, Firewire cable, and 30 hours of streaming uplink time per month.”

Integration with Livestream’s streaming video platform and content delivery network (CDN) is included, which means that once the stream is started it streams to your Livestream player and is captured and archived for future playback as well.

Livepack Video Demo and Pricing

Livestream Livepack is only available in the U.S. and available as a monthly or yearly rental. A one-off monthly rental costs $2,500 while a yearly subscription brings the cost down to $1,500. Which may seem expensive but is a fraction of the cost of professional solutions.

Conclusions

Livestream Livepack isn’t going to appeal to everyone due to the high costs involved, but for those seeking a near-professional solution for live streaming outside events, it’s a genius and affordable solution that fills a gap in the market.

For a very reasonable investment, a whole new world can now be accessed by both amateur and professional Webcasters.

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Kangaroo was a joint project between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 which was intended to bring together content from the three main British broadcasters, as well as others, and deliver it online and on-demand to viewers.

Killed At Birth

Project Kangaroo was shaping up to be the U.K.’s answer to Hulu, a one-stop online video shop where a multitude of different broadcasters and content creators could offer their wares for free to the viewing public.

But, as is usually the case with something good, Kangaroo was crushed before it could be born, as the Competition Commission decided it was anti-competitive.

Project Kangaroo

It was first announced in late 2007 when, fueled by the early success of the BBC iPlayer, the three companies decided teaming up would be a good solution to the problem of developing and maintaining an video-on-demand service for all.

By the middle of 2008, after complaints from rival broadcasters BSkyB and Virgin Media, Kangaroo was facing a grilling at the hands of the Competition Commission. A grilling which unfortunately never looked like going Kangaroo’s way.

Ultimately, after a series of judgments and negotiations, Project Kangaroo was killed off due to the CC’s argument that it was “too much of a threat to competition in this developing market and has to be stopped.”

Arqiva Tastes Blood

Arqiva has now bought the Kangaroo infrastructure, issuing a press release announcing as much earlier this week. Arqiva isn’t a very well-known company but it owns and operates the network for terrestrial TV and radio, as well as licenses for two of the six digital TV multiplexes. Meaning it’s already a big player.

The company has now bought Kangaroo lock, stock, and barrel, which means the hardware, software, and intellectual property rights will all go to arqiva on completion of the deal. Arqiva plans to use this infrastructure to make a foray into Web TV market, both with free content and pay-to-view content.

Arqiva Talks

The company said:

“Arqiva plans to use the Project Kangaroo platform assets to launch a new video-on-demand service to UK consumers in the coming months,”

“The platform will aim to host top-end quality content from leading broadcasters and independent content providers to provide a broad range of user experiences to its audiences.”

Conclusions

I’m glad the time, effort, and money the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 expended on Project Kangaroo isn’t going to be completely wasted. Aquiva didn’t mention what it had paid for the technology but I suspect it was a fraction of the total costs, estimated to be around £12 million ($18 million).

If Aquiva does launch a video-on-demand service using the technology, which seems highly likely, then it will need content, and will probably get that content from some of the same companies effectively banned from forging ahead with Kangaroo in the first place.

What’s more, it’ll likely have to compete with Hulu itself, which is planning to expand its operations into Europe, starting in the U.K. later this year. So I suppose the Competition Commission at least did its job in allowing competition to rage in the online video arena.

Live Video Streaming

The live video streaming sector is one of the most competitive across the whole online video market. Big names such as Justin.tv, Ustream, and Mogulus continue to evolve and improve in their efforts to become the number one brand and recognized in the same breath as Google, eBay, Amazon, and YouTube.

Mogulus recently rebranded itself to LiveStream, buying the frankly worth its weight in gold domain name to go with it. While Ustream underwent a radical redesign this time last year and then again in April of this year. Now, Justin.tv, the current traffic leader, has done the same. As well as a complete redesign of the site there are also a number of new features being added to the mix.

Justin.tv Redesign

The Justin.tv site has been given a visual overhaul, now looking cleaner and more simplified than before. The usability of the site has also been made more simpler, obviously an attempt to persuade more people than broadcasting isn’t something which requires degrees in film-making and electronics.

The main way this simple approach is achieved is by the introduction of one-touch recording. There’s no longer any need to sign up for an account or log in to an existing one. You can now start sharing live video with the world by “Live broadcasting in one click.” There is also now a Meebo IM chat bar present on each page of the site.

Camtweet and DVR Functionality

Justin.tv has also introduced a couple of very nice features in the last month. June saw DVR functionality come to the service. Now, when you’re watching something and realize you need to pause or stop watching for a while, you can click a button to give you the option to, “Continue watching this later.” The video will be recorded and you can begin watching from the point you left the video stream for up to seven days.

Just a few days ago Justin.tv also unveiled Camtweet, a new side project aimed at users of the micro-blogging social networking site Twitter. In essence, the yet-to-launch Twitter app allows you to broadcast live video on Twitter. Camtweet is a devilishly simple idea that brings Justin.tv functionality to the much-hyped Twitter just as it goes mainstream.

Conclusions

These changes are making Justin.tv a whole lot more user-friendly than it was previously. Which has got to be a good thing in such a crowded and competitive market. By appealing to the masses, and taking the pain out of live streaming, Justin.tv could be about to increase the lead it holds over its rivals. Until, of course, they up the ante once again. Either way, it’s broadcasters who benefit.

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IPhone 3GS Video

The recently-released iPhone 3GS includes some fantastic video features. The device includes a 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording video at near-HD quality with full audio and at 30 frames-per-second. What’s more, there is some excellent basic editing software included as standard which also allows captured clips to be uploaded to YouTube and the like with ease.

This inclusion of a good quality video camera in the iPhone is a worry for video camera manufacturers, because if this sort of device is available in a smartphone, where is the need to buy a product which costs more and is only capable of doing that one job? However, the iPhone is still a costly prospect for most people thanks to the monthly contract required to use one.

IPod Touch Video

This isn’t the case for the iPod Touch, the product which has almost everything in common with the iPhone, apart of course from the phone part, with the Touch instead focused on being a multimedia device you can carry in your pocket. Imagine what would happen if Apple decided to put a video camera inside each and every iPod Touch, and possibly other flavors of iPod as well.

This is the latest rumor to have hit the InterWebs. TechCrunch claims a source in Asia is reporting that Apple has recently placed a massive order for the camera modules of the type used in the iPhone 3GS. The order is said to be so large it can only be intended for the next generation of iPods. MacRumors has added weight to this theory with the posting of alleged new designs for the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano, both of which have holes intended for camera lenses to poke out of.

Immediate Effects

If true, this would firstly have a huge impact on the video camera market because millions of iPods are sold every single month, and who would buy a more expensive video camera when they could just upgrade their iPod and get a whole bunch of other features thrown in for the price?

The other obvious impact would be on the amount of people suddenly able to flex their creative muscle and shoot reasonably good looking video on a mobile device. Video shot on a crappy cellphone camera is one thing, video shot on a smartphone or personal media player is quite another. Mobile uploads to YouTube would likely increase by a huge amount once again.

Conclusions

Apple could quite easily corner this particular market while killing another one off if it chooses to go down this route. And as there’s no real reason why the company wouldn’t, it seems likely the speculation will prove to be correct in the months to come. Mobile video is about to come of age, and as with so many other markets, Apple is at the forefront of making it mainstream.

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Games Consoles

I’ve been banging on for a while now about the importance of video games consoles in getting online video into the living room. That’s because I firmly believe these Internet-connected devices are key to getting quality streaming content onto people’s televisions rather than only on computers as it generally is at the moment.

We’ve already seen a fair few advances in this area. Both the Wii and PS3 are able to provide users with access to Web-based television services such as the BBC iPlayer, Joost, and Hulu. While the Xbox 360, which has no Web browser capability, has Netflix and now the Sky Player providing both downloadable and live streaming video.

Microsoft At E3 2009

At E3 2009, this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, Microsoft unveiled even bigger and more ambitious plans for online video on the Xbox 360, which are detailed below. What’s clear is that Microsoft realizes the potential for online video and has also realized that in the Xbox 360 it has a ready-made delivery system installed in millions of homes around the world.

The Xbox 360 video service will be rebranded as the Zune video marketplace. Streaming content will now be available in 18 countries up from 8, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. TV shows and movie will now be available instantly rather than the current system of queue and view.

Full HD On Xbox 360

Xbox 360 video is already available in 720p high-definition but this is being pushed to 1080p full high-definition. Video playback will begin at low bitrates in order to allow for instant viewing but will soon ramp up to 1080p with 5.1 audio. Microsoft claims this new method of video delivery will be as close to the “disc in the drive” experience as is possible over the Internet.

Microsoft’s hook-up with BSkyB to bring the Sky Player to the Xbox 360 in the UK and Ireland was confirmed. And the feature mentioned alongside that which allows for social viewing of sports is to be rolled-out for other content in other territories as well. So a bunch of Xbox 360 friends will be able to watch a movie together using a virtual theater.

Conclusions

These are exciting times for console owners because they are getting treated as the innovators and early-adopters of online video coming to the living room. Microsoft, for once, is actually leading the charge rather than following in other’s footsteps. Whether Sony and Nintendo can now keep up remains to be seen.

Online Video Metrics

Online video metrics, the study of traffic and viewer numbers to the various online video companies, is clearly a tricky business. The figures are released every month by different companies, most notably Nielsen, comScore, and Quantcast. Unfortunately, all three sets of figures tell a different story.

The figures for April were released earlier this week and taken individually didn’t really offer too many surprises. YouTube is still way out in front, MTV saw an unexplained increase in viewer numbers, and Hulu, well it really depends who you listen to in Hulu’s case. The U.S.-only video site may either be doing really well or really rather badly, depending on which company you choose to believe.

Hulu Hullabaloo

Nielsen counted 8.9 million visitors to Hulu in March, while comScore counted a rather more impressive 42 million. Nielsen also suggests the number of unique visitors to the site has been consistently dropping since February: from 9.5 million to 8.9 million to 7.4 million. But during the same period the number of video streams have risen from 309 million to 348 million to 373 million.

These figures could potentially be accurate if each hardcore Hulu-user recently started watching more streams while the casual user dropped off entirely, but I can’t see this being the case. Which poses a problem for Hulu as despite having its own viewer figures it relies on third-party companies to provide the industry and the people who provide it with the revenue it needs to exist with the correct figures.

Important To Advertisers

If metrics were just used as a measuring stick to shake at competitors then this really wouldn’t matter too much but there is, of course, more at stake here than that. Traffic, viewer, and stream figures are used by advertisers to determine whether they want to buy slots on that site or not. Poor figures for the month or a trend downwards could scare off potential clients.

The problem is that each company uses its own methods for collecting data. Nielsen uses numbers provided by a panel of viewers and extrapolates the total figures from their usage of various sites. Quantcast, on the other hand, takes its figures directly from a piece of code embedded on the Hulu Web site. Others use toolbars, ISPs, and a variety of other methods as well.

Conclusions

According to The New York Times, Hulu isn’t too happy with Nielsen right now and has swapped email correspondence with the company expressing its displeasure at the possibly bogus figures. When asked to comment, Jean-Paul Colaco, the senior vice president for advertising at Hulu, would only diplomatically say, “there is more work that can be done with all of our research providers to ensure that online video metrics are accurately represented to users and clients.”

Hulu should be fighting these figures tooth and nail because showing the company trending downwards for the first time since it launched isn’t going to help shift advertising stock. The bigger issue is what to do to make sure all the Internet traffic measuring companies are reading from the same hymnbook – the current situation is just leading to confusion for all parties.

YouTube With Attitude

The quality of videos available to watch on YouTube varies greatly. There are gems which deserve massive audiences and consequently go viral across the Internet, but there are also pointless clips of interest to absolutely no-one whatsoever.

The same goes for tools and add-ons which make sense or increase the usability of YouTube. One such tool which has made a splash around the blogosphere this weekend is YooouuuTuuube, which is receiving nothing but praise for the way it converts even the most bland and downright dull video clip into something approaching a work of art.

YooouuuTuuube

The concept of YooouuuTuuube is simple – it takes any video from YouTube and separates it into individual frames. Explained like that it sounds rather dull and unambitious. But one use of the application will change your mind completely.

It’s impossible to embed one of the videos here so the only way you’ll be able to see the process in action is to try it yourself. Select a video from the millions currently on the YouTube servers, copy the URL and paste it in the appropriate box at YooouuuTuuube.com.

Simple Options

If you don’t have a specific video in mind then you can use search terms instead or even tick the box to get a random video. The latter choice is very pot luck, with the two times I tried it resulting in me watching an Islamic speech and a Russian documentary – neither of which interested me or made for very good mosaic video walls.

There are also other options that can be messed around with. The frame width and height affects how many frames are going to be displayed on screen at once and how big or small they’ll be. The default of 80px by 80px will be suitable for most videos.

The shuffle option means that instead of displaying each frame consecutively from the bottom right of the screen to the top left as they appear, they will pop up randomly across the screen. Lastly, the “Start zoomed in” option means that instead of the whole video appearing in tiny fragments, you’ll get a zoomed in view of the video as it plays.

Hours Of Fun

Music videos clearly and quite obviously work the best – they’re fast-paced, colorful, and arty, and there’s the obvious advantage that the music works as a backdrop to the visual feast on display. But animated videos, sports clips, and viral memes such as the Dramatic Chipmunk also work well.

YooouuuTuuube is a brilliant use of technology that can see you waste hours of your life trying to find the best videos to use with it. It also has the capability of turning even the most boring YouTube video into something that’s at least worth experimenting with.