VideoNuze Posts

Google Reignites Codec Wars by Freeing VP8

Google is in the midst of its I/O developer's conference and Colin Dixon, senior partner at industry research firm The Diffusion Group, which is a VideoNuze partner, is attending. Today and tomorrow he's providing dispatches and analysis of the events.

Google Reignites Codec Wars by Freeing VP8
by Colin Dixon

At the Google developer's conference, Google I/O, on Wednesday the company announced that the ON2 VP8 codec has been open-sourced. The video codec is being united with the Vorbis audio codec under the WebM effort. VP8 is available under a completely royalty-free license.

Support for WebM is being built into browsers such as Chrome, Opera and Mozilla. This means that a video provided in the format does not need a separate player; it will play natively in the browser. In addition, Google promised it would be supported in Chrome OS, Google's open source project to turn the browser into the computer operating system. Also, YouTube will fully support the format. Kevin Lynch, CTO of Adobe, also announced full support for the codec in Flash. This is important as Flash is the dominant video delivery mechanism on the Internet.

The ON2 codec was one of the earliest of the new advanced codecs. As the most efficient codec of its time, it allowed companies such as Move networks to provide adaptive streaming on the Internet at HD quality. Early adopters of the codec were companies such as Fox.com and ABC.com. Google purchased On2 for $120M in 2009.

The release of VP8 to the open community without a license fee is an important development. Google has the muscle to guarantee wide use and acceptance of the codec. YouTube serves 13 times more video content than any other site in the US. As well, the 70M users of the Chrome browser will also have support for the codec built in. With Flash support it is safe to assume that pretty much every PC will have support for VP8 before the year is out. For content developers, VP8 is a safe option to guarantee that content will play on a wide array of PCs and netbooks.

Less clear is the value of the codec to non-PC devices. Certainly we can expect full support in Android phones. But support at the TV is far less clear. Devices such as game consoles and set-top boxes are not going to support the codec anytime soon. Major SoC providers such as Intel and Broadcom do not provide built-in support for it, although Intel can support it in software. Until chip vendors support it, getting an STB or TV that can play video in the format is still years away. Perhaps we will hear more about that from Google Thursday (as has been widely rumored.) So, VP8 as a solution for multi-screen delivery is still not viable.

This leaves content providers with a problem. There still isn't a single codec that is supported on TV, PC and mobile. Perhaps the closest to this is MPEG4 H.264. However, H.264 is fatally flawed. Although today you can use the codec without incurring a royalty fee that could all change on December 31, 2015. MPEG LA, which controls the H.264 license terms, has only said that it would allow free streaming using the codec through 2015. What happens after that is anyone's guess. With uncertainty like this H.264 is unlikely to become the universal standard.

In the short term, if your video distribution plans are limited to PCs and Android phones VP8 could be the smart choice. For multi-screen delivery, content providers will have to continue to provide their content in several formats for some time to come. Apple, which is heavily backing the H.264 format should give this some serious thought!

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Categories: Technology

New Clicker.tv Raises the Bar on Online Video Navigation

Want to see what navigation will look like in the online video era? Then head over to Clicker.tv, which unveiled its new look today at the Google I/O conference. I hesitate to call Clicker.tv a "web site" because 15 years into the Internet age the term has a "point-click-scroll" connotation to it. Conversely, when you arrive at the new Clicker.tv you realize you can now set your mouse aside as you won't be needing it. The whole site can be navigated with your Up/Down/Side arrow, Enter and Backspace keys. Clicker's CEO Jim Lanzone gave me a sneak peek last week and pointed out its key differentiators.

Jim proudly pointed out that while it will feel like you've downloaded a plug-in or an app because of the richness and responsiveness of the site, in fact you haven't; this is the power of HTML5. What you see displayed are four columns. At the left is a tools bar with simple icons prompting search, browse, playlists plus links to display TV shows, web-only shows or movies. In default mode the next 3 columns show "headliners," trending shows and trending episodes. You can rearrange these views via the icons, browsing or setting up playlists.



If for example you see a large thumbnail for "The Hills," when you click on it all the recent episodes are exposed, which you can scroll through with just your arrow keys until finding the one you want and selecting it with the Enter key. Or if you select the movie "The Hurt Locker" Clicker will show you that it's available for download on Amazon and iTunes. If it had been available on Netflix too, you would have been exposed to that option and been able to seamlessly connect and watch at Netflix if you had previously linked your account to Clicker (same way as Netflix works with other devices).

Something else you'll notice is that there's no search bar. So how do you search for a TV show or movie? You simply start typing and your letters appear on screen. It's pretty cool. But in a nod to how different navigation on Clicker is, it offers a handy overlay screen when visiting so you know how to get around.

As Jim put it, Clicker also begins merging the browser and the app worlds (for more on what Google thinks about this idea see, this good post on TechCrunch), and moves the paradigm away from having set-top boxes in order to do robust navigation. Clicker's big opportunity comes as convergence takes off. It's 10-foot UI makes it a natural to be included in various connected devices that are looking to bridge broadband to the TV even as smaller scale version could work really well on mobile devices. In addition, as Jim pointed out, because this is HTML, social and other features can be added easily. The destination is still in beta and it's still pretty early days for Clicker's business model, but Jim sees two opportunities: bounties from aggregators it sends users to and apps that would be created and uphold. Playing around with Clicker you can't help thinking how far the web has now advanced.

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Categories: Technology, Video Search

Topics: Clicker, HTML5

Kyte is Bullish on Android; Releases New SDK and App Framework

Further expanding its mobile offering, Kyte announced this morning both an SDK and an "App Framework" for the Android OS. The SDK eliminates a lot of the complexity for developers to do custom implementations of Kyte-powered video and interactivity for their Android apps. The "App Framework" provides a template with pre-built modules (e.g. video playback, UGC video integration, commenting and chat, location-based events, Twitter and RSS readers) so new Android apps can be quickly built and released.

Kyte's COO Gannon Hall told me yesterday that both are comparable to the previously-released iPhone and BlackBerry SDK and Mobile App Frameworks. Examples of how the templatized iPhone App Framework have recently been used include UMG's Lady Gaga app and MTV's "Hope for Haiti" digital telethon app, which Gannon said was built in record time.

Gannon said the Android moves are further validation of Kyte's positioning as a "360 degree solution," helping companies easily deliver video to consumers everywhere they want. He sees continued fragmentation across operating systems, devices and formats as some of the tectonic "Apple/Google/Adobe/fill-in-the-blank" battles sort themselves out.

Gannon explained that even as Kyte has been expanding its social and set-top box functionality recently, it has seen the most growth in mobile. He's particularly bullish on Android, calling out last week's NPD research that Android was the #2 selling smartphone OS in Q1 '10, behind BlackBerry, but ahead of the iPhone. He also compared Android in certain ways to Windows, much like Will has as well, but added that because Android is open source, it allows developers to enhance and improve it - a big distinction from Windows. Note - the buzz around Android and video will grow much louder later today as Google and partners Intel and Sony announce their "SmartTV" initiative, built on the Android platform.

Regardless of the underlying technology, consumers just want video wherever they are. That's why, as these technologies segment and codecs continue to compete for dominance, OVPs that offer solutions to help content creators navigate through the myriad of technologies and cost-effectively deliver robust apps will have the competitive advantage.

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Categories: Mobile Video, Technology

Topics: Android, Google, Kyte

Kantar Video Pursues a Holistic Approach to Video Analytics

This morning I'm pleased to introduce Adam Wright, VideoNuze's newest contributor. Adam has a strong background in online video, having worked at NBCU in digital distribution, MySpace in branded content, and more recently at Tubefilter in research. Adam has a BS in Business and an MS in Entertainment Industry Management from Carnegie Mellon University. After 2 1/2 years of carrying the full daily editorial load at VideoNuze, it's great to have Adam on board contributing several times per week!

Kantar Video Pursues a Holistic Approach to Video Analytics
by Adam Wright

Kantar Video announced itself last week, but with the torrent of news coming out of both SME and the Cable Show, it slipped under the radar. So late last week, I took some time to talk with Bill Lederer, CEO of Kantar Video, who is a seasoned veteran in online and set-top box research, to get a better understanding of the company's holistic approach to their research/analytics service and the implications on the analytics space.

Kantar Video's "Videolytics," which is currently in a private beta, will be tracking everything from online video, advanced TV, and most interestingly mobile, which is a rapidly growing space. Kantar Video plans to combine this data with the extremely rich marketing data sets from other Kantar Media business units. Bill explained, "for instance, we're the world's biggest company in the attitudinal area. We're going to work with Dynamic Logic, TNS, [etc.]. We're going to capture things like ad expenditure data." In addition, he mentioned cross-referencing data from other sets such as demographics, psychographics, purchase data, and much more from other Kantar Media affiliated branches.

Kantar Video's overall goal is to create a decision system to harness all this data to provide relevant information for business decisions. As a result, Kantar Video's holistic approach might be considered a "Nielsen for online video" analytics/research service. While there have been many options for online video analytics and research, few have come to encompass this breadth of data, which will ultimately help users understand the implications of online video and online video advertising down through the purchase chain, helping grow and better monetize the space.

Though there's a lot of data already floating around, in Bill's opinion often it isn't entirely useful to decision-makers. As Bill put it, "The medium is producing Latin. The customers are in need of Greek." He sees Kantar Video as trying to answer tough questions from marketers. For instance, "What's the real ROI for investing in video? Online guys will talk about views, but marketers talk about how did it do relative to not just campaign execution, but the brand?"  Bill said, "We're trying to create a multi-channel solution - real time turn-around with deep domain expertise."

Kantar Video is trying to set itself apart competitively by focusing exclusively on analytics, as compared with others like TubeMogul and BBE's recently spun off Vindico who are also providing ad serving. Kantar Video has some similarity to analytics provider Visible Measures, but with more varied data sets and tools from other business units.

Finally, Bill was quick to trumpet that "we're able to bring in a significant number of advertisers and media companies. I think we'll have some quick validation." With a big name like WPP behind it, Kantar Video has a certain built-in credibility with many brands and advertisers, but Bill also stressed they are working with non-WPP companies as well. "We have built a career on coalitions and partnerships within and without in order to provide more value." In addition, they are preparing to go global quickly by building out their platform in many languages.

Kantar Video is definitely an analytics firm to look out for, with a company like WPP backing it financially and developmentally, it would seem to have some natural momentum. Only time will tell if it catches on, but either way, this means more competition in the analytics space.

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Categories: Analytics, Startups

Topics: Kantar Video, TubeMogul, VINDICO, Visible Measures

If You're in the Boston Area, Join Me Tomorrow Morning for "Chaos in the Living Room" Discussion

Categories: Events

Topics: Mass Technology Leadership Council

Video Interview with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

Categories: Aggregators, People

Topics: Netflix, Reed Hastings

Silverlight Team Offers 4 In-Depth Case Studies on 2010 Winter Olympics Online

Categories: International, Sports, Technology

Topics: CTV, France Televisions, Microsoft, NBC, NRK, Olympics, Silverlight

"Mobile Set-Top Box" Era Begins on June 4th with Sprint Evo Introduction

News this week from Sprint that it will release the much-anticipated HTC Evo 4G on June 4th means that the era of the "mobile set-top box" is about to officially get underway. For those of you not familiar with the Evo, it is the first smartphone capable of working on Sprint's ultra-fast 4G wireless network. The Evo, powered by the Android 2.1 OS also sports an HDMI output (the first that I've seen), which means that you can connect the device to a widescreen HDTV and watch 720p video in gorgeous quality on a widescreen HDTV (note, Sprint plans to charge a $10 incremental 4G fee, though data transfer will be unlimited). See video below showing Evo outputting to an 85-inch plasma HDTV and also a side-by-side Engadget did with the iPhone.



The implications of the Evo - and the many similar devices that will no doubt follow it - are profound. While current set-tops can of course deliver stunning HD programming, they are anchored to the room and the designated TV. Conversely, video-capable smartphones have offered video watching on the go and ever-increasing quality. The Evo is essentially the first bridge between these 2 worlds, opening up exciting use cases and unprecedented consumer control. For example, with a set-top in your pocket and a Netflix or MLB streaming app you could conceivably transfer your experience from the mobile screen to the big screen in a snap, just by plugging in your handy HDMI cable.

It is these kinds of Android innovations that will put increasing pressure on iPhone sales (see below for more on that), and also demonstrate the rampant wireless competition in video in the coming years. Even as the government seems intent on regulating broadband ISPs, innovation abounds, ensuring highly competitive dynamics and accelerating investments. The mobile set-top box era promises a new chapter in consumer value.

What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required). 

Categories: Mobile Video

Topics: Evo, HTC, Sprint