video

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--StudioNow exists because, as a video editor, you probably suck.

The Nashville-based company has created a service that turns unwieldy libraries of video footage into watchable, short videos. The system works as follows: video gets uploaded to their servers. The company then taps its international network of videographers and editors to hone the footage down, and then it turns the finished product back to the customer, who then puts it on a site somewhere.

Customers pay StudioNow a fee for services, and StudioNow then pays its editor a commission. The business is not dependent on clicks, advertising, … Read more

WASHINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission has postponed indefinitely the start of its monthly meeting, at which it's supposed to vote on a controversial report that could lead to new regulations on the cable industry.

Chairman Kevin Martin emerged briefly from closed-door deliberations at FCC headquarters here midday Tuesday to tell reporters that commissioners were still negotiating how to handle an internal report about the state of cable industry competition. The meeting, which was originally scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. EST, was bumped to 11 a.m. and now has no new projected start time.

The report's … Read more

Does anyone remember the ill-fated Sony Glasstron from a decade ago? YelloMosquito has taken the concept one step further with the Qingbar GP300, a pair of wireless video glasses with an integrated media player first seen on Engadget. The company claims it can simulate a 50-inch screen, while an onboard miniSD card slot takes care of MP3, WMA, DivX, JPEG, and E-book playback.

It does look reasonably compact and comfortable, weighing just over 3.5 ounces. Another nice touch is a swappable rechargeable lithium battery, which would come in handy on extended road trips. The GP300 is available for pre-order … Read more

Whether broadband can provide serious competition to cable TV has suddenly transformed from a theoretical question to the heart of a political debate in Washington.

The debate is expected to come to a head on Tuesday morning, when the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to meet to decide whether to impose extensive new regulations on the cable industry.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican who's acting more like a Democrat, wants the regulations. The cable industry, already reeling from a hefty decline in share prices, definitely doesn't.

Also taking the free-market view are Republican senators, who said in … Read more

Facebook had done a really commendable job making the site easy to use from a range of mobile phones. The truest experience belongs to the iPhone, which makes tattooing friends' Walls, updating your status, and viewing photos intuitive and visually satisfying. There are some limitations with Facebook for iPhone, but overall it's richer to use than Facebook's standard mobile site and will result in more streamlined social networking than pointing the iPhone's Safari browser to Facebook.com.

At this point in time there are many user interfaces for searching, browsing, and watching videos on YouTube. Apple's got custom interfaces on both the iPhone and iPod touch, along with the Apple TV, while YouTube's got its own mobile frontend that works pretty well, but lacks some of the polish of Apple's efforts. One of the newer companies trying to improve on YouTube's offerings is 3rd Eye Solutions which has an app called iDesktop.tv (formerly known as "YouTube Desktop"), that lets you browse, view, and search YouTube videos in a similar style … Read more

As of the most recent software update (9.2), TiVo's added quite a few fixes to its high-def DVRs: the Series3 and the TiVo HD now offer the TiVo To Go, Multi-Room Viewing, Rhapsody, and expandable storage features that were originally promised. Now it appears that TiVo has solved the other big sticking point: compatibility with Switched Digital Video (SDV) technology. The company announced today that it's developed (with the help of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association) an add-on USB adapter that will enable its two high-def DVRs to properly tune cable channels being broadcast with SDV … Read more

Apple has agreed to a $10 million settlement with Burst.com over patents related to delivering video over the Internet.

Burst sued Apple in April of last year claiming that the iPod, iTunes, and QuickTime products all used technology patented by Burst without a license. Burst's software enables something they call "Faster-Than-Real-Time" video, which sounds like it would be hard to watch, but it really represents the technology that allows you to download a 30-minute TV show in less than 30 minutes.

Microsoft paid Burst $60 million in 2005 for a license to the same patents. With … Read more

This has been quite a year for Apple, but Steve Jobs' magic wand doesn't always work.

In March, Apple unveiled Apple TV, the company's attempt at tackling a question that has eluded the PC industry for years: how can we get people to watch content delivered over the Internet in their living rooms on their big-screen TVs? When he announced the product last September, Jobs said that Apple TV "completes the story" of Apple's bid to reinvent the way people watch movies and television shows.

Now, as we head into the holiday shopping season, it … Read more