We all knew it was coming. Ever since Google bought YouTube back in 2006, there’s been constant talk that Google may some day launch it’s own premium original programming on the popular video uploading site. As expected, Google announced in October that it planned on investing over 100 million dollars (that’s right, 100 with six zeroes after it) in order to get quality original content. During that time they also leaked a few of the big celebrity names that had signed on to the project such as Ashton Kutcher, Shaquille O’Neal, Tony Hawk, Jay-Z, and Madonna. There was no talk about the format behind each of these videos but given the names of some of the producers that they listed, you can be sure that they’ll be specific channels on music, movies, and sports – which all happen to be some of the hardest mediums to break into.

Shortly thereafter, YouTube also unveiled their movie and television streaming service which means that not only will YouTube be serving up videos of people’s crazy antics around the world, it will be serving up content from established entertainment providers and from their own user-created library as well. If all of this works out for Google, they will not only be the largest online repository of user-created and established entertainment company videos.  That may make them a force to be feared in the video world.

The reasoning behind this move is a desire for Google to get people to stay on their site longer (for advertising purposes) as well as being a vehicle for instant niche content which Google feels it’s uniquely suited to do. This niche market idea will also have the benefit of giving advertisers a more targeted audience to reach for less money than it would take to do a more generic campaign. In addition, the people and companies that Google is in the process of recruiting will be able to share in part of the ad revenues giving them a real incentive to make sure quality content is always available on the site.

Google plans on grabbing a big cut of the $300 billion television industry with this idea and with all of the cash and human resource reserves they have, they could very well make that desire into a reality. This means that if Google succeeds, we may end up seeing a day where we no longer give our edited video content to cable channels, but to YouTube instead.

We all know the iPhone has iMovie, but with the announcement at the Mobile World Congress on February 15 (which we know is almost a month and a half ago), Android has a new contender.  Their software, Movie Studio, is an application for mobile editing using Google’s latest Honeycomb OS for tablet PCs.

With this announcement, video editing has finally reached almost every smart device on the market. Along with Apple’s version of its editing application, iMovie, which allows you to transfer video editing projects through iTunes to the iPad 2, iPod Touch (4th generation) and the iPhone 4, more than 50% of the cell phone market and 60% of tablets can now cut home movies and short films, albeit rather slowly for now.

While having the option to edit simple videos on a tablet or smartphone has its uses, there’s still  little doubt that most experienced editors will choose to stay faithful to their beefy desktop computers (and their beefy investment). But with the ability to pinch to zoom photos and with a slick interface, these applications are more than likely the wave of the future in mobile device video editing.

At first glance, the interface seems rather slick with a dark interface, simple controls, and intuitive tools. The demo does show some of the footage playing back in less than real time, but with a little rendering, it’s more than likely that the problem would go away. One of the most interesting parts of the demo show the numerous transitions that Movie Studio has which can be previewed in real time – something some computers in the past couldn’t even do.

Either way, this software, along with increasing tablet PC power, seems poised to bring about a new revolution in mobile editing. It seems only a matter of time before someone edits an entire feature film using only this software.

If you want to see video of the Movie Studio interface, check out both the MWC keynote and the demo video below to see what you think!

Net neutrality has been a topic of heated debate for years. Should the Internet be network neutral, and what does that even mean?

Basically, network neutrality is the principle that all content providers are given equal access to Internet users. Likewise, Internet users ability to see content is not restricted based on which sites Internet Service Providers (ISP) deem inappropriate.

Recently, discussions regarding net neutrality have gained momentum due to a flurry of rumors that Google and Verizon were not only holding top secret meetings in their underground lairs, but had evil plans to take over the internet in an attempt at worldwide web domination. As we all know, rumors tend to get out of hand from time-to-time, but there is some truth behind the buzz.

According to a Google Public Policy Blog, posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications, the two companies have been discussing net neutrality for some time. As a result, they have drafted a proposal concerning the topic, which “takes the form of a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers.”

Though Google’s blog is meant to clear the air of rumors and assure the public that nothing “evil” is afoot, it has stirred up additional concern for the Internet’s future. Worries are mainly due to vague statements that some say open the possibility for a tiered Internet service; the collapse of net neutrality.  In other words, companies would have to pay extra for preferred access to the ISP’s customers. If a company wants faster load times for their site’s content, they would be required to pay more money. Those who refuse or are unable to pay the higher price will not have the luxury of reaching their audience as quickly, or at all (in extreme cases of net neutrality collapse).

While a non-neutral Internet may have it benefits, it’s not so great for the independent video producers who rely on the Internet as a means of video distribution and promotion, while already pinching pennies to do what they love. It’s hard to say how new laws will affect the Internet in the future. One can only hope that the lawmakers view net neutrality as an important aspect of the Internet’s continued growth and success, as well as an appropriate venue for sharing one’s art and freedom of expression as equally as the next guy.

Google has officially announced Google TV during Thursday’s Google I/O keynote speech. Google TV will integrate experiences across web and TV, and incorporate both web and Android apps. Their hope is that Google TV will be to television, as the smart phone is to mobile devices; a revolution of the user’s experience.

Google has partnered with Sony, Logitech, Intel, Best Buy and Dish Network to make this new technology possible. Sony is releasing Google TV integrated TVs and Blu-ray players; Logitech is releasing the Companion Box that will act as a TV set-top box and will have remote control capabilities, with Intel powering all three devices.

Google TV is expected to be available Fall 2010.

Well this was a long time coming. When Internet speeds went from dial-up 56kbps to broadband in the late 90′s, content providers the world over realized the huge potential for delivering video, information, and rich applications to users. This led to a huge boom in internet activity only rivaled by the introduction of quick and easy to use internet on cell phones. However as with any heavy traffic situation, you eventually get jams and the internet is no exception.

With the vast number of users downloading large video and application files over the internet, speeds and bottle-necking became a huge issue. Additionally, even with the vast improvement of internet speeds (up to 20 megabits per second today), there were still long wait times while downloading large files – which has become increasingly more common as games and applications become more complex and as videos achieve higher and higher resolutions. The problem didn’t stop there however. Even if a person could theoretically achieve internet speeds at 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) or more, getting those speeds from a router to a computer wirelessly would be impossible with current technology. At the moment, the fastest consumer option for wireless transfer is Wireless USB technology which can transfer at speeds up to 480 Mbps; half of the theoretical 1 Gbps speed coming into your home. Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter just might become the next Social Networking site to become a Google enterprise.

We heard this morning from Shelly Palmer, host and editor of Mediabytes that there’s talk going around the circuit that Google is looking to add Twitter to it’s host of internet companies that it now owns.

Palmer’s blog links to a story in Tech Crunch stating that Facebook offered to buy the social site for a half a billion dollars a while back, but Twitter turned the popular social networking site down.

Facebook, like MySpace, is a networking site where users can join others’ groups, and add photos to their pages and send messages, updates, photos and other personal information to their selected friends.  You can allow your page to be public or private, and some people like to collect “friends” all over the world. Read the rest of this entry »