Just stumbled across this, and I must say it sounds quite interesting. Free and unlimited uploads, set a price to view or let people view your videos for free, and a Google search engine.

This could mean big things for distribution!

https://upload.video.google.com/

This is the part that scares me:

3. Use of Content. By accepting this Agreement and uploading Your Authorized Content to Google, you are directing and authorizing Google to, and granting Google a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive right and license to, host, cache, route, transmit, store, copy, distribute, perform, display, reformat, excerpt, analyze, and create algorithms based on the Authorized Content in order to (i) host the Authorized Content on Google's servers, (ii) index the Authorized Content; and (iii) display the Authorized Content, in whole or in part in the territory(ies) designated in the Uploading Instructions, in connection with Google products and services now existing or hereafter developed, including without limitation in products developed for syndication. This license gives Google the right to copy, excerpt, distribute and display Your Authorized Content via both streaming and progressive downloading technologies, and to display limited excerpts of Your Authorized Content for no fee to the end user. Google reserves the right to display advertisements in connection with any display of Your Authorized Content. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Google is not required to host, index, or display any Authorized Content uploaded, and may remove or refuse to host, index or display any Authorized Content. Google is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage of any kind to the Authorized Content.

4. Limitations. If You have designated a price for Your Authorized Content in the Uploading Form, We will not display Your Authorized Content until You have provided billing information as described in the FAQ.


This is the same scare I get when I read the terms of entering a film festival. Often the wording is very similar, ambiguous to the control over the performance or rights of your works.

And these:

5. Promotional License, Brand Features, Publicity. You hereby grant Google a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free license to use Your name and logo ("Brand Features"), in connection with Your Authorized Content, and to use limited excerpts from Your Authorized Content for advertising or promotional purposes, including without limitation the right to publicly display, perform, reproduce and distribute such excerpts and brand features on the Internet and in presentations, marketing materials, customer lists, financial reports and Web site listings of customers. If this Agreement is terminated, Google may continue to use such excerpts and Brand Features in printed (versus "online") materials that are in existence as of the date of termination until such materials are depleted or are redesigned, whichever comes first.

9. Payment. You may designate a price for playback of Your Authorized Content in the Uploading Form. In the event We decide in our sole discretion to charge for video playback of any of Your Authorized Content, We will pay to You seventy percent (70%) of the gross revenues, if any, recognized by Google and attributable to such video playback of Your Authorized Content based upon the price you designate. If We incur extraordinary costs and expenses in hosting, indexing and displaying Your Authorized Content relative to its designated price, then We may retain a greater percentage of the revenues in order to defray these costs. If You have not designated a price for Your Authorized Content and We incur extraordinary costs and expenses in hosting, indexing and displaying Your Authorized Content, we may charge a fee in order to defray these costs.

Some scary stuff in there

This is very interesting. I've been expecting Google to come up with something fancy like this (other search engines already have video-search, but not hosting). The bit about being able to charge to watch was really unexpected... but I like it. (Not that anyone would pay to watch my crap, but oh well) :cool:

It says the preferred codecs is mp4 vid & mp3 audio.

Anyone happen to know of a stand-alone converter with those codecs, that also allows entry of metadata fields?

Zen: check out www.videohelp.com I THINK virtualdub can do the metadata fields of which you speak, it does every other damn thing..

Thanks for the link, Will. :)

Well, you can't get something for nothing. Google does have a lot of critics regarding it's privacy policies, I'll grant. Still, I think this is a good oppertunity for indie filmmakers - it just requires that you be careful what you upload, really...

I wonder if any of the bigger studios will be using something like this in the future to "rent" videos out...

This is interesting...

Demosthenes X, I think a few websites already exist where you can 'rent' movies (download them for a fee and be allowed to view them for a period of time, after which they expire).

I'm sure they do, yeah. I just wonder if Google's entry in the market will raise the profile of such a service.

An related update, courtesy of The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com).

Original article here (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Yahoo-Video.html)

_______

May 5, 2005

Yahoo Video Search Tool Out of Test Phase

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:54 p.m. ET

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. shifted its online video search tool out of its test phase Wednesday, marking another step in the Internet powerhouse's plan to use other media to lure more visitors to its Web site.

The Sunnyvale-based company created a separate search channel for online videos in December. The product had been running as a test, or ''beta,'' until late Wednesday evening.

As part of the upgrade, Yahoo is indexing more video from several new media sources, including CBS News, MTV, the Discovery Channel and The Food Network.

Yahoo touts its search engine as the Internet's most comprehensive source for finding online video, although the company won't disclose the index's size.

The push into online video has been driven largely by the growing number of homes with high-speed Internet connections, said Bradley Horowitz, Yahoo's director of media and desktop search. The speedier connections make it easier to watch video online without the delays and choppy delivery commonly experienced on dial-up connections.

The video clips available at http://video.search.yahoo.com include movie previews, excerpts from previously broadcast television shows as well as original content.

Yahoo is counting on video search to give it an advantage over Google Inc., which runs the most popular search engine on the Internet. Google processes about 47 percent of the online searches in the United States, leaving Yahoo a distant second with 21 percent of the market, according to the most recent statistics from Nielsen/NetRatings.

''We want to be the place to go whenever people are trying to find online video,'' Horowitz said.

Google is testing an online video guide that relies on an index of closed-caption text from previously aired television programs. The Mountain View-based company also recently began to encourage visitors to submit personal videos so they can be indexed.

Content providers (i.e artists) need to actively write companies like Google when we see contract terms like that. When a service like Google assumes that because it is big and powerful, that it has the right to demand terms like that, there needs to be a public outcry.

For instance, Starband, a satellite ISP had terms that said essentially that any original work you transmit through their network could be used however they like forever and that your heirs were bound as well. User outcry by contend providers forced them to change the terms. Everyone on Indietalk should write Google and ask them to make the terms more artist friendly. One can understand Google wanting to use your work to help market Google, but there should at least be a time limit on the duration of the contract. Nothing should ever be "in perpetuity". You should be able to cancel your agreement with Google any time you want and have all your work pulled from their site, for instance, if you want to go to Yahoo or some other content host.

As a musician, I have written many letters to online services about their aggressive legal terms, and in many cases, seen success - with Starband for instance, mp3.com, and others.

What we should do on this forum is look at exactly what is wrong with Google's terms, come up with suggestions that fit our needs as artists, and then, when we have a letter drafted, we should each email Google with our request to update their contract.

I think most people simple look at the terms of online contracts and feel they have no choice if they want the service provided. We do have a choice. Our content is valueable. If your content is Unavailable on Google because someone else offers friendlier terms, that is Google's loss. So far, Google seems to be open to listening to its customers. This may become less true as they grow and earn more money, so lets get them on our side now and get the contract amended.

My suggestion is that getting the "perpetual" out of the contract would be the most important step. The ability to end the contract at will for both parties with no residue would be the best. You should be able to delete your content from Google and have it gone from their network within 24 hours ( give them a week just to be fair.)

Someone noted that they get the same kind of scary license when they enter a film festival - perhaps film makers should get together and make a stink about the unfair and damaging film festival license terms, and change the industry practice.

These contracts are created by scared people in the first place. But they should be more scared about film makers and content providers boycotting their service boycotting or picketing their film festivals.

Joel
http://www.electronicmusic.fm

Google Video is now live... aside from the ability to set your flick as "pay per view".

Original article here (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Google-Video.html)



June 27, 2005

Google Unveils Video Viewing Software

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:50 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Google Inc. unveiled a video-viewing channel on its Internet-leading search engine Monday, creating another media outlet that may open new moneymaking opportunities for a company already so profitable its stock has tripled to above $300 in 10 months.

Watching the amateur and professional videos in Google's index requires free software available at http://video.google.com. The software, consisting of about 1 megabyte, won't do anything except stream Google's videos through the Internet Explorer or Firefox Web browsers.

The limited scope of Google's viewer means it won't be competing -- for now at least -- with the popular multimedia players made by Microsoft Corp. and RealNetworks Inc.

The Mountain View-based company announced the video viewer just a few hours before its red-hot stock reached a new closing high. Google's shares ended Monday's trading session up $6.85, or 2.3 percent, to $304.10 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The stock went public last August at $85 a share.

Yahoo Inc., which runs the Internet's second most popular search engine behind Google, also indexes videos that can be streamed through the multimedia players made by other companies, including Microsoft and RealNetworks. Some of Yahoo's videos include programming licensed from major television networks such as CBS and MTV.

Google isn't streaming television content, although its index includes the transcripts and still images from a wide range of shows.

The Google viewer will give Web surfers their first chance to sample the material that the search engine has been stockpiling since April when it initially invited people to submit videos. While all the currently available videos are free, Google hopes to eventually charge for some of material in partnership with the content providers.

Google hasn't set a timetable for introducing the paid videos, said Peter Chane, a senior product manager for the company. Chane wouldn't reveal how many free videos are available through the search engine.

The videos available Monday covered eclectic topics, including breakdancing moves, gardening tips, sarong tying, the 2003 fall of Baghdad and even a guide to advertising on Google.

If it charges for some video, Google could lessen its financial dependence on advertising, which has been a source of concern for some analysts. Online advertising, mostly through text-based links, accounted for virtually all of its $369 million profit during the first quarter.

Google has acknowledged it is working on a new online payment product that many industry observers expect to be linked to paid videos. Company officials have declined to discuss the details of its payment product.

The video viewer also could drive even more advertising to Google, said Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li. She believes Google's new viewing software is designed to build an audience ripe for video advertising.

Neither Google nor Yahoo are currently showing ads next to the videos found through their search engines.

Wideshot: seems to me that Google just wants to be able to edit in clips of online videos for promotion purposes for free and without having to go through a lot more legal mumbo jumbo.

I think that's a fair trade for free hosting, and it also would sort of be an honor to have a clip from one of my videos in a google commercial. The reason that many festivals do that too is so they can make festival programs (as in booklets) with screenshots without having to ask permission for each individual picture or the same with television ads and clips.

It's this section of the Google FAQ (at https://upload.video.google.com/video_faq.html) that has me scratching my head:


What file formats do you accept?

Google accepts video in a wide range of popular formats. The fastest way to get your videos into Google Video is to submit each file in MPEG4 format with MP3 audio or MPEG2 with MP3.

While we also support other digital formats such as QuickTime, Windows Media, and RealVideo, it's important to note that submitting your files in these formats may significantly delay us from using them on Google Video. In some cases, we may not be able to add your video at all.

Here are our preferred video specs:
NTSC (4:3) size and framerate, deinterlaced
Video Codec: MPEG2 or MPEG4 (MPEG4 preferred)
Video Bitrate: at least 260Kbps (750kbps preferred)
Audio Codec: MP3 vbr
Audio Bitrate: at least 70Kbps (128 Kbps preferred)

I'm confused by this. How do I make an MPEG4 file? I thought MPEG4 was just a codec used in Quicktime and DIVX files. Is there a way of making a file that has MPEG4 or MP4 as a suffix?

Well, I’m fairly pleased with the email system (gmail.com) - the indexing system is very nice. Hey, free hosting, I think I might give it a try. Then I can just link to demos from my website so I don’t have to worry about storage size or bandwith…

I would suggest that people use Quicktime to create their MP4 movies.

I have come up with a way to make cross platform mp4 movies, that look good and so far, play on any current movie player on any platform:Mac, PC, Real Player, Quicktime, and Windows media.

If you export a movie as an MP4 in quicktime, using a high compression rate, usually, it will suck, there will be lots of nasty artifcats. Instead, export it using "movie to quicktime movie". click options and set the compression settings to Mpeg 4 Video, set your frame rate, key frames, etc. Here is an example:

Compressor: MPEG 4 video
Frame Rate: 12.5
Keyframe Rate 25
Width 320
Height 200

Figure out what sound settings you want to use example:

Sound format: MPEG 4 Audio
Sample Rate: 16khz
Sample Size 16
Channels 1 (mono)

So you export to quicktime movie, but use the mpeg 4 codec.

Then rename the file from moviename.mov to moviename.mpg

The three top-brand media players will recognize .mpg as being an mpeg movie, and will play it. If not, you may need to upgrade to the most recent version.

Here is an example: (for broadband, unless you are rather patient)
http://www.turnarts.com/screening_room.html (http://www.turnarts.com/screening_room.html)

Joel
http://www.electronicmusic.fm (http://www.electronicmusic.fm)

Interesting. Will it work if you change the suffix to mp4?

And yes, I just found out that you can export from QT as mp4. But if you say it looks awful, that's too bad. I guess I should take a look at Virtualdub, too.

Wideshot: seems to me that Google just wants to be able to edit in clips of online videos for promotion purposes for free and without having to go through a lot more legal mumbo jumbo.

I think that's a fair trade for free hosting, and it also would sort of be an honor to have a clip from one of my videos in a google commercial. The reason that many festivals do that too is so they can make festival programs (as in booklets) with screenshots without having to ask permission for each individual picture or the same with television ads and clips.

That's my take on it, too. I don't think Google is asking too much. Also, they don't want to be put into a position where someone wants their material taken OFF Google. Cuz once it's out there in Google and possibly other search engines, it's really tough to put the cat back in the bag. I've got outdated listings in some search engines (to pages that don't even exist anymore) and its out of my hands. That's the nature of the internet.

The only thing I'd have a problem with is if Google started selling content (online or on disc) & the creators don't get a percentage.

The only thing I'd have a problem with is if Google started selling content (online or on disc) & the creators don't get a percentage.

You might want to look at this part of the FAQ (https://upload.video.google.com/video_faq.html)

6) Can I charge for playback of my video?

Yes. Or you can allow users to play your video for free. This is totally up to you and your video distribution goals. As the content owner, you decide whether you'd like to give away your video for free or charge a price that you set for it. If you do charge a price, Google will take a small revenue share to cover some of our costs. If our costs to play your video on Google are extraordinary, we may charge users a fee (if you've specified zero as the price for your video) or take a larger revenue share of the price (if you've set a price greater than zero for your video) to cover some of these costs. For example, if you upload a high definition file that's 500 MB and it becomes extremely popular, we might charge users a fee instead of giving it to them for free or ask you for a higher percentage of the revenue from the price of the video. Please be as su red, however, that we'll let you know before we add a price or charge a higher revenue share for your video.

For now, Google Video will only make your video available to users if you elected not to charge a price for users to play your video.

Now consider this...

Remember "405" over at IFILM, which effectively launched the careers of a few peeps? ("405" was the short about the jet airliner landing on a freeway, on top of a car) It's one of the most-viewed films at IFILM ever.

How much worldwide exposure would that film have received, if IFILM had arbitrarily decided it would be 50-cents a pop to view?

Interesting. Will it work if you change the suffix to mp4?

And yes, I just found out that you can export from QT as mp4. But if you say it looks awful, that's too bad. I guess I should take a look at Virtualdub, too.



That's my take on it, too. I don't think Google is asking too much. Also, they don't want to be put into a position where someone wants their material taken OFF Google. Cuz once it's out there in Google and possibly other search engines, it's really tough to put the cat back in the bag. I've got outdated listings in some search engines (to pages that don't even exist anymore) and its out of my hands. That's the nature of the internet.

The only thing I'd have a problem with is if Google started selling content (online or on disc) & the creators don't get a percentage.

No it won't work if you use the .mp4 extension. Just use .mpg

To me, a licence that says "we can do whatever we want with your content whenever we want forever" is not a good license. As content creators, we need to fight for truely mutually beneficial contracts. As in, yes you can use my content in the following ways, and I have the right to change my mind and you will remove my content from your servers. Any use beyond xy or z will be negotiated in a separate agreement. Removing hosted content is as easy as cd \ joels content > del *.* and if it is on multiple servers, a simple batch file could run to delete it. Now you could give them a grace period of say 30-60 days to remove it, that would be fair. If they are running an ad campaign using your material, they should license it separately from you.

I do lots of work (behind the scenes) with traditional publishing companies and film makers who license photographs from an online archive database I created. Traditional publishers have respect for the content providers and their licenses, indie filmmakers and companies like Discovery are also are willing to work out fair agreements for the content we provide.

Google needs to work with content providers in the same way, in my opinion. The can do this in the way mp3.com did: have a check box for each aspect that the content provider can agree or disagree with: Allow google to use my material for advertising campaigns: yes no Allow Google to license my material to other companies in perpetuity: yes no Allow google to .... yes no. In otherwords a flexible and fair licensing scheme that doesn't require human interaction.

Joel
http://www.electronicmusic.fm (http://www.electronicmusic.fm/)

Joel

To me, a licence that says "we can do whatever we want with your content whenever we want forever" is not a good license.

Also, they don't want to be put into a position where someone wants their material taken OFF Google.

Addressing two, as one.

From the Google FAQ (https://upload.video.google.com/video_faq.html) again.


9) Can I remove my videos after I upload them?

Yes. You can use the delete feature on the Video Status page to remove videos that you have uploaded to us. If the video is not yet live, it will be deleted immediately and permanently from your account. If your video is live, it will be removed from your account and the Google Video index as soon as is possible.

Obviously there are pros and cons to any system (and the way Google does this will mollify some, but not others)... and maybe certain aspects will change over time if enough pressure from whatever-lobby puts some effort into forcing a change.

Interesting how MP3.com does that, jbrave. I need to look up their system and compare. :)

Yes, as I'm sure you know, mp3.com is dead, what 2 years now? :( All content deleted... sad sad sad...My point was just about the licensing they had, not all of which I agreed with, but was pretty good.

It looks like from your posting that the Google license has become a bit more friendly. (Or I didn't read that line before).

Good, I'm glad.

I still believe that artists should be activists with regards to these things, and not just accept what is handed to them.

Google seems like the kind of company that tries to listen to people, so if people ask for what they want up front, they just might get it. It won't hurt to ask, and if they say no, then you can choose to accept the contract or go somewhere else. (That is, until Google completes its plans for world domination. ;-)

Joel
http://www.electronicmusic.fm (http://www.electronicmusic.fm/)

(That is, until Google completes its plans for world domination. ;-)

EPIC plans (http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/), one might say.

A blend of fact and projected fantasy. Can you tell where one ends, and the other takes off? http://www.stevenrichards.com/images/smiley_tinfoil.gif

Norwegian Hacker Cracks Google Software
Jun 29, 2:52 PM (ET)
By DOUG MELLGREN
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The Norwegian who became a hacker hero for developing software to
unlock copy-protection codes on DVD movies said he needed only one day to crack Google
Inc. (GOOG)'s new video viewer.
Jon Lech Johansen, also known as DVD Jon, posted software on his "So Sue Me" Web site
that he says modifies the viewer so that it plays videos hosted on any server. The
company's Google Video Viewer, in turn, was modified from the free VLC media player to
restrict it to playing video hosted on Google's own servers.
Johansen's modification wasn't difficult as Google already had posted its code on its Web
site. And the change won't let users break any video encryption; it only lets them view non-
Google content.
"This modification of Google's open source video viewer does not (compromise) the integrity
and security of content available from Google Video in any way," Google spokesman Nate
Tyler said in a statement.
Nonetheless, he advised users against installing the change, saying "it could result in
security vulnerabilities on their computer and may disrupt their computer's ability to access
Google Video."
Johansen, 21, became a hero to hackers at age 15, when he posted software called DeCSS
to unlock the Content Scrambling System, or CSS, the film industry used on DVD movies to
prevent illegal copying. The act made Johansen a folk hero among hackers.
After the film industry complained, Norwegian authorities charged him with data break-in,
but Johansen was acquitted at trial and on appeal.
Johansen, an advocate of the open-source philosophy of making software code freely
available for inspection and sharing, has also repeatedly posted programs that circumvent
the copy-protection technologies on Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL)'s iTunes software.
Google's shares have more than tripled to more than $300 in the 10 months since their
debut. Most of the company's income is from online advertising, although it could boost
revenues by charging for some videos in the future.
The company has been stockpiling amateur and professional videos since April, when it
asked users to submit their images, and the new viewer allows them to sample the
collection for free.
The Google Video Viewer, consisting of about 1 megabyte and still officially in a "beta" test
phase, was designed to do nothing but stream Google's videos through the Internet
Explorer or Firefox Web browsers. Its limited scope meant it wouldn't be competing with the
popular multimedia players made by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK)