we've been talking about flash video over on vlogtheory.... and the issues of it being closed right now... as per th epoints you made here....
only recently.... mostly since vsocial came about.... i started to change my tune and stopped pissing on flash. so despite all these negatives that I, you and others have pointed out about flash video.... i still see that it has a place in the vlogosphere, as one part of the total use of Internet -based video infrastructure.
it makes sense to use flash video for what it is currently meant to be used for.... while concurrently using other formats, pref quicktime compatible formats, for distributing to local computers and mobile devices where it can be played, remixed, edited, repurposed, redistributed etc.
If I were an organized videoblogger, which i'm currently not (i'm evil like that), and i launched a new vlog and seeked an audience..... I would make my video content available in flash for the web-side (blog) as primary playback format.... my vodcast channels would have format filters for each relevent device.... video iPod (mp4,m4v), 3gp, divx, TiVo, PSP, XBOX and flv.
FLV would hook into a slick and robust flash playback engine with all sorts of interactive features with a skin branded to my project. It would work with XML as its playlist and configuration control so it can easily be dynamc and customizable. This flash player would reside on my videoblog... a user could choose to just watch my videos in it, or browse my actual vlog posts like is done today. But the videoblog playlist will offer an easy and entertaining experience to watch the VIDEO which is the core content. Within each video, could easily jump to the vlog permalink etc...
It can all be connected... even comments can be made within the flash player, and appear in the vlog post as usual.... connected.
So, my vision is a balanced use of all technologies. It always comes down to balance for me.
We can debate the good, bad and ugly of all the technology that floats around in the vlogosphere but at the end of the day, it is best to take what works, and make it work for you in creative ways.
It doesnt even mandate much effort as we'll see services like vsocial continue to innovate in this area. If you are technically inclined, you can build all of what i talk about yourself. Either way, you would be using the best variety to bring your video content to an audience, wherever and whoever that audience is made up of.
It's about taking a format and juicing it for all its worth to you.
If this didnt have some truth to it, mefeedia wouldnt be pulling in and working with services that are focused on using flash.
Anyone interested in what flash can do for a video content creator, please visit VSocial.com
sull
On 1/10/06, Michael Meiser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I must agree with Josh, though Mike I did find your fresh perspective
and information very insightful. As I see it while the aquisition of
Macromedia by Adobe and the video share market does bode well for the
flash format I still see it as a niche tool which will have to fight
deperately to move beyond the web as a platform or even to keep up
with the web platform. Here are three specific points.
1) It's closed... it's got issues with accessibility and
interoperability... this to both developers (programmers and media
makers) and end users. if Macromedia opened up the file format and
made a standard out of it and let others compete on that platform...
and develop to it just as long as they supported macromedias spec...
even if they didn't allow others to extend the specification I think
it would be a very powerful move... that MIGHT get it included in
Quicktime and other media players... AND especially in devices like
Treo's, handhelds, Tivo's, the PSP, iPods and other future devices.
Flash is the ONLY video player I know in fact that supports it... and
I'm not just talking video RSS aggregator either... I mean ANY
player. Not even VLC or Mplayer support it I believe... and they're
becoming the stock and standard video players... though still work in
progress they support everything.
In fact I think Flash is dying to bust out because there is so much
great flash specific content... stuff with light interactivity and
especially animation work. There's no denying it's a great format,
it's just not accessible and interoperable. Adobe for example has
become the defacto standard with PDF... and that's because they
opened it up... now other people can develop to it and publish to
it... I see Macromedia Flash in very much a similar role. They need
to focus more on making Flash accessible and interoperable.
2) It's not for video... it is infact not a video tool... it is a
niche tool... it doesn't function like video, it doesn't play like
video... it doesn't play back in most video playback tools... FlASH
IS A NICHE TOOL... it's carved out quite a niche for itself but it's
made it's bed and now it has to lye in it. As mentioned above it's
niche is interactivity and animation. That said I think it's the
preferred format of choice for viral media makers... i.e. jibjab...
because it is so portable, light and quick to load... It's definitely
the most portable of all media formats... accept for beyond the web
browser... to date not a single non web browser device supports it...
no portable video players, no cell phones... nada. In order to get
out of this niche they're going to have to bust a cap in point number
one.... this will over time change point number two when it's becomes
more standard in video playback tools and they learn to make it
function more like video... from allowing outside standardized
playback control to supporting ID3 meta info.
3) DRM... it employs some sort of soft fucked up DRM... it pisses me
off and it's enough to be a pain in the ass... but it has no hard
core DRM aimed at Hollywood... Now I say this hating DRM... because
DROM is law encoded through technology and inaccessible to basic
HUMANS... and laws must remain accessible to humans in order for the
planet to remain humane and fair (as in fair use that thing that
people keep forgetting about).... and I'm not just talking about fair
use and playback for the end user... I also mean keeping markets and
distribution open and accessible too... i.e. we should ALL have the
same rights under the law... i.e. clearly apple's Fairplay makes law
a commodity...if DRM should become the standard... than to the extent
it becomes a standard it becomes tyranical, and anti-competitive...
even racketeering... clearly it's pay up or you'll get no access to
apple's marketplace... this will only get worse in the future
But enough of my viewpoints on DRM... The point is macromedia needs
to make some real policy on DRM to attract hollywood... My suggestion
would be to simultaneously make the format more open and more
closed... like apple's iPod... make a default publishing state that
allows for editing, format shifting, sharing... and make one or two
DRM states for increasing levels of evilness so so called big media
or "hollywood" will be encouraged to use the platform. Let the DRM
compete on the same platform with free and open as Apple is doing...
clearly free and open content is winning... just look at podcasting
as a business vs. Apple's music sales... I'll bet you a beer there's
more revenue in podcasting and vlogging by the end of 2006 than there
is in apple music sales... Yes, I'm saying little media is going to
kick big media's ass on the ipod platform... crazy I know, but not
only do open markets encourage innovation... but open markets
distribute wealth far more equitably too... Big grin... :) It's the
same story with Open Source vs. Microsoft... eventually open source
will win because it's already offering a lot more profit to a lot
more people.... So goes apples music store... their store will be
one day be a wart on the back of open media... if they don't open it
up themselves or simply kill it... Yes... I'm evil.... it may take a
decade even but you'll see I'm right. :)
Well those are my three strategic issues with Flash...
interoperability/ accessibility / open standards, that it's
increasingly a niche tool, and that they don't have a DRM strategy...
something Apple, Real Media, Microsoft and other have had for a hell
of a long time.
That said... if they would just listen to me some bumbling idiot down
here in the trenches they could do a 180 on these points REAL quick
and be back in the game overnight... they are after all... as you
pointed out not doing to bad with momentum, even if they do have 20%
of the market... but I doubt they do... there's an awfully lot of
flash out there and 95% of it is widgets and stuff that while cool
have nothing to do with video as we're speaking about it here. Harsh
but true.
I will say ONE last thing... it's aim at complete ubiquity on the web
platform may save Flash from complete obscurity... because it's so
much a part of the web... I think it may... and there will be
problems with this... but it may slowly be supported anywhere the web
is supported... such as cell phone and pda's and set top boxes... but
that's not the "video web" which is different... that's the full
web... which for example will I think ultimately come after the "IPTV
on cell phone" dies... and cell carriers decide people don't want
video on cellphone... go back to rething their strategy... provide
REAL and OPEN and INTEROPERABLE web access and eventually video gets
built back to these cellular devices and succeeds because the
platform is open and innovation happens. Yes, I've talked to quite a
few people about so called TV and cell phone and we all agree,
especially based on insights into europe and japan that it will fail
to live up to hype because it's closed and the innovation necissary
will fail to happen... and in two years time we'll be back to
carriers just trying to provide accessible web access for thing like
basic web browsing services... then... maybee... they'll try video
again but by leaving it open to anyone.... We call this "doing the
AOL"... that... or one carrier will snap... in a brilliant epiphany
allow anyone on the web to make video or any services over their
network and get the fuck out of the way and just allow innovation to
happen and enjoy charging for the bandwidth... which will cause HUGE
innovation... proliferation of rich media over cell phones.... btw...
this will probably happen with podcasting before video.
Peace!
-Mike
On Dec 20, 2005, at 2:15 PM, Joshua Kinberg wrote:
FireAnt on Mac handles Flash video if you syndicate the FLV file via
RSS enclosures.
Not currently available in the Windows version of FireAnt, but its on
our roadmap.
I would anticipate WMV gaining more traction in the
download/sync-to-device market for major media outlets due to Windows
DRM.
Apple does not share their DRM with others, so if you want to sell DRM
protected content for the iPod you must go through the iTunes Store...
this is why you are seeing MSM content owners line up for entrance to
iTunes Store. But, there are other MSM content owners seeking more
flexibility than what is offered by Apple. They will have to go for
WMV with Windows DRM if that's the case... though I'm not sure I'd
really call that flexible either.
I don't see Flash video as a solution for this scenario yet, though it
is a decent solution if you expect all your viewers to watch the
content online embedded in a webpage.
-Josh
On 12/20/05, Mike Lanza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> Currently, it is not possible to play flv's (Flash video files) on
> an iPod.
>
> However, Flash video is taking off like a rocket. Most of the
> major new big
> media sites are using it (e.g. video.google.com, espn.go.com,
> labs.reuters.com/video, www.brightcove.com, etc.). Most of these
> have come
> up in the last three months. For instance, Google just changed to
> Flash
> video less than two months ago. Someone I trust told me that a
> little over
> a year ago, Flash video accounted for 1% of all web video, but now,
> it's at
> about 20%.
>
> In addition, the acquisition of Macromedia by Adobe, completed a
> few weeks
> ago, bodes very well for Flash video. Adobe has a heck of a lot
> more muscle
> than Macromedia had.
>
> So, with Adobe, Google, ESPN, Reuters, and others all pushing Flash
> video
> now, I'd say that there's an awful lot of momentum behind it. I'm
> sure that
> more and more sites will adopt it, but it will be interesting to
> see if
> Apple is persuaded to adopt it for the iPod. It certainly does
> make sense
> because of its ubiquity on Mac and Windows (why keep fighting so
> hard to get
> QuickTime players on Windows?) and because of its fabulous
> environment for
> video-based application development.
>
> I videoblog for the Detroit News political blog -
> http://spartanedge.com/blogs/detroitnews/index.html -
>
> But because I use Flash, it seems that I can't get on on aggregators.
> Is that still true? Seems off to me because I really think Flash is
> a cool way to offer vid.
>
> Another concern - I am not sure how to offer up video for the iPod --
> I squeezed my video through Sorenson into a "small" MPEG-4 And then
> I offer a link that allows people to download it. But I do not have
> an iPod and wondered if it works OK. I have no way to check.
>
>
> I also wondered how many of you also offer an MP3 podcast of your
> videoblog. I try to do that but don't know if it works well.
>
> Thanks -
>
> Bonnie B
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> Mike Lanza
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> http://family.lanza.net
>
> 415-641-1985
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> ________________________________
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sull
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