Thursday, March 4, 2010
Record Chat Roulette Videos
Record Chat Roulette Videos: "Here s how to your ENTIRE Webcam Video sessions from Chat Roulette"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Can YouTube Rival Netflix?
YouTube’s Take From Movie Rentals: $10,709.16
By the measures of the movie rental market, YouTube’s first foray into the business of charging users to stream full length feature films was hardly a runaway success.
YouTube said last month that it would dip its toes into the digital movie rental business with five independent films tied to the Sundance Film Festival. The company said the five films, which were available for 10 days, received a combined 2,684 views.
At $3.99 per rental, YouTube netted $10,709.16.
Those are not numbers that should have executives at Netflix, Apple’s iTunes or Amazon’s video on demand worried.
But Google-owned YouTube said it was happy with the test. “It definitely exceeded our expectations given all the barriers,” said Chris Dale, a YouTube spokesman. Mr. Dale said watching any kind of film online, let alone independent films, remains a relatively new and untested experience. (Netflix said recently that about 6 millions of its customers stream movies online.)
“The odds are always stacked against independent film makers,” Mr. Dale said. “This allowed them to reach a bigger audience.” Some of the films at Sundance may have been seen by a few hundred people, and the YouTube test may have allowed them to double their audience, he added.
To be sure, for the independent filmmakers, the YouTube rental model is just one of many avenues they are pursuing because traditional distribution models no longer work for them. Fewer than one in four films from last year’s Sundance festival received commercial distribution.
So what’s next for YouTube rentals? For now, there is no single page where users will find rentals. But YouTube will invite new video partners starting with video categories like education, health and anime — content areas that aren’t likely to produce blockbuster audiences at least in the short term.
Of course, YouTube would like to add more popular fare to its rental service, and it remains in talks with major studios about securing rights to that content. When it will come to YouTube’s rentals is anyone’s guess. “A lot of movie studios that are partners of ours have content that they feel is more appropriate for a transactional model than an advertising model,” Mr. Dale said. “We are focused on making our rental offering more robust in the next few weeks and months.”
Here is the breakdown for the YouTube rentals of the Sundance clips, which ended on Sunday. The Cove was watched 1,103 times; One Too Many Mornings, 340; Homewrecker, 355 times; Children of Invention, 490 times; Bass Ackwards, 396.
Taken from MediaPost.com
Why the iPad Is Great for Netflix
Taken from fool.com
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings has a problem.
For the first time in seven years, DVD sales trailed movie theater sales in 2009. Moviegoers spent $9.87 billion at the box office, but sales of DVD and Blu-ray discs fell 13% to $8.73 billion, reports Adams Media Research. Rental revenue rose less than 1% over the same period, Adams estimates.
Admittedly, this is a bigger problem for film factories such as Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Columbia Pictures, Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) Universal Studios, and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures. Hollywood depends on DVD sales to help recoup production costs, and studios tend to collect $17 for every DVD sold, and $22 for every Blu-ray disc sold, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Rentals are another matter. They're far less of a revenue driver for Hollywood, thanks in part to free rentals at U.S. libraries and the $1-a-night alternative offered by Coinstar's (Nasdaq: CSTR) Redbox.
For Netflix, rentals matter plenty. Hastings knows that he has to figure out how to capture the entertainment dollars consumers' are shifting from DVDs to other formats. He needs to make digital distribution profitable, and he needs to do it sooner rather than later.
Renting in ruins? Call the iPad!
If there's good news here, it's that studios are more likely than ever to work with Netflix. They have a common interest. Moviemakers need a profitable digital distribution mechanism to avoid big cuts in production spending. Netflix needs the same thing to keep its business moving forward. Hollywood is living through its own cliffhanger.
Enter Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, which debuted last week with little in the way of studio support. Moviemakers have good reason to be skeptical of the iPad; it's a shiny, mostly worthless piece of iCandy whose video capabilities are limited to iTunes downloads. It also doesn't support Adobe's (Nasdaq: ADBE) Flash technology.
Flash is important to the studios. Apple CEO Steve Jobs may complain about the functionality of Flash, and it may well be a target for hackers, but it's also a widely-adopted standard for media playback. Till HTML5 eliminates the need for Flash -- and, to an extent, Apple's own QuickTime -- the iPad is a decent e-reader that doubles as a hobbled video player.
Build a better video rental business
Yet the iPad is still likely to get everyday users trying and buying more video. Pixar's Up played impressively on the device during Jobs' demo, as I'm sure would most movies downloaded to the iPad. But at 16 gigabytes for the entry-level edition, this isn't a substitute for a good DVD library or streaming plan. No help for studios there.
Netflix could fill the gap, capitalizing on demand created by the iPad while offering revenue models that work for Hollywood. Here are three ways to make its Watch Instantly streaming service the distribution mechanism Hollywood wanted iPad + iTunes to be:
* The "Buy This Movie" option. Digital distribution doesn't have to kill the DVD. Netflix could offer customers who rent the option to buy, and buy related flicks, either as downloads or DVDs. Studios would help set pricing.
* The "Get It Sooner" option. Netflix already lets users keep a whole roster of films in their streaming queue, each available for playback at any time. As the company expands its streaming offerings, it could also allow customers willing to pay a monthly premium to get first access to popular new digital feeds.
* The "See What's Playing" option. Netflix doesn't do much with ads and previews now, but it could. Consumers opting for lower-priced plans would accept rental limits or agree to view studio-selected pitches. Links to ticket purchasing sites might also draw in residual revenue.
What's important about these options is that none of them requires Netflix to own or create a tablet. Instead, Netflix streaming is a device-independent service that can potentially live on any TV, console, or tablet, and still deliver high-quality video playback. It's consistent with Netflix's stated goal of being ubiquitous on all devices.
Better yet, Netflix wouldn't have to change its pricing model to incorporate any of these new features. Consumers would still subscribe at any level they like, and receive a commensurate level of digital delivery services. One-offs -- such as movie purchases -- would be charged via Netflix accounts.
Kicking and screaming
Hollywood wouldn't like these changes at first. The benefit of DVD sales is that there's no long tail -- release the DVD, and within a quarter, studios collect tens of millions in high-margin revenue. (Pressing discs is cheap.)
In the longer term, Netflix's model, if it evolves as I'm proposing, could earn more for the studios by exposing customers to more movies and movie-related services more often. But only if Hollywood executives are smart enough to act on the opportunity.
Think I'm wrong? Have a different view of the movie business? Make your voice heard using the comments box below.
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings has a problem.
For the first time in seven years, DVD sales trailed movie theater sales in 2009. Moviegoers spent $9.87 billion at the box office, but sales of DVD and Blu-ray discs fell 13% to $8.73 billion, reports Adams Media Research. Rental revenue rose less than 1% over the same period, Adams estimates.
Admittedly, this is a bigger problem for film factories such as Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Columbia Pictures, Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) Universal Studios, and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures. Hollywood depends on DVD sales to help recoup production costs, and studios tend to collect $17 for every DVD sold, and $22 for every Blu-ray disc sold, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Rentals are another matter. They're far less of a revenue driver for Hollywood, thanks in part to free rentals at U.S. libraries and the $1-a-night alternative offered by Coinstar's (Nasdaq: CSTR) Redbox.
For Netflix, rentals matter plenty. Hastings knows that he has to figure out how to capture the entertainment dollars consumers' are shifting from DVDs to other formats. He needs to make digital distribution profitable, and he needs to do it sooner rather than later.
Renting in ruins? Call the iPad!
If there's good news here, it's that studios are more likely than ever to work with Netflix. They have a common interest. Moviemakers need a profitable digital distribution mechanism to avoid big cuts in production spending. Netflix needs the same thing to keep its business moving forward. Hollywood is living through its own cliffhanger.
Enter Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, which debuted last week with little in the way of studio support. Moviemakers have good reason to be skeptical of the iPad; it's a shiny, mostly worthless piece of iCandy whose video capabilities are limited to iTunes downloads. It also doesn't support Adobe's (Nasdaq: ADBE) Flash technology.
Flash is important to the studios. Apple CEO Steve Jobs may complain about the functionality of Flash, and it may well be a target for hackers, but it's also a widely-adopted standard for media playback. Till HTML5 eliminates the need for Flash -- and, to an extent, Apple's own QuickTime -- the iPad is a decent e-reader that doubles as a hobbled video player.
Build a better video rental business
Yet the iPad is still likely to get everyday users trying and buying more video. Pixar's Up played impressively on the device during Jobs' demo, as I'm sure would most movies downloaded to the iPad. But at 16 gigabytes for the entry-level edition, this isn't a substitute for a good DVD library or streaming plan. No help for studios there.
Netflix could fill the gap, capitalizing on demand created by the iPad while offering revenue models that work for Hollywood. Here are three ways to make its Watch Instantly streaming service the distribution mechanism Hollywood wanted iPad + iTunes to be:
* The "Buy This Movie" option. Digital distribution doesn't have to kill the DVD. Netflix could offer customers who rent the option to buy, and buy related flicks, either as downloads or DVDs. Studios would help set pricing.
* The "Get It Sooner" option. Netflix already lets users keep a whole roster of films in their streaming queue, each available for playback at any time. As the company expands its streaming offerings, it could also allow customers willing to pay a monthly premium to get first access to popular new digital feeds.
* The "See What's Playing" option. Netflix doesn't do much with ads and previews now, but it could. Consumers opting for lower-priced plans would accept rental limits or agree to view studio-selected pitches. Links to ticket purchasing sites might also draw in residual revenue.
What's important about these options is that none of them requires Netflix to own or create a tablet. Instead, Netflix streaming is a device-independent service that can potentially live on any TV, console, or tablet, and still deliver high-quality video playback. It's consistent with Netflix's stated goal of being ubiquitous on all devices.
Better yet, Netflix wouldn't have to change its pricing model to incorporate any of these new features. Consumers would still subscribe at any level they like, and receive a commensurate level of digital delivery services. One-offs -- such as movie purchases -- would be charged via Netflix accounts.
Kicking and screaming
Hollywood wouldn't like these changes at first. The benefit of DVD sales is that there's no long tail -- release the DVD, and within a quarter, studios collect tens of millions in high-margin revenue. (Pressing discs is cheap.)
In the longer term, Netflix's model, if it evolves as I'm proposing, could earn more for the studios by exposing customers to more movies and movie-related services more often. But only if Hollywood executives are smart enough to act on the opportunity.
Think I'm wrong? Have a different view of the movie business? Make your voice heard using the comments box below.
Save Netflix Streaming Movies and DRM
This blog has a tutorial on how to save a Netflix streaming movie, rip it of its DRM, and than play it anywhere you want. Kinda nice 'eh? This tutorial is not for the faint of heart, and will take a tiny bit of time, but it's great if you want to watch the video on your iPod or other device.
Check out the tutorial here!
As far as I know this is not illegal, as demonstrated under the fair use policy.
For those that don't know, DRM stands for digital rights management. What it has been in the past, is a way for publishers to restrict access to and encrypt their media files. Whether this be Music, Movies, or Games it has hindered the productivity of the medium you paid for, and left you helpless.
For example, Apple has a system called "Fair Play" in which they essentially block you from your own content. They encrypt your own content, and only allow it to be played back on one authorized device. So in a sense, you don't even FULL have your content, you NEED Apple to be able to access the very thing you paid for. They DO offer drm-free tracks, but even making these available for unsuspecting customers is a tragedy.
Walmart's DRM Server is being disabled. This sucks for many non-tech savvy users who will not go through the "loops" to get the DRM removed. Some probably simply won't hear of it or even know how to do it.
On average, some of the largest servers on the net are still down about 30 minutes out of the whole year, which is 99.999 % reliability. However, 30 minutes during the year is a long time to be unable to access the content you paid for, huh?
In a sense, it's almost like one doesn't even "own" the content. You are paying full price to essentially "rent" the media.
While I don't necessarily condone piracy, it makes it very difficult to pay for your media when many of the available options are so restrictive. Physical books are a good example of a good way to get information and entertainment though, because they have NO DRM. It's called the "eye-hole" meaning, no matter what they do you can always "retype" the information and for the most part, scan the pages if YOU wanted to create a .pdf copy for your netbook. Now this is totally legal, however, companies do not want you doing this so they enforce DRM. For voice and video, there are similar holes, known as analog holes, where the user can visually record (using another camera) or record using a microphone (such as with a voice recorder). Ultimately, there is no protection against that type of media.
Check out the tutorial here!
As far as I know this is not illegal, as demonstrated under the fair use policy.
For those that don't know, DRM stands for digital rights management. What it has been in the past, is a way for publishers to restrict access to and encrypt their media files. Whether this be Music, Movies, or Games it has hindered the productivity of the medium you paid for, and left you helpless.
For example, Apple has a system called "Fair Play" in which they essentially block you from your own content. They encrypt your own content, and only allow it to be played back on one authorized device. So in a sense, you don't even FULL have your content, you NEED Apple to be able to access the very thing you paid for. They DO offer drm-free tracks, but even making these available for unsuspecting customers is a tragedy.
Walmart's DRM Server is being disabled. This sucks for many non-tech savvy users who will not go through the "loops" to get the DRM removed. Some probably simply won't hear of it or even know how to do it.
On average, some of the largest servers on the net are still down about 30 minutes out of the whole year, which is 99.999 % reliability. However, 30 minutes during the year is a long time to be unable to access the content you paid for, huh?
In a sense, it's almost like one doesn't even "own" the content. You are paying full price to essentially "rent" the media.
While I don't necessarily condone piracy, it makes it very difficult to pay for your media when many of the available options are so restrictive. Physical books are a good example of a good way to get information and entertainment though, because they have NO DRM. It's called the "eye-hole" meaning, no matter what they do you can always "retype" the information and for the most part, scan the pages if YOU wanted to create a .pdf copy for your netbook. Now this is totally legal, however, companies do not want you doing this so they enforce DRM. For voice and video, there are similar holes, known as analog holes, where the user can visually record (using another camera) or record using a microphone (such as with a voice recorder). Ultimately, there is no protection against that type of media.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
HOW TO RECORD NETFLIX VIDEOS ON YOUR PC
THE ONLY WAY TO RECORD NETFLIX
If you have a fast internet connection and PC, Replay Video Capture can capture Netflix Movies as a beautiful windows media video that you can watch anytime.
In late 2007, netflix changed their online streaming format and required you to download the Netflix Player to watch them, which makes it MUCH harder to record as well. This left MANY people unable to Record Netflix, as they made their video files VERY hard to record.
Anyways ,Replay Video Capture is the solution to this problem , as it allows you to Record Netflix movie with just a few clicks of your mouse!
Download a Free Demo and get started now!
In fact, It's easy to make a snapshot of your PC's screen, or of any running application.
WATCH THIS 2 1/2 MINUTE VIDEO SHOWING HOW EASY IT IS, THEN TRY THE DEMO YOURSELF FOR FREE.
Replay Video Capture is LITERALLY the easiest way to capture whatever you see on your screen, and turn it into a video movie file, or "Screen Capture." Plus, you can add audio from what you hear on your speakers, or by talking through your PC's microphone.
Alternatively, Replay Video Capture is a great way to make Software Demos and Tutorials, produce Powerpoint Videos, record Flash, QuickTime, and DRM protected videos, and a lot more.
Using Replay Video Capture t is easy. Once it's set up, just click Record to start recording a video, click Pause to pause and resume, and click Play to view your video. Here's what Replay Video Capture looks like:
Replay Video Capture is a perfect choice to:
- Make software and Web site demos and tutorials.
- Add Audio Narration to any video.
- Turn Powerpoint presentations into movies.
- Record Video Instant Messenger sessions.
- Make videos from Webcams.
- Record Webcasts.
- And more!
Discover the power of making Screen Capture Videos today!
Come try Replay Video Capture for yourself, and start making compelling software demonstrations and other screen videos right away! Download a Free Demo or Order Today!
Download Replay Video Capture. It is free to try.
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