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Wal-Mart has canceled its online video download service effective December 21, 2007 after Hewlett Packard discontinued the technology that powered it. HP said that the market for video download service did not perform “as expected.” The service failed to move out of beta service.
Originally posted on December 28, 2007 @ 7:40 am
EarthCam released its ninth annual list of the world’s most interesting webcams.
Leading with the only known webcam transmitting street views from Havana, Cuba, this year’s 25 Most Interesting Webcams are viewable online at EarthCam.com/top25 and honor worldwide Internet camera producers for concept creativity, technology, visual quality and design.
EarthCam producers search through more than 5,000 webcams throughout the year to choose 125 semi-finalists that a VIP panel of judges votes on to select the winners. The 2007 list offers some of the most stunning scenic cams to date, including dramatic live deep-sea views, picturesque and exciting travel destinations and an assortment of whimsical and unique entries from 12 countries.
Live underwater cams in a giant ocean tank in Boston, MA, a coral reef in Bonaire and a robotic camera in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy bring new dimensions to the mysteries of the deep.
Beautiful views of a boat excursion in Interlaken, Switzerland, the chance to watch mechanical saints appear in windows of an historic clock in Prague, the architecture of Vatican City, the bustle of Times Square, New York and rare live glimpses of Havana offer unique travel experiences.
The assortment of live cameras also introduces viewers to antics of Seattle, Washington’s “Flapper The Duck,†tests their patience watching a mussel grow on Prince Edward Island, Canada and invites visitors inside a Chicago condo where they can operate the camera and send an instant message on an LED sign.
Also featured among the winning cameras are 24/7 sights of a wildlife watering hole in Botswana, Africa, as well as animals in the woods of western Pennsylvania, USA. Scenic vistas in Norway, a news studio cam in Milwaukee, WI and an eatery in London called the Tokyo Diner also offer intriguing possibilities.
Bay, Executive Producer of the blockbuster “Transformers,†and Josephson, producer of the current number one movie, “Enchanted,†joined other prominent judges from entertainment and business including Olympic Silver Medalist Gordy Sheer, Director of Marketing and Sponsorship for USA Luge; Lisa Hungness of the WildCam Program at National Geographic Society; Charnsin Tulyasathien, Sprint Product Management for Consumer Applications and GPS Solutions; Stefanie Luciano, VP of Marketing for Mountain Sports Media; and Ken and Sheryl Borton, producers of Gaylord, Michigan’s world famous “Snowman Cam,†a winner from last year’s 25 Most Interesting Webcams.
Originally posted on December 14, 2007 @ 10:15 am
ON Networks, Inc., a media company that delivers original, on-demand digital TV shows in high-definition, has sealed a promotion and distribution deal with WorldGolf.com, a network of online golf sites. Under the new partnership, WorldGolf.com will publish and syndicate episodes of ON’s Golf Tips With Joe Beck program on its websites and promote the show to its 300,000 e-mail subscribers and weekly e-newsletter recipients.
Other elements of the agreement include: announcement of new Golf Tips With Joe Beck episodes on the WorldGolf.com home page and priority placement of those episodes in the home page’s thumbnail group of videos. WorldGolf.com will also promote Golf Tips With Joe Beck on its companion sites, which include TravelGolf.com, GolfInstruction.com and Badgolfer.com.
Hosted by Joe Beck, a seasoned PGA professional with 20 years in the game, Golf Tips With Joe Beck provides concise yet detailed golf instruction designed to appeal to a broad range of viewers – from beginners looking to learn the sport to scratch players interested in picking up a tip or two. Beck tackles a different technique in each 3-4 minute episode, breaking it down into simple steps which he then walks viewers through, such as navigating the green, setting up to the ball or escaping a bunker.
Originally posted on December 11, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Zipidee has acquired the TotalVid.com from Landmark Communications, making it the Internet’s largest digital marketplace for mid- to long-tail instructional, educational, and special interest ‘pay for’ content.
As a result of the acquisition, Zipidee now has:
• More than 10,000 titles for sale, with the majority of these titles under exclusive licensing arrangement
• Over 600 content sellers, ranging from independent producers to major media companies
• Over 300,000 visitors per month
• More than 1 million seller listing page views per month
• Approximately 150,000 active registered members
• Two new digital marketplaces: TotalVid.com and VideoWaza.com
Zipidee now gives consumers on-demand access to the Internet’s largest selection of unique, hard-to-find videos. Consumers have access to thousands of titles in more than 100 categories, including action sports, martial arts, instructional, anime, travel, and more, many of which are not available at other online markets such as iTunes and Amazon Unbox. Financial details of the acquisition were undisclosed.
Originally posted on December 5, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the released of Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 software, previously code named Moviestar. The player now includes H.264 standard video support, the same standard deployed in Blu-Ray and HD-DVD high definition video players, and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio capabilities. The latest update also features hardware accelerated, multi-core enhanced, full-screen video playback for high-resolution viewing across major operating systems and browsers. The combination of Adobe Flash Player 9 and Adobe Flash Media Server 3 enables the delivery of HD quality video to the broadest online audience.
Originally posted on December 4, 2007 @ 10:36 am