Venice Project Aims For TV/Web Convergence 34
PreacherTom writes, "The founders of Skype, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, are offering a sneak peak into their newest venture, The Venice Project, a video site that combines professionally produced TV and user-submitted videos with the interactive tools of Web 2.0. So, what will Venice offer to combat YouTube's dominance? Streaming video with DVD-like controls, on-screen menus of preset channels, and interactive tools to share video playlists are only the beginning. Venice's Beta will be expanded by the middle of November, with general release by New Year's Day." The article notes that "Venice" is a placeholder name and that the project will launch with new branding.
Lousy timing... (Score:2)
Their consumer gadget will be made available right AFTER the biggest consumer buying season of the whole year? Brilliant.
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But this thing looks like its ad supported not pay supported.
Where's the hardware? (Score:2)
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Built into every Xbox 360 console, naturally.
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Eben Moglen Quote (Score:4, Insightful)
"You don't know what the world you're living in is going to be like but you can guess some things about it: there will be no music companies in it."
*also, with any luck, no -- or fewer -- TV companies
"Now if you leave them alone to buy more congressmen, in this very corrupt time of ours, they will survive for a little while longer but all of this talk is about the technicalities of the adjustment of the terms of their demise. When we want to start talking about something that matters, we would do better to begin from some basic social propositions. Everybody is connected to everybody else, all data that can be shared will be shared: get used to it."
http://ciaran.compsoc.com/texts/eben-moglen-dmca-
imagining the world (Score:1)
It's basically a world with a build-in distribution system and low cost production equipment.
Nice place. Thanks for the quote.
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If you liked that I strongly advise you to listen to the audio of the entire panel. Heard it for the first time yesterday and it was like an alarm clock going off. The proceedings follow a pattern like this
-RIAA people quibble with podcast distributors for awhile, over this or that aspect of the DMCA, or a compulsory license provision, or whatever
-Moglen says something earthshattering like the above
Rinse, repeat.
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A live band is a music company.
KFG
Venice offers.. (Score:3, Insightful)
So, Venice will offer nothing that YouTube doesn't already offer then? It'll be all fancy with Web 2.0 controls though. Big deal. The interface is of little consequence, and arguably Venice will fall flat with their Web 2.0 gimmickery because you'll not be able to embed it in a MySpace profile like you can with Flash. The challenge to overcome with a video content site is
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"With easy access to capital and loads of experience starting successful new companies, Friis and Zennstrom are bound to make their new venture a contender."
They may be able to get a better overall interface built simply because they can invest a great amount of money in it. I personally think the first big project that makes all the content downloadable is going to blow them out of the water. Unless it's them.
cheap production costs (Score:1)
The ad companies have to be sweating bullets. If I want to watch a series, I will get the DVD. I've not seen a commercial in about 5 y
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good stuff, Phantom (Score:3, Insightful)
"The Venice Project is designed to work within the intellectual property rights system, not against it"
"users don't download video files. The videos are streamed to their computers instead. The encoded bits of data that make up shows stream past the viewer's eyes and disappear. They don't become permanent files on the viewer's computer."
As per my Moglen quote above, this approach is doomed. Not this year, probably not next year, but there you go.
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I won't believe this until Netcraft confirms it.
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If only you only needed a video recorder to make a TV show. What about microphines, makeup, costumes, sets, location shooting, scores, all that crap, do you think people are going to do it for free?
my point (Score:1)
For me, a good story done halfway decently trumps a dazzling production of a lame ass story. Case in point is 'Blair Witch Project'. The movie was successfull and cost very very little to produce.
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The Blair Witch Project may have been successful, but if every programme was like that the novelty would wear off very fast.
Content and Marketing (Score:1)
The real thing that will separate it from the flock is the content. I wouldn't underestimate the value of being able to watch your favorite TV shows in a reasonable quality on the web. While most geeks (i.e. Slashdot users) will say "Get a DVR!", the vast majority of people
Web 2.0??? (Score:2)
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Democracy TV (Score:4, Informative)
Oh, you mean like Democracy TV [getdemocracy.com] already has?
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oh yay! (Score:1)
if it does not work without special software (I'll allow a codec install) it is crap. If I cant watch it with my favorite player or on my television via my MCE or mediaportal or whatever I choose then it will not grow very fast.
I hate skype because of the "special" damned app. phone calls on your PC is for the birds, give me a SIP hardware device instead.
Too little too late? (Score:1)
University of Wisconsin doing this now (Score:2)
http://tv.wisc.edu/ [wisc.edu]
http://tv.wisc.edu/about/ [wisc.edu]
The project was a pilot that turned into a production service, and is in the (slow) process of being expanded to 78 channels and adding more foreign content, including recorded foreign content so international students can watch programming that might be on at odd times in t
Wordplay.... (Score:2)
sneak peak (Score:1)
web and TV? (Score:1)
vague buzz words (Score:2)
Convergence
Interactivity
Video!!
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I'm just all tinkled with excitement (yawn)
Placeholder... (Score:2)
Well, I should bloody well hope so [sourceforge.net]!
(Though I haven't really hacked on the code for awhile, my Venice is still powering Electric Minds [electricminds.org] to this day...)