If you’re a Jew or just Jew-curious, it appears your viral video prayers have been answered. Meet JewTube, the niche video site for people of the Semitic persuasion. The site, founded by Jeremy Kossen and launched only a few days ago, is powered by vSocial and is currently in Beta. Mazel tov!
See more at Globes.co.il.
Popular P2P client maker Azureus is apparently shifting gears from torrent download destination to IPTV provider. The Palo Alto-based startup’s latest offering, Vuze, hopes to continue the recent P2P TV trend started by Joost with a big release this summer.
See more at NewTeeVee.com.
Video is popping up in the most unusual places these days, as entrepreneurs try to cash in on the web 2.0 craze before they’re left out in the cold. One of the stranger new sites is Azooca, a video email service that lets users send, receive and organize up to 250 MB worth of video messages. Users can record, play and stop their messages in the email composition window, but at the moment video length is limited to one minute.
See more at Download Squad.
If piracy is the scourge of the studios, then who is the scourge of the pirates? Media Defender, an aggressive anti-piracy gang working for the MPAA and RIAA (among others), is gearing up to be Public Enemy No. 1 for web pirates after launching their own video upload site called Miivi.com. But pirates and movie downloaders beware! The sole purpose of Miivi is to trick people into uploading copyrighted content and catch them in the act. If you enjoy the occasional movie download, steer clear of Miivi.com.
See more at TorrentFreak.com.
In an effort to get back some of the ad dollars they’ve seen slipping away onto the Internet, several notable cable operators and telephone companies have been tweaking their networks to provide targeted TV content and advertising. This new development, known as addressable advertising, allows the telcos to target small groups of users with similar interests within large demographic regions. This ability had previously been the sole domain of web providers, but traditional media outlets have had to adjust.
See more at Video Insider.
NewTeeVee’s and Metacafe’s Pier Screenings are coming back at you this July 24 with a new theme: “the intersection of content and advertising.” In recent months, many popular web video creators have been monetizing their content through product placement or outright endorsement. Come see Greg Goodfried, co-creator of the Lonelygirl15 series, speak about his experiences in this controversial area. As always, NewTeeVee will be accepting submissions for the screenings online.
See more at NewTeeVee.com.
Although the high-def DVD war may be all but decided, Toshiba’s HD DVD won’t wave the white flag just yet. In another effort to one-up Sony’s Blu-ray, Toshiba released last week its first title with new features that incorporate online video. The features, available for the film 300, allow users who connect their HD DVD player to the Internet to download subtitles or new trailers and re-edit the movie by rearranging scenes. The re-edited version can then be uploaded to the movie studio’s server for distribution to other users.
See more at BusinessofVideo.com.
CNN.com launched its new-and-improved site yesterday with good tidings for all you headline news junkies out there – all video on the site is now free. The move, in the works for well over a year, brings CNN up to the web 2.0 standards most Internet users have become accustomed to.
See more at paidContent.org.
Until recently, the French weren’t really on the map of worldwide innovators in tech circles. But the last few years have seen a renaissance of French innovation on the web and in other media outlets. The latest is IPTV provider Free’s new addition to their “Freebox HD” set top device – an S-Video slot that allows people to create their own TV channel. The feature, which will accept anything from live feeds to pre-recorded shows, will let users broadcast their content to two million other Free subscribers.
See more at NewTeeVee.com.
