Jumpcut video-editing and -sharing website

Bought by Yahoo in late 2006, Jumpcut feels like a web-based version of a basic desktop video-editing application, such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, but with video-sharing abilities to boot.

Jumpcut is arguably the leader in online video editing, but it faces increasing competition from new tools found at better-known sites such as Brightcove and YouTube, in addition to mashup-culture alternatives like Eyespot and Motionbox.

On Jumpcut, a single video is combined with others (that you, or anyone, has uploaded) to create a movie. You can create movies and photo slideshows easily in the flash-based Jumpcut Editor through the judicial use of titles, music, effects, transitions and edits. A brilliant movie-making wizard helps you become familiar with the interface, and template styles and keyboard shortcuts are also available.

Uploading our test file took about 5 to 10 minutes using the non-flash-based upload option, and the video was live almost immediately. You or your friends can also upload video to Jumpcut via email, and import photos directly from Flickr or Facebook.

You can set your Jumpcut videos to be viewable by anyone, or by only those that you send your link to. You can also disable the ability of others to remix (or "grab") your Jumpcut content.

Video quality looks good - about what you'd expect for a Flash 8.0 video - but audio does seem a little weaker here than elsewhere. We also don't like that Jumpcut's "full screen" viewing mode is really only a slightly larger viewing window that's surrounded by black.

YouTube Launches Video Ad Platform

YouTube has unveiled its long-awaited and long-promised advertising platform, InVideo ads. The system places semi-transparent ad "overlays" at the bottom of its video player, which will disappear after 10 seconds if users don't click through to see more.

Those who select the ads will either follow a link to a Web site or launch a new video player that will run the video ad. Advertisers can choose which videos will carry their ads, based on such target criteria as age, gender, location, and genre of video.

The company will charge on an impression basis, as well as provide click-through data. Launch partners include BMW and New Line Cinema.

Music videos, which represent a substantial portion of YouTube video streams, are considered ideal for the type of targeting advertising partners want to achieve. In most cases, they have an easily identifiable fan base that makes it much easier to guess the age and gender of the person likely watching it.

Exactly how YouTube will share this advertising revenue with content partners, however, was not addressed. A key agreement between YouTube and the major record labels is that the video-sharing service will identify when videos containing copyrighted music is aired, and subsequently share a portion of the advertising shown from that video with the content owner.

Adobe Expands Web Video Leadership With H.264 Support

Adobe Systems Incorporated yesterday announced the latest update for Adobe® Flash® Player 9 software, code-named Moviestar, which 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 support, as well as hardware accelerated, multi-core enhanced full screen video playback.

These advancements will extend Adobe’s leadership position in Web video by enabling the delivery of HD television quality and premium audio content through the ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player and pave the way to expand rich media Flash experiences on the desktop and H.264 ready consumer devices.

Archos 604 WiFi 30GB Portable Music and Video Player/Recorder $250

Amazon has Archos 604 [Review (model without WiFi reviewed), Manufacturer's page] 30GB ultra-slim music, and video player and recorder with WiFi for $250 with free shipping

Specs:

• 4.3-inch TFT LCD wide screen 480x272 resolution
  
• 30 GB hard disk
  
• WiFi Connection with Opera browser
  
• Audio
  
  • Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR,
    
  • WMA, Protected WMA,
    
  • WAV (PCM/ADPCM).
  
  
• Video
  
  • MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
    
  • WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution)
  
  
• Other
  
  • PDF
    
  • JPG, PNG, BMP
  
  
• USB 2.0 interface
  
• Lithium-ion polymer battery (5 hrs video, 16 hrs audio playback)
  
• Measures: 5.1 x 3 x 0.65 inches (W x H x D)
  
• Weight: 9.05 ounces; 1-year warranty

Foryou PMP with Massive 7" Screen

Never seen a PMP with such big a screen as it was grafted onto a boom box. The PMP710 from the Foryou Group supports MPEG1/2/4, MP3, WAV, AAC, and Jpeg files. Behind that massive screen is an equally massive hard drive.

You can opt for a version with a mere 20GB of space or go the full monty with a giant 40GB hard drive.

A stereo line out and NTSC/PAL output are included and the device has a built-in FM tuner. If 40GB of storage just doesn’t cut it for you a SD card slot is built in as well. No word on pricing or availability at this time.

Browser-based WiTV video player gets sneak preview

WebwireTV got a sneak preview of a new online video client designed to compete with the likes of Joost and other higher quality online video offerings. The few differences between the two clients include a central content distribution model -- Joost uses P2P -- and support for Steve Jobs' hobby. Beyond that, WiTV doesn't have the same kind of content deals that Joost has, although the interface and the absence of any kind of software installation definitely shows potential.

EyeTV 250 Plus - Hybrid TV Tuner and Video Converter for Mac

EyeTV 250 Plus, a new hybrid television tuner and video converter with hardware-based encoding for the Mac, coming bundled with Elgato's popular EyeTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR) software, is available now for £139.95 including VAT.

The EyeTV 250 Plus lets you receive DVB-T terrestrial over-the-air digital television signals, and incorporates a coaxial jack, which can be used for an ATSC antenna or analogue television or cable. An included adaptor cable lets you input Composite (RCA) video and S-Video signals, as well.

The EyeTV 250 performs hardware-based MPEG-2 video encoding, stored on your Mac and capable of being exported and edited using the EyeTV 2 software. The software also includes an Internet-based electronic program guide that will enable you to more easily schedule recordings of programs you want to watch.

Elgato has included a copy of Roxio's Toast 8 Basic, a slimmed-down version of their CD/DVD recording software, to enable you to burn EyeTV videos to DVD.

System requirements:G4 or better (including Intel), 512MB RAM, USB 2.0 port and Mac OS X v10.4 or later

Boing Boing: Wind-up MP3/video player

Boing Boing: Wind-up MP3/video player

Slickr - PMP from Venzero

with iPhone-like appealing looks, Slickr is a compact device for sure measuring in at 3.25” x 2.25” x 0.33.

The screen is a 2.8” 320 x 240 LCD with 1.6 million colors. The device has 2Gb of internal storage and can use a miniSD card of up to 4GB giving a total possible storage of 6GB. Overall the Slickr was rated a 5.3 which is average on the CNET scale.

Break.com Launches Customizable Video Players - Mashable Report

Not to be outdone by YouTube’s launch of a similar feature, Break.com has just launched customization of embedded players. Select a preset theme or customize the background color and text. You need to be signed in to create custom players, as shown in the video demo below.

Apple - QuickTime Pro

Apple QuickTime Pro includes an abundance of media authoring capabilities, such as to export content to iPhone, iPod, and Apple TV, capture movies and share them easily with your friends and family, encode with the new H.264 video codec for exceptional quality.

Google's Video Player to Promote Your Video Downloading from Google

Yesterday, Google released a free video player and downloader tool(Beta) for Google Video

You can download Google Video Player for Windows XP/2000, or
Get Google Video Player for Mac

Google Video player features:

• Watch videos downloaded from Google Video


• Browse scenes within a video using thumbnails


• Skip to anywhere in the video, even if that portion hasn't downloaded yet


• Sit back and watch videos in full screen mode


• Resume video downloads automatically

System Requirements:

• Video card with at least 16 MB of RAM


• 1 Ghz or faster processor

Digital Video Player

Tags: Digital video player, small digital player, portable personal media player, recorder, mp3 music, electronics

Your world just got a whole lot bigger with the smallest functional Media Player in the universe. The powerful sounds of MP3 music and the color rich images from your last vacation are in the palm of your hand with the Ultra Portable Personal Media Player & Recorder. Watch full motion video on the surprisingly large 1.5 TFT LCD screen. Or read an eBook. Or view photos from your last vacation or your loved ones. The possibilities are endless with the Ultra Portable Personal Media Player & Recorder. The Ultra Portable Personal Media Player & Recorder is small in size and light in weight but HUGE in features. The device comes with 256MB of built-in memory. However, there is a built-in SD/MMC card slot, which makes your entertainment possibilities limitless. The USB connector allows you to easily connect the device to your PC or laptop without drivers and charge the built-in long-life battery at the same time. It will simply detect as a new mass storage device on your home or office computer. The built-in speaker allows you to share your entertainment with your friends or traveling partners.

Use Handbrake to Put DVD on Your iPhone

Hackszine has a dead simple guide to putting DVDs on your iPhone using the popular open source MPEG-4 ripper/converter Handbrake.

While Handbrake is cross-platform and should work with either Mac or Windows, I’ve only tested this method on a Mac.

To rip a DVD just fire up Handbrake and select your disk. If you’re a video guru you can tinker with Handbrake’s default settings and probably obtain a higher quality recording, but I left things as they were and ended up with 1.3 GB file that looked perfectly fine on the iPhone’s diminished screen.

For more details and complete instructions head over to Hackszine. And of course keep in mind that you should only do this with movies and DVDs you legally own.

SanDisk SANSA E250 - MP3/MP4 Player with Media Converter Software

In the last article, I mentioned the SanDisk SHAKER, and spoke of the strides this company has been making in the industry, and this product demonstrates their continued improvements.

The SANSA E250 is a welcome, affordabl to the more popular, higher-priced brand-name players already on the market. At almost a third less than the price of an Ipod NANO, this player is great value for money. With a 1.8" LCD screen, an attractively lit bright-blue navigation wheel, this MP3/MP4 player comes in 2gig, 4gig, 6gig, and 8gig and holds at least 500 songs. The SANSA plays video clips, has a built-in micro SD card expansion slot, fm radio with fm recording capability, a photo viewer, a voice recorder, has a durable metal backing, and is only slightly bigger than a NANO. The E250 also comes with the SanDisk media converter software which supports most image and video formats, and can give up to 256 hours of playback, depending on the model.

With its even more affordable and attractive design, this media player is a definite consideration for a must-buy and is now available at Watts New Liguanea (970-0192/4664), Tropical Plaza (906-4174/3091), and the Little Pub Complex in Ocho Rios (974-7539/4139).

If you want to get a bit more familiar with the SanDisk SANSA players, you can check out this video.

MacDailyNews - Miglia’s VideoExpress offers hardware video converter for Apple TV, iPhone, iPod

Miglia’s VideoExpress is a hardware-based video file converter enabling you to turn your unprotected DVDs and QuickTime or MPEG files into h.264, the format readable by your AppleTV, video-capable iPod, or iPhone. VideoExpress speeds up the process of converting your files, giving you a fast way to make h.264 files.

Plug VideoExpress into a USB 2.0 port of your Mac, launch the software and you’re all set to go. The wide range of presets enable you to choose exactly the format you want, letting you create h.264 videos for your AppleTV, iPhone or iPod.

Whether you’re a Final Cut, iMovie or QuickTime Pro user, the included QuickTime plug-in which lets you convert your projects into h.264 without ever leaving the application.

Key Features

• High speed video file conversion to h.264

• Convert unprotected DVD’s into the space saving h.264 format

• Turn your TV recordings and videos into iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV ready files

• Includes QuickTime Plug-in. Export straight out of iMovie, Final Cut and many more apps.

Converting your TV recordings with VideoExpress is easy. Drag and drop your video file onto the VideoExpress software application, choose a target format and press "Start." The result will be an .mp4 file in h.264 quality that takes up to half as much space on your hard drive. This makes VideoExpress a good companion to any TV Tuner product.

The US$100 VideoExpress supports QuickTime as well as MPEG-2 recorded files, making it fully compatible with digital TV tuners. VideoExpress works in conjunction with "The Tube" software, which powers several Miglia TV tuners.

Of course, apart from accelerating the conversion process, VideoExpress also takes much of the load off your Mac’s processor, enabling you to keep working on your other projects.

More info here.