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YouTube scales back automatic Content ID takedowns, improves appeals process

In the last several years Google has become quick to respond to complaints of copyright infringement. Unfortunately, its record in dealing with unfounded claims (specifically on YouTube) is a bit mixed. In particular the process for appealing a Content ID takedown has left many users frustrated and with little recourse in the event of a rejected dispute. And its the content owners themselves who make that decision. Starting today, even if a dispute is rejected, users can file an appeal that leaves a content owner with one of two choices -- recind the complaint or file a proper DMCA takedown notice. To minimize the amount of appeals and disputes Google is also launching an improved Content ID algorithm that identifies potentially invalid claims and places them in a queue to be reviewed manually before takedowns are issued. For more, check out the source.

[Source: Engadget]

Sony announces new Exmor RS cameraphone sensor: upgraded signal processing, HDR video recording

That camera sensor in your smartphone is very likely to be a Sony-made module which means it's worth keeping an eye on the company's latest sensor developments. Your next phone could be packing one of its latest Exmor RS camera modules, a stacked CMOS image sensor that's currently being readied for future smartphones and tablets. At the moment, three components fall under the new RS label, with two eight-megapixel sensors (one with new camera signal processing tech) and a top-drawer 13-megapixel module. Alongside the new sensors, Sony's crafted new f/2.2 lenses alongside a refreshed auto-focus module and all of them will be capable of HDR video recording. The company's now working on improving sensor behavior, image quality and keeping it all tiny enough for that next pricey phone contract. The first products are expected to arrive in October, so we may not see it in Sony's very next tablet, but development could be done in time for next year's effort -- and help validate the manufacturer's imaging investment.

[Source: Engadget]

Amazon's Instant Video app for iPad adds search functionality with latest update

When Amazon's Instant Video app made its way to the iPad earlier this month, it gave users yet another way to stream content to their mobile devices, but was lacking some key features. Fortunately, an update to the app has rolled out to fix one of the major omissions: search functionality. The added tool provides instant results when typing a name or title, and the search can be filtered to display all videos or only those available for Amazon Prime subscribers. Prior to the update, users were only able to browse through "a selection of top Prime Instant Video titles" or items added to their Watchlist. With over 120,000 videos available for streaming, the lack of a search function was a major downside to Amazon's app. The update also includes various bug fixes and an improved notification bar, but unfortunately does not add AirPlay support or resolve the issue of requiring Wi-Fi connectivity to stream videos.

[Source: The Verge]

Facebook Passed Yahoo To Become The Second Largest Video Site In The U.S. In July

comScore’s monthly online video data is in and it looks Facebook passed Yahoo in July to become the second largest video site in the U.S. behind Google/YouTube. According to comScore, more than 184 million U.S. Internet users watched 36.9 billion online content videos in July, while video ad views totaled 9.6 billion.

Google/YouTube still outpaced the rest of the online properties with 157 million unique viewers in July, compared to 53 million from Facebook, 48.7 million from Yahoo, 44.8 million from Vevo and 42.7 million from Microsoft. Nearly 36.9 billion video content views occurred during the month, with Google Sites generating the highest number at 19.6 billion, followed by AOL with 665 million. Google also took the top spot for engagement as well.

Facebook has passed Yahoo in terms of views in the past, but more recently the social network has been behind Google, Yahoo, and even Vevo (from May).

In terms of ads, Google ranked first with 1.5 billion ads, followed by Hulu with 1.2 billion, Adap.tv with 1.1 billion, SpotXchange Video Ad Marketplace with 1 billion and TubeMogul Video Ad Platform with 830 million. Time spent watching video ads totaled 3.9 billion minutes, with Adap.tv delivering the highest duration of video ads at 627 million minutes. Video ads reached 52 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 61 times during the month. Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads to its viewers with an average of 46, while ESPN delivered an average of 26 ads per viewer.

[Source: TechCrunch - Read more here]

YouTube And The Olympics: 231M Video Streams And Up To 500K Concurrent Viewers

The less said about the quality of NBC’s Olympics coverage in the U.S., the better, but in terms of the quantity of live and recorded Olympics video streamed this year, the partnership between NBC and YouTube clearly worked out well. Even by YouTube’s standards, live streaming the Olympics for NBC was a pretty massive undertaking and the company just released new data about its Olympics coverage from earlier this month. At its peak, the service pushed out more than half a million livestreams at the same time. On NBCOlympics.com, YouTube says, viewers watched more than 159 million total streams and just over a third of these came from mobile devices and more than 50% were in HD.

In total, YouTube says, its users across the U.S. and 64 countries in Africa and Asia watched a total of 231 million video streams. The IOC’s YouTube Channel alone was responsible for 72 million of these and the “Team USA” U.S. Olympic Committee Channel registered more than 6.75 million views (though most of these views seem to have come from a few select videos and quite a few of the “Team USA” uploads currently have fewer than 1,000 views).

According to YouTube, the quality of the live video was also “better than ever before, with a 7X improvement in quality based on low buffering and high frame rates.” YouTube doesn’t say what exactly it is comparing this year’s numbers to, so it’s probably a good idea to take this number with a grain of salt..

[Source: TechCrunch]

YouTube video editing brings in real-time previews, trims UI down to the basics

YouTube's video editing suite is officially a toddler in human years, so it's about time that it grew a little more beyond learning how to walk and talk. By far the most conspicuous sign of maturity is a new real-time preview that shows edits and filter options as you play -- you'll now know if that effects filter at 1:37 is festive or just gaudy. The overall interface is also a little more buttoned-down with a simpler interface that cuts back on unnecessary clutter. YouTube has been rolling out the editor update in recent hours and may have wrapped up by the time you're reading this, which we'd take as a cue to start producing that streaming masterpiece.

[Source: Engadget]

Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels

iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.

The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video comparing the two parts, showing that not only is the new part taller than the corresponding iPhone 4S part but it is also 0.1 mm thinner and offers more light transmittance and more scratch resistance than its counterpart.

ETrade Supply has also taken a close look at the home button region of the front panel, showing that the hole for the home button is 0.3 mm smaller in diameter than the hole on the iPhone 4S, while the margin between the bottom of the panel and the bottom of the display area is 2.6 mm shorter, allowing Apple to significantly increase the size of the iPhone's display while only slightly increasing the overall device height.

This is not the first time the alleged next-generation iPhone front panel has been caught on video, but this new video and photo comparison does offer the most detailed comparison between the part and the corresponding iPhone 4S part we have seen yet.

[Source: MacRumors]

Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: built-in Skype, 720p, $200

If Cisco's ill-fated Umi video conferencing system had been more like this, would it have survived? Logitech is about to find out, one way or the other, once its TV Cam HD -- recently spotted at the FCC -- arrives in the US this month. The $199.99 device hooks up to your TV and contains all the processing power needed to run Skype and transmit wide-angle, 720p footage of your couch over WiFi or Ethernet. Unlike the previous TV Cam, there's no need for a Viera Connect HDTV -- anything with HDMI-in will do. The company is banking on the notion that families will forgo the use of their existing mobile devices and laptops in favour of an always-on dedicated system with incoming call alerts, four noise-cancelling mics and a Carl Zeiss lens that "gets the whole family in the video call, so everyone from grandparents to grandchildren can move around naturally." If you're tempted, the publicity video after the break gives a decent overview of the product in action.

[Source: Engadget]

Gmail video chat being upgraded to Google+ Hangouts

If we were ever in doubt that Google+ is becoming more of a focus for Google, today's Gmail announcement just reinforces it a little bit more. The video chat feature in Gmail is being replaced as of this morning. Taking its place, Google+ Hangouts. 

It isn't that surprising to see this integration eventually come around, but it is still a welcome upgrade. Google+ Hangouts is already a pretty powerful video conferencing tool, and without having to be in Google+ to use it just makes it that bit more useful day-to-day. It also means that you're able to reach your contacts for video chatting on their mobile devices too. 

The beauty is, every Gmail user will benefit from this upgrade, they don't have to be using Google+. But, if you're a user of both, then you can enjoy the full Hangouts experience such as watching YouTube videos together, collaborating on documents, or perhaps more importantly, dressing as a pirate.

[Source: Android Central]

9 Apps For Editing Video On Your Smartphone

Just a few years ago creating your own movie would have required an expensive camcorder to shoot, and your own –- often expensive -– video editing equipment in order to polish your video into something you’d want to share with others.

Now most smartphones come with built-in video cameras that can often capture high-definition videos worthy of your 50-inch high-definition television.

In addition to replacing the camcorder, your smartphone can also be used as a video editor. There are a variety of different apps available on the market today for editing video. From basic video editors that let you trim out pieces of your video you don’t want, to themed editors that let you change the frame rate and filter of your video to make it look like an old school 8mm film.

Whether you’re packing an iPhone or an Android handset in your pocket there’s bound to be a video editor perfect for helping you create videos on the go just how you want them to be.

Not just for your TV anymore, most mobile video editors also allow you to share your finished creation instantly on the web with built-in integration to sites like YouTube and Facebook. Connect your phone to your television and you can watch your masterpiece on the big screen.

iMovie

iMovie is Apple’s video editor made for the iPhone and iPad. Much like the desktop version of the app, the mobile version of iMovie lets you edit your videos, add music and transitions, and create a trailer for your finished flick.

Completed movies can be shared to your camera roll for sharing via email or iMessage, or can be uploaded and published directly to a number of websites including YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport.

iSuper8
Miss the days of Super 8 cameras? iSuper8 lets you give videos you’ve recorded on your iPhone a vintage look, grading each pixel of your video to give it a unique vintage look. The app allows you to adjust the frame rate of videos you’ve recorded to 12, 18, or 24 frames per second and has number of customizable film stocks you can use to make your video look its best.

Vyclone

Vyclone uses the GPS in your phone to determine where you are shooting a video, and then matches you up with other people who are doing the same to create a multi-camera look at the same scene. The free iOS app edits videos from up to four different iPhone cameras together automatically. You can also edit the videos together manually on your own. The finished product can be shared in one tap on Facebook and Twitter, and can be saved to your phone’s camera roll.

VidTrim Pro

VidTrim Pro is a video editor and organizer for Android that allows you to trim and edit your videos on your Android device as well as compress your finished videos and share them with friends via email or on video sharing sites such as YouTube. The app also has a built-in "frame grabber" you can use to grab specific frames out of your video to use as stills.

Viddy

Not for longer-form projects, Viddy lets you capture, edit, filter and share 15-second video clips, or "viddys." The app comes with a number of built-in effects and filters to use to create the ultimate short video . Finished videos can then be shared in one lick on asocial media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Videolicious

Videolicious lets you edit videos and photos from your iPhone’s library, turning them into a documentary-style film. The easy-to-use app has number of built-in video ideas and instructions on how to create things like a video thank you note, a product or restaurant review, or your own news report. Finished videos can be saved to your phone’s camera roll to share with others, or uploaded directly to Facebook or YouTube from within the app.

Lapse It Pro

Lapse It Pro is a quick and easy way to create time-lapse videos using your Android phone. The app lets you capture time-lapse videos, add different effects, and flip and trim your finished product. Videos created with the app can be rendered to MP4, MOV, and FLV and can be shared to directly to a number of sites including YouTube, Facebook, and Google+.

AndroMedia HD

AndroMedia is a full-featured video-editing program for Android that offers many of the same features you might find on a traditional desktop video editor. Features include the ability to add effects and transitions, to overlay title clips and captions, and to fade in and out video. The app supports MP4,MOV,JPG,PNG,MP3, and WAV file formats, and finished videos can be exported in standard or high-definition and uploaded directly to YouTube from within the app.

CinemaFX
CinemaFX gives your finished videos a new look with its palate of 55 effects. Stackable with up to three effects at a time, effects can be adjusted to create your own unique finished look. Videos can be previewed side-by-side against the original, and finished videos can be exported to your phone in a variety of different formats as well as uploaded directly to YouTube or emailed to friends from within the app.

[Source: Mashable]