Why HD movie downloads are a big lie

There's a chart on this page with hi-def delivery services and the actual quality level they can deliver. It's a good way to clear through the hype of how good HD delivery online is right now. Even better, you can check out this analysis of the future potential for HD over the internet or through other "non-disc" related delivery systems. Looks like I am sticking with Bluray.

"...you have to wonder what Steve Jobs is thinking when he says Blu-ray and HD DVD will get killed by download services such as his newly launched 4 mbps 720p “HD” iTunes movie rental service.  I guess if consumers believe the lie that you can do HD with these low bit-rate downloads, then Steve might be right.  But with cheap 42 inch 1920×1080 full 1080p LCD and Plasma panels coming out spring this year at less than $1400, consumers are going to be in for a surprise when they see the difference between the free stuff coming over the airwaves versus the crap they actually pay for coming from Satellite and download services."

Techdirt: Web 2.0 Buzzword Bingo

Link: Techdirt: Web 2.0 Buzzword Bingo.

"...it's hard to do anything but sit back and laugh. That, and get to work on my latest proprietary universal social widget-enabler intelligence-context-based profiler management integrator. Because, clearly, that's what the market demands.?

Login | Venture Gateway Portal | Advanced Equities Financial Corp.

Advanced Equities will revive venture capital portal model (Tech Confidential - VC Ratings)

This is running today on THE DEAL.  It is an article on the Advanced Equities portal.  Nice work to everyone at About Face who helped make this happen!

Link: Advanced Equities will revive venture capital portal model (Tech Confidential - VC Ratings).

Advanced Equities Financial Corp. is bringing back a very dot-com era idea to serve a market that has been utterly reshaped by that crash. The company is expected on Thursday to launch a web-based portal to allow qualified investors to invest in late stage venture-backed startups.

"The portal has data rooms that allow potential investors to conduct due diligence with transparency comparable to what venture capitalists have access to, and the site features detailed summaries, videos, term sheets, product placement memorandums and media coverage."

Blu-ray Disc Release Dates | High Def Digest

Link: Blu-ray Disc Release Dates | High Def Digest.

Sit and watch for your favorite flicks on blu ray

And remember... New Media is GREEN!

Link: Lab Notes: Research from the Berkeley College of Engineering.

"UC Berkeley researchers report that receiving your news wirelessly on a PDA instead of delivered to your door requires up to 140 times less carbon dioxide, several orders of magnitude less greenhouse gases, and the consumption of 26 to 67 times less water."

The Download: Web Video Chases Monetization

Link: The Download: Web Video Chases Monetization

Show me the money!

Scene Stealer - Indie Films, Coming to a Small Screen Near You - NYTimes.com

There is an article in today's NY Times about Cinetic's new digital rights management company.  Check it out: Scene Stealer - Indie Films, Coming to a Small Screen Near You - NYTimes.com.

"Mr. Sloss and his New York company, Cinetic Media, are rolling out a new business called Cinetic Rights Management. The executive and his team — he just hired Matt Dentler, the highly regarded director of the South by Southwest film festival — will act as sales agents for filmmakers who have been left on the sidelines. And here is the twist: The goal is not exhibition in theaters but rather distribution via the Internet and other growing delivery routes like cable on-demand services."

Official Google Blog: Introduction to Google Search Quality

So Google today, on their corporate blog, opened up a bit on how they do their search engine ranking. This is being much vaunted amongst the bloggers as a stab at transparency, but it didn't seem to open up very much...

Link: Official Google Blog: Introduction to Google Search Quality.

"For something that is used so often by so many people, surprisingly little is known about ranking at Google. This is entirely our fault, and it is by design. We are, to be honest, quite secretive about what we do. There are two reasons for it: competition and abuse. Competition is pretty straightforward. No company wants to share its secret recipes with its competitors. As for abuse, if we make our ranking formulas too accessible, we make it easier for people to game the system."

Web video advertising: awaiting the boom | Special Coverage | Reuters

Link: Web video advertising: awaiting the boom | Special Coverage | Reuters.

The rest of the world will eventually catch up but for now About Face Media Inc. is way out in front!

'Forrester expects online video advertising spending to roughly double this year to $989 million, then roughly double again to $1.86 billion in 2009. It puts the compound annual growth rate at 72 percent from 2007-2012, far exceeding any other type of interactive marketing growth.

"In terms of the growth rates, the online advertising in terms of video I think has more than tripled in the last 24 months," said Jason Kilar, chief executive of Hulu, a video website owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and General Electric Co's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) NBC Universal.

"You're working off of a small base, but if you can keep rates anywhere near that for a number of years, you're looking at a big industry, and certainly the projections suggest that," he said.'

Cynthia X.