Weekly Online Video News Round Up - I Need a Nap Edition

There's no real reason behind the subtitle on this one, except that I needed a nap when I started compiling it. Some interesting news this week to accompany your coffee. Hulu got a big update, DaCast did as well. Stupeflix topped a milestone and the TV Guide iOS app became far more than just TV listings.

DaCast Updates Flash Player

As summer comes to an end, DaCast is introducing a fresh new player design. While the old player was distinct, the new design better fit with DaCast's white label model letting you emphasize your own brand and custom content.

The new player is sleek, largely transparent and should match a wider range of content by theme.

As a sneak preview, here is a shot of what the new player looks like, from a screenshot of a video on demand file streamed over DaCast.

The sidebar button has been moved up, bitrate and logout features appear in a similar position as well. The ability to customize your player remains intact. You can use a blue and black theme, like above, use a rainbow of colors, or even go with a garnish brown theme like below, which also shows the sidebar open.

Webs Selects Encoding.com’s Vid.ly to Power Videos in SiteBuilder3 Website Builder

Encoding.com, the leading provider for enabling universal online video, announced that Webs is using Vid.ly, Encoding.com’s universal video URL platform, to power the video component of its new website builder, SiteBuilder3, announced earlier this month. The Vid.ly service powers the entire SiteBuilder3 video workflow – upload of source videos, expert transcoding, hosting, and device detection – for multi-screen / multi-device delivery for Webs’ large user base.

Webs, the world’s largest do-it-yourself solution for creating free websites, has been used to help create over 40 million websites. SiteBuilder3 is a completely new version of Webs’ website creation tool that empowers micro businesses to build professional-looking websites without technical or coding skills. Encoding.com’s Vid.ly makes it super simple to incorporate video on the websites.

By integrating the Vid.ly API into SiteBuilder3, Webs has made it very simple for users to enable video for viewing via any browser or mobile device.  Webs users can upload their videos via the SiteBuilder3 interface; Vid.ly then converts the video into a variety of formats and bitrates appropriate for all popular browsers and mobile devices.  End users are provided a short URL and embed code to publish on their Webs’ sites. When visitors click on the URL, Vid.ly delivers the video in the format appropriate for the visitor’s browser or device.

Source: Press release

Stupeflix Reaches 10 million videos

Stupeflix API creates videos on-demand for developers, a platform unique for its performance and flexibility. Three years after its launch, 10M videos have been created for web and mobile apps of customers small and large, including Fortune 500 companies like Sprint, American Express, Coca-Cola, Visa and more. Stupeflix API allows developers to quickly build experiences in which users instantly get a video made just for them: SMBs create video ads to tell their story, people get a video personalized with their Facebook photos and friends, students discover storytelling by crafting videos - each use case is unique, and all make a strong impact by delivering high quality videos on-the-fly.

Source: Press Release

TV Guide iOS App Offers New Features

Watchlist makes TV simple again: When users add shows, sports teams, actors and movies, Watchlist shows them on a single screen all the ways to watch – on TV, on demand, streaming and DVD. Users also can share and discuss what they’re watching with their social networks or link to watch instantly via ABC, ABC Family, CW, Hulu Plus, HBO GO, Crackle and iTunes. Additional video sources will be added over the next few weeks.

In addition to Watchlist and New Tonight Trending, new features include:

Social check-in and discussion: Throughout the app, check in, share and discuss what you’re watching via social networks using TV Guide’s “I’ll Watch” button

Video Search and Curated Video Channels: Find the TV shows, movies and web originals you want to watch now or browse through editor- and guest-curated channels.

Super-Charged “Classic” Listings: Our best listings grid ever, including alerts, HD and favorite channel filters, “I’ll Watch” social sharing, and instant “Add to Watchlist.”

Original Editorial Content: TV Guide’s original breaking news and features – and the ability to discuss them with editors and other fans.

Unique Advertising Opportunities: TV Guide has created a number of unique, beyond-the-banner opportunities, including video showcases, branded content, and the ability to sponsor the “Add to Watchlist” button.

Hulu Updates Discovery Engine and Site

As we worked on the new layout for the site, we kept two things in the backs of our minds: How can we make it easier for you to find and enjoy the best TV moments on your computer? And how can we surround those moments with the most beautiful, elegant and innovative video experience on the web?

We’ve started by using larger, more vivid artwork to feature last night’s TV episodes and new additions to Hulu. We’ve also implemented a new tray-style format to make it easy for you to browse and discover content. And for logged-in users, we highlight the “Shows You Watch” to make it super easy to jump directly to the shows you are already enjoying on Hulu.

Source: Hulu Blog

This made me chuckle, "Special thanks to Internet Explorer, the official launch sponsor for the Hulu site redesign. Enjoy a more beautiful web with Internet Explorer. "