I knew it was coming, but I finally received my 9.4 software update. The update includes a couple of UI improvements, but TiVo’s support for YouTube is what I’ve been drooling over.

The way it’s currently set up, you need to hit a lot of buttons to get at your favorite content, but thankfully, TiVo has said that that they are working on a way to sync it with your personal YouTube account.

One of the complaints that I often read about YouTube is that it’s just a bunch a cat videos. While it is true that the feline community has found their special crazy place on the site, I feel that this statement does an injustice to all of the hard working innovative filmmakers who are pushing the boundaries of the web. Don’t get me wrong there is a ton of junk on YouTube, but there are also some really talented people who are redefining the relationship between an artist and their audience.

The beauty of YouTube is that it provides a platform where all kinds of niche communities can develop. Cat videos may not be important to you, but to some people they are more compelling than anything on Prime time TV. The challenge is matching the niche demand with the niche producers.

When I was growing up, I only had access to three TV channels. Cable eventually gave me 100 channels to choose from, but even then there was nothing ever on. When TiVo came out it completely changed how I thought about “channels” and shifted the equation from 100 programs to choose from to 10’s of thousands. Now, by adding YouTube support, TiVo is once again exponentially increasing my access to content. Filtering through the noise will be a challenge, but this partnership will help personalize your television to an even greater level.

To celebrate TiVo’s support of YouTube, I’ve put together a list of 20 of my favorite web video creators. You won’t find many cat videos, but you will get a glimpse of the future of the entertainment industry.

1.) You Suck At Photoshop - The series is dark and twisted, but is very very funny. You get the feeling that sometimes Donnie is pulling his “hypothetical” examples from real life experiences, but his obsession only adds to the comedy. Even if you don’t like photoshop, this is worth watching.

2.) PurePwnage - I discovered PurePwnage about two years ago and was instantly hooked. The show follows a pro-gamer around and films him embarrassing himself and others. While it’s shot in an amateur documentary style, it’s clear that Kyle has a ton of talent. The series is cleverly edited and offers a humorous glimpse at the video game sub-culture.

3.) Pretend We Don’t Exist - Most of the videos on YouTube are filmed for the web, they are quick and funny, but they also tend to be unpolished and gimmicky. The videos that PWDE creates are a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of YouTube. Their clips tend to be much longer and are focused on deep and dark subjects. The humor is much more subtle and is driven by the characters in their films. The filming and editing looks amazing and represents cinematography at it’s finest. There are more popular artists on YouTube, but more than any of the other videos, PWDE’s content deserves to be seen on a big screen television.

4.) ./ Shutdown - If you’ve ever wondered what really goes on in your IT department, ./ Shutdown is the series for you. They celebrate all things geeky and offer an entertaining and humorous look at anything nerd related. Their videos can go from quirky to awkward, to just plain mind boggling, all in a single episode. I don’t know how their videos would do with a mass market TV audience, but I’m not surprise that they’ve built a following online.

5.) Mondo Mini-Shows - Not everyone will appreciate the humor in Mondo Media’s videos, but if you like the itchy and scratchy episodes from the Simpsons, you’ll love these animations. By combining the right amount of cuteness with hair raising violence, they’ve stumbled onto a winning formula for the web.

6. ) Sub Pop - Sub Pop is the only channel on my list that I would consider to be professional content. Most record labels have been slow to evolve to the new media landscape, but Sub Pop hasn’t been afraid to adapt. During the 90’s, they discovered many of the top grunge bands and continue to introduce amazing new artists today. Their videos are better than anything you’ll find on MTV, even if the bands aren’t as popular (yet.)

7.) Kevin Nalts - Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Nalts really is a viral video genius. Between his job and his family, I don’t know how he finds time to create his videos, but his gems are some of the funniest clips on the web. The man knows no shame and isn’t afraid to exploit helpless kittens to get the fame that he deserves.

8.) Gradual Report - When Ze Frank gave up internet video it left a big void on the web, luckily other talented comedians have step forward to help keep you entertained. Daniel Grozdich’s style reminds me a lot of Ze, but his comedy tends to be edgier and more dangerous. His rantings borderline on craziness and brilliance, but it’s a tension that provides a ton of entertainment.

9.) Tom Green - Ten years ago, TV was sorted into neat and tidy channels, but today it’s a fragmented mess. When you tell Netflix what movies you want to see, does it really matter what studio made it? Likewise, who cares what network a show is on, if you are just going to TiVo it? Tom Green was one of the first celebrities to recognize this trend and instead of bitching and moaning about it, he started his own TV channel and now has a successful online talk show that he broadcasts on TomGreen.com His channel isn’t carried on any of the cable networks, but thanks to the magic of the internet, fans can still tune into his bizarre and zany antics.

10.) Charbax - Whenever there is a tech boondoggle in Las Vegas, the press will trip over themselves to cover it, but if the event is held in Europe, you’re lucky to find any coverage. Fortunately, Charbax covers many of these European tech events and provides a unique view into the consumer electronic industry. His questions are focused with laser precision and produce very stimulating discussions on current digital trends. His reporting goes way beyond the sound bites and consistently brings new and relevant information to his audience.

11.) Rabbit Bites - You may have never heard of them, but Buns and Chou are two of the most famous rabbits on the internet. By combining sharp humor with rabbit commentary, they’ve managed to win the hearts of their fans. Their show is a cross between Access Hollywood and Animal planet. They typically skewer pop culture from the rabbit perspective. As their popularity has grown, they’ve been able to use their fame to bring several big name guests on the show.

12.) Videoholic - Videoholic was a betamax blogger, even before blogging existed. Over the years he’s met with other Beta fans, traveled to CES and has even written for Betamax newsgroups. During that time he’s also managed to collect a treasure trove of tapes that literally cover walls and walls of his home. Whether it’s Ray Bradbury selling out to the prune industry or old “cell” phone ads that should not be forgotten, you never quite now what will be coming next. By sharing his life long passion with the larger community, Videoholic is helping to keep history alive.

13.) Noodle Scar - Bonnie hasn’t updated her site in six months, but I’m still hanging onto hope that Noodle Scar will come back. Once a day, she would create a quick 30 second clip filled with random awesomeness. The fast tempo format always left me wanting more. If you haven’t already seen her clips, her archives are definitely worth exploring.

14.) Jeremy Cathey - Jeremy is only 17 years old, but he’s already learned a lot about how to make great films. He doesn’t have access to a big budget, but his clips still look professional. One of the great things about YouTube is that it gives filmmakers like Jeremy, the opportunity to experiment and try new things, without the pressure of needing instant success. As he continues to perfect his art, I have no doubt that he’ll end up making films for even larger audiences.

15.) Improv Everywhere - Most of the practical joke shows on TV tend to make their victims look really stupid, but Improv Everywhere adds a bit of class to the practical joke genre. Through the power of the internet, they assemble random people together, in order to stage elaborate public demonstrations. The events are designed to be so ridiculous that people can’t help but be confused by what’s happening. Just watching the pranks unfold can be fun, but watching the reactions make it priceless. I’m hoping that they’ll come to San Francisco, so that I can take part in the fun.

16.) Vancouver Film School - Even before the internet, I was always a fan of college films. They tend to take risks that big budgets won’t and I like the roughness that they bring to their films. The Vancouver Film School consistently puts out some pretty impressive clips. Their videos do contain an occasional miss, but they’re not infected with the commercialism that is embedded in today’s professional content.

17.) Muggle Sam - Normally, I’m not the sentimental type, but you’d have to have a heart of stone to not be touched by Sophia and Isabella. They are two young girls who are growing up on YouTube. Every episode reminds me of how great it was to be a child. Each day you learn something new about the world. What really makes the series stand out is the quality of it’s editing. Muggles Sam has a special talent for taking small clips and using them to tell a bigger story.

18.) The Gigaom Show - Most of the interviews that I see on TV are usually by a reporter who really doesn’t know all that much about the person they’re talking to. The result is a quick 30 second clip of PR spin. When it comes to the Giga Om show, you can expect a much deeper level of analysis. Because Om Malick and Joyce Kim follow the tech industry so closely, they know the right questions to ask their guests. The show is currently on hiatus for the summer, but I’m looking forward to seeing more episodes in the future.

19.) Reel Geezers - Who needs professional movie critics when you can watch Marcia and Lorenzo share their take on the latest Blockbuster films? This Octogenarian Duo has been broadcasting their own movies reviews for a little less than a year and have already built a respectable following. I don’t always agree with their take on the movies, but, but I still enjoy hearing them.

20.) aniBOOM - aniBOOM helps cartoon and animation creators monetize their content. They use YouTube to showcase some of their best stuff. As a big fan of cartoons for grownups, this subscription is one of my favorites.

My tastes can be a little eclectic, but hopefully you’ll be able to find at least one or two new shows that are of interest. If you know of any good web series that I left out or if you happen to make your own web videos, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

While having someone automatically calculate this data is helpful to me, when I first used the service, it didn’t really tell me anything new about how I use Netflix. Since I enjoy number crunching, I had already been tracking this info and knew that I was spending about $3 for every DVD I rented.

What Feedflix did offer me though, was a way to compare how I used the service with other Netflix customers. When it first launched, I didn’t think that Feedflix would have enough members for a legitimate sample size, but with the service growing over the past few months, I wanted to check back and see what it could tell me about how other people are using Netflix.

How Long Do Customers Keep Their Rentals?

Feedflix doesn’t answer this question directly because they break the data into separate groups, but if you do a little bit of math, it’s not too hard to get an estimate on the average rental. What I found surprising about the results was that, even with 75% of the user base returning their DVDs within 10 days, the drag from the other 25% of users brings the average rental period to 9.55 days. In the past, Netflix has said that people who don’t rent as many movies have a tendency to churn at a higher rate, but this data would suggest that they contribute to the lionshare’s of Netflix’s profits before they drop off completely.

How many users subscribe to each plan?

Netflix has never given a breakdown on the number of subscribers in each plan, but Feedflix can give us a reasonable guess as to what this might be. According to Netflix’s latest earnings report, they currently have 8.4 million subscribers. By extrapolating Feedflix’s breakdown of Netflix service plans to the larger subscriber base, we get the following estimates on where customers are spending their money.

1 at a time - 2.1 million subscribers
2 at a time - 2.4 million subscribers
3 at a time - 3.1 million subscribers
4 at a time - 500K subscribers
5 at a time - 168K subscribers
6 at a time - 84K subscribers

To test the data, I multiplied the number of subscribers from each group by the price points on their corresponding plan and came up with an expected 3 month revenue number of $352 million*. The real result from their latest quarter was $337,600,000, so these numbers may be a little bit off, but not entirely unrealistic.

*My results didn’t include any of the 7 or 8 at a time subscribers because Feedflix didn’t have enough data on them. It’s also worth noting that there are rounding errors to take into account. My analysis also assumes that there is a 3:1 ratio between the $4.99 and $8.99, 1 at a time subscribers and makes a weighting adjustment for the difference between the 8.24 million subs at the start of their quarter and the 8.4 million that they finished with.

What is the average cost per rental for Netflix customers as a group?

Getting at this number is a little bit trickier, but if I multiple the breakdown of each plan, by the number of discs that an average Netflix customer is expected to use each month, then my math suggests that Netflix is earning $1.94 in revenue, per DVD rental. At first this number seemed a little low to me, but it would verify Netfix’s claims that they earn a higher profit on 1 at a time subscribers vs. the higher revenue 3 at a time moviehounds. If my estimates are right, it would also mean that Netflix is shipping 1.97 million DVDs per day or nearly 60 million DVDs per month.

It’s worth pointing out that there are a lot of ways that this data and/or my calculations could be wrong so take it with a grain of salt, but if Feedflix’s numbers are representative of the larger Netflix customer base then it would suggest that if you aren’t getting at least $2 per DVD each month, then you are one of the skinny guys at the all can eat buffet.

If you’d like to view my Feedflix account you can find it here.

Good news web video fans. Hot off the presses Doom9’s forums, we learn that the upcoming release of DivX 7 is going to support the Matroska video format! Now I know that many of you are probably asking yourself Matroskwho?, but believe me when I tell you that this is a big deal for both DivX and Matroska fans.

A DivX / Matroska hook up will not only give web video creators even more options over how they want to present their content, but it will also ensure that consumers are able to take advantage of these advanced features with their favorite consumer electronic products. In the past, Matroska fans have had to go through a painful and complicated process in order to get their MKV files to play nice with their DivX hardware devices, but with the 7.0 release, it should be as easy as hitting play on DivX 7.0 gadgets.

So What Exactly Is Matroska?

Matroska is an open standards project that is aiming to replace existing media formats like AVI, ASF, MOV, RM, MP4, and MPG. The project had their official launch in February of 2006 and while it may not be the most well known video container, they’ve still been able to rack up over 3 million downloads since that time. While you can find many different genres utilizing the Matroska format, it’s seen it’s strongest support from the Anime community, which tends to be one of the earliest adopters for web video advancements.

In the past, Matroska’s popularity has been limited because there are very few devices that allow you to watch the MKV files outside of your computer, but the 7.0 rollout should give the format a huge boost. According to the Doom9 post announcing Matroska support, it doesn’t sound like older DivX DVD players will be able to support the .MKV format, but I bet it won’t take long before the PS3 updates their firmware to offer support. This would give Sony a big advantage over Microsoft, among the millions of fans who are passionate about the file format.

At first glance, it’s easy to mistake Matroska as a competing video format to DivX, but in reality it’s a different animal entirely. DivX is a file compression format that helps to reduce the size of your video files with minimal impact on quality, whereas Matroska is a container that can hold many different video compression schemes. To use an analogy from the DVD world, DivX would be the actual videos that you see when you watch your DVDs whereas, Matroska would be like a blank DVD. In and of itself, a blank disc doesn’t contain any data, but by inserting DivX or H.264 into the Matroska container, it allows you to enjoy a more interactive video experience.

In his post announcing Matroska support, DivX team member DigitAl56K discussed the balance that DivX has tried to maintain between supporting high end features and also keeping it inexpensive for CE partners to be able to decode the video files.

“It’s important to remember that what brought compatibility across many devices for DivX 5 and 6 was balancing certain bitstream properties so that we allowed for efficient coding with a standard that many devices could work to adhere to. Nothing prevents manufacturers from going above and beyond if they choose to - it happens today. What is important is that there is some known baseline that is consistently implemented and thoroughly tested so that you know if you adhere to it during content creation your file is going to play reliably on any certified device.

If you think back seven or eight years DivX was really the first company to try to find a standard that was designed around bridging the gap between high quality video on the Internet and the general consumer in the CE space. To do this we had to constrain certain properties of the encoder and there was a lot of pushback from many people who wanted an unconstrained MPEG-4 ASP format. I think that now there is a clear precedent that shows what can be achieved if we can find a good compromise.”

What About .AVI?

In the past, DivX has supported the .AVI container for their files, but .AVI does have some limitations. Most notably, it doesn’t support high def content encoded in the H.264 format. Perhaps even more importantly, .AVI doesn’t allow you to insert non-video data into the container.

Matroska on the other hand, not only supports H.264, but it also allows you to include data files with your videos. This means that you can create a video file that includes options like DVD menus, closed captioning data and subtitles for global audiences. It also allows you to include multiple video files into a single download. This would allow a content creator to take one of their popular videos and bundle less well known content along with it. Whether it’s including things like Director commentary and bonus scenes with a download or having the ability to attach an upcoming pilot episode to a more popular season finale download, there are many different ways that content creators can leverage this technology in order to create a more compelling video experience for their fans.

What Are The Drawbacks to Matroska?

Before you start ditching .AVI for .MKV there are a few things that you should consider. So far, we don’t really know when DivX 7.0 will be released, so it may be awhile before you can actually play your Matroska files on your TV. FWIW, I did notice that DivX recently started hosting Stage7.DivX.com on their servers, but the web extension currently redirects back to their main site.

Another limitation of the Matroska file is that you need to have a decent computer, in order to be able to playback your files. If your computer is more three years old, you are probably better off sticking with the .AVI format to ensure a smooth experience.

Whether or not you use the Matroska format, DivX’s decision to support the container will have big implications on the future of video downloads. By working with CE manufacturers to ensure that their processors are powerful enough to decode the format, DivX is paving the way to bring new interactive services to the video download market.

My 2 Dollars has a post up where he lists 35 different ways you can ditch cable and satellite, but still get free TV. Since his list has already grown to 41, it inspired me break out the old Karaoke machine and record a tribute to internet TV. I’m not ready to quit my day job for a professional Karaoke career, but hope you enjoy it anyway. My apologies ahead of time to both Mr. Simon and my readers. This song is dedicated to Comcast for all of their years of craptacular service.

50 Ways To Leave Your Television Provider

She said why don’t we both
Just sleep on it for a fortnight
And I believe that in the future
You’ll begin to see the HD light
And then she comped me for a free month
And I realized she was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your TV provider
Fifty ways to leave your TV provider

The problem, most of the assets on CBS’ balance sheet are attributed to goodwill.

If the market is right, they are expecting CBS to write down about $6 billion in assets. This would mean that the disconnect between the balance sheet and the stock price may not last for very long. Worse yet, if they did have to do a write down, it would also mean that their financial performance hasn’t been strong enough to justify their own internal valuations. Lower earnings + massive multi-billion losses tends to = unhappy investors, hence the dismal stock performance.

“So, on paper, this single, pneumatic intangible supposedly is more valuable than the company as a whole. As they used to say on CBS’s old show “The Twilight Zone,” you are now traveling through another dimension. If CBS’s audits were an episode of “Survivor,” a bunch of that goodwill would have been voted off the island by now.

Goodwill is nothing more than a ledger entry, representing the premium that one company pays to buy another. Specifically, it’s the difference between the purchase price and the fair value of the acquired company’s net assets. The more you pay, the more goodwill you get. It can’t be sold by itself, either. Hence, the term’s synonym: air. CBS acquired the bulk of its goodwill through its 2000 purchase of — strangely enough — CBS.”

With CBS planning to purchase CNET, Weill notes that they’ll be adding even more goodwill to the balance sheet. While his article raises some tough questions for CBS, Weill does offer some help to CBS management by giving them a top 10 list of excuses that that they can use, for why they haven’t taken their medicine.

Top Ten CBS Excuses for Avoiding Big Writedowns:

1. Dave’s got a turnaround plan!

Weill’s article was written tongue in cheek, but he does raise some pretty serious questions for CBS investors. There are times when large goodwill is justified, but there are also a lot of companies who use this line item as a way to make their financial condition appear more healthy than it really is. Goodwill is a tricky asset to put a number on because it’s so intangible, but there does need to be a legitimate justification for keeping that value on the balance sheet. If the market is valuing the entire company at less than goodwill alone, then CBS needs to rethink how much that goodwill is really worth or provide an explanation for how they are valuing the asset.

As the P2P networks developed, DivX and it’s open source cousin XviD, became an important resource for file sharers. Initially, my own interest in DivX was driven by it’s technological advantages over other video formats, as well as the wide availability of DivX content on the grey market, but as compression technology has evolved, my reasons for using DivX have changed as well. Since I’m no longer on a dial-up network, compression is less important then what I can actually do with my videos.

As DivX gained in popularity, they were able to forge agreements with consumer electronic manufacturers that allowed you to play DivX files on a wide range of devices. Even though, H.264 is a superior standard for internet video, I still prefer DivX files because I know that I’ll be able to play them on the hardware devices that I own.

By creating an eco-system that supports portability, DivX has been able to lock me into their format in the same way that Apple has been able to use iTunes to keep their customers buying iPods instead of mp3 players.

As H.264, Microsoft, Apple and Adobe all continue to creep into DivX’s territory, there has been a lot of concern over how DivX would respond to these competing threats. Microsoft’s approach has been to batten down the hatches by developing their proprietary Silverlight codec. By retaining full control over the video format, they are able to convince people to buy as many Microsoft supported products as possible. These extra restrictions increase the appeal of Silverlight for DRM hungry Hollywood studios, but it also frustrates their customers in the process. Incompatible file formats are the reason why services like Netflix’s Watch Now doesn’t get along with Apple. Since Microsoft (and Apple) refuse to open up their codecs, it gives them a monopoly on the hardware that is allowed to support their video files.

Apple has at least opened up their system a little bit by adding support for the H.264 format, but they’ve still chosen to wrap their h.264 files inside of the Quicktime container. This prevents other companies from supporting Apple H.264 content, without obtaining a license for Quicktime first. This helps to open up Apple’s eco-system to alternative video formats, but still gives Apple control over the companies that are allowed to play nice with their your media.

Similarly, Adobe has also forged agreements to support H.264 inside of flash, but if you want to take your Flash H.264 files portable, you’ll need a device that can support the Flash format. To their credit, Adobe has done a good job of building momentum for downloadable flash by supporting open source initiatives, a new DRM system, and by removing license fees for mobile providers, but despite their early traction with these efforts, there are still very few hardware devices that are actually capable of playing portable flash content.

With so many companies pursuing proprietary video strategies, one would expect DivX to be focusing on locking consumers into the DivX format, but like most things having to do with DivX, their strategy for dealing with the next generation of codecs is also built on a system of openness.

We got our first real glimpse of this strategy last November when DivX announced that they had acquired Mainconcept for $22 - $28 million. The Mainconcept acquisition gave DivX an immediate footprint in the H.264 space, but it also raised some important questions about how DivX could maintain a monopoly on their community, while supporting a format that is widely available to competitors.

Interestingly enough, while discussing H.264 on their latest conference call, DivX CEO Kevin Hell pointed out that the current state of H.264 really isn’t all that different from the MPEG-4 standard that DivX was built on.

“Looking forward, a real opportunity exists for DivX to emerge as the consumer face of H.264, serving as a trusted brand for users who don’t want to concern themselves with underlying formats or technologies. In fact, the current H.264 market resembles in many ways the early stages of MPEG-4 market.

When DivX first emerged seven years ago there were number of different and incompatible MPEG-4 implementations available. Through our strong consumer adoption and the creation of the DivX certification program, we were able to simplify the experience for consumers and provide a solution that just works across any device. We plan to repeat that strategy by incorporating broad H.264 support into both our software and consumer electronics offerings under the DivX brand. We are on track to release a new version of our software in 2008 that supports H.264 and then extend that support to consumer electronic devices that are likely to hit the market in 2009. We believe that this development will help move the DivX brand beyond one single format and toward promise of support for any video content, on any device.”

DivX’s evolution towards H.264 won’t be a clean and easy transition, but it is the right direction for the company. If they can successfully integrate H.264 into their certification program, it will reduce the threat of their codec becoming obsolete and will highlight their certification process as being the real value added for consumer device manufacturers.

Instead of trying to educate consumers on the differences between MPEG-4 Part 2 vs. MPEG-4 AVC (H.264), CE manufacturers can slap the DivX label onto their devices and consumers will know that it will support their digital video libraries without complications. In fact, during the Q&A section of their conference call, DivX discussed the possibility of pushing this envelope even further by adding Flash support to their certification program.

“In terms of how we think about Flash more broadly, the vast majority of content that is downloaded today is in DivX format or variations of the DivX format, so we don’t see that as being a threat in terms of the use case that we’re really providing, which is high quality content delivered through the internet and then played back on a variety of devices. To the extent that Flash starts to get traction in terms of files that are downloaded at high quality and based on the terms, it would be something that we could actually extend into and offer into our certification program as well and that’s what we’d be looking to do.”

Part of what makes DivX such a difficult company to pin down, is their ability to take competitors and turn them into partners. On one hand, Microsoft is one of the biggest threats to DivX, but if they can get them to extend DivX support to the Xbox, they could become an important customer.

Adobe is currently using Mainconcept to power their H.264 support, but they are also trying to establish their own format as the new standard for internet delivered video. These complex relationships are enough to make anyone’s head spin, but DivX has a way of getting their partners to look at the glass half full side of the equation.

On one hand, It’s hard for me to believe that Adobe would be all that enthusiastic about giving up control over their flash content, but on the other hand, a DivX partnership would create a powerful competitor to Apple and Microsoft’s closed systems.

Adobe would gain access to an established community of video fans and would have one more platform that could drive demand for Flash content. Instead of having to worry about the lack of downloadable flash content, they could leverage DivX’s popularity, while slowly introducing their own standard for web video. While I doubt that older DivX devices would be able to support Flash with a firmware update, any new DivX devices would be able to support their content.

For DivX, they would be able to increase the appeal of their brand by offering support for the next generation of internet video. They could also use Adobe DRM as a way of bypassing studio approval for DivX content. While DivX did mention plans to update their DRM later this year, getting in through Adobe’s backdoor could be a lot easier than buying off the studios. According to DivX’s 4th quarter 10k filing, they paid Sony $1.5 million and gave them 100,000 warrants at a strike price of $16.14, in order to get the studio to bless the DivX format. While it’s possible that DivX plans on buying off all of the studios, this could get expensive really quick, if DivX is serious about going legit.

For consumers, it would be the biggest win of all. Instead of being locked into a single file format, they would have the flexiblity to adopt alternative standards without having to abandon their current media libraries. This would pressure Microsoft and Apple to open up their hardware, instead of maintaining data silos.

It’s hard to judge how serious DivX is about adopting flash support from just a few comments, but even beyond flash, having support for multi-formats adds real value to their brand. As new forms of digital transmission unfold, DivX is in a position to attach their brand to a much larger category of web video.

Some of the niche video formats don’t have the ability to negotiate partnerships with the device manufacturers directly, but through DivX could gain access to a much larger audience. If DivX certification suddenly meant that Matroska containers could play on DivX devices, it would open up another community that DivX could tap into and it would change how Matroska fans think about the DivX brand.

Bringing other formats into the DivX program, would add to DivX’s cost of revenue, but it would make DivX certification more valuable to their CE partners. I may enjoy dissecting the nuances between the various competing video formats, but most consumers don’t want to think about it. They want to be able to play whatever file they have without converting it into a single format. By focusing on supporting as many formats as possible, DivX may end up competing with their own eco-system, but they’ll also expand their reach in the process. By taking DivX beyond the codec, it allows their community to move forward with the future, while hanging onto the treasures from the past.

Disclosure - I own shares of Netflix

Just when you thought it was safe to salvage your Moviebeam box for spare parts, there’s new hope on the horizon that Moviebeam may once again be coming to a television screen near you. Like a zombie from a bad horror flick, Moviebeam continues to rise from the dead feasting on the rotted brains of media moguls and venture capitalists with each new incarnation.

According to the Daily Bankruptcy Review, Movie Gallery has asked for bankruptcy court approval to sell their VOD service to Dar Capital Limited at a $2.25 million price tag.

“Movie Gallery pulled the plug on its-on-demand movie service, called MovieBeam, in December as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11 protection. Dar Capital Limited has agreed to buy MovieBeam, which had about 1,800 subscribers at the time it was shut down. The service required customers to purchase a television set-top box that allowed them to order films for between $1.99 and $4.99. Movie Gallery said in court papers filed Thursday that it began shopping the MovieBeam business soon after shuttering the service and that 14 parties showed an interest in the company. Dar Capital is picking up MovieBeam’s remaining assets, which include certain trademarks and intellectual property associated with the business.”

While the resurrection of Moviebeam will be welcome news for the 1,800 customers who initially ponied up the dough for a box, the sale of the service represents another bitter defeat for Movie Gallery. Just last year, they paid $10 million for the service. Initially, they had hoped to use Moviebeam to strengthen their digital strategy, but when they couldn’t convince in store customers to invest in yet another set top box, they shuttered the money losing service and cut off the early adopters who had plunked down hard earned cash for the box.

If the courts do allow the sale to take place, I’m not convinced that Dar Capital will have much luck in performing CPR on this one. Moviebeam fatal flaw was that that it suffered from a lack of choice and I don’t see this being any less of an issue for Dar Capital. If consumers could get access to everything on demand, paying an upfront fee wouldn’t be as much of a big deal, but with a miniscule selection of movies, it’s hard to justify spending money on a box, especially when you still have to pay for the content.

Even at the heavily discounted price of $2.25 million, this still means that Dar Capital will be paying $1,250 per subscriber. At this cost, they may be better off subsidizing the cost of 2,000 boxes and starting their own service. Then again, it’s entirely possible that Dar Capital is more interested in the bandwidth agreements, then the actual customer base. Moviebeam delivers their movies by piggybacking on PBS’ bandwidth.

Last week, Sezmi launched their wunderbox with promises of a bandwidth delivery system that sounds eeriely similar to the one that Moviebeam implemented. Given the amount of bandwidth that Sezmi will need to deliver on their high definition promises, it wouldn’t surprise me if Dar Capital flips Moviebeam’s bandwidth, instead of turning the service back on. It’s still too early to know what Dar Capital’s end game will actually be, but we should know more on May 8th when Movie Gallery is due back in court.

Over the last year, I’ve been drooling over the new GTA and with less then a week before the launch, I’m starting to really get fired up. I’ve been playing GTA since it was a PC download only and with every new release the game gets better and better. When Rockstar ran their first trailer for the game, I immediately went to their site to reserve a copy. When I saw that overnight shipping was an extra $20! I canceled the order and decided to go the retail route instead.

I don’t buy a ton of games, but when I do it’s almost exclusively from Gamestop. Normally, I care more about price then brand recognition, but over the years certain brands have won my loyalty and Gamestop is one of them. Whenever I visit their stores, the employees are always really friendly and give great advice on which games to buy. Gamestop is one of those rare places where an employee will actually try to talk you out of a sale, if you try to buy a game that blows.

Since getting to Gamestop can be a bit of a hassle for me, I wanted to reserve a copy over the internet and then pick it up at a local store on the street date. Unfortunately, when I visited the Gamestop website, they were happy to let me pre-order the game, but only if I wanted it shipped to me. When I called my local Gamestop, they told me that I had to physically visit the store if I wanted to reserve a local copy.

Given that Gamestop’s core demographic is hyper connected to the web, I’m surprised that they would be so technologically backwards. It could be that they sell more games when they make people visit the store twice, but it’s not a very customer friendly strategy, especially with gas prices being what they are. Since I’m not willing to take two trips to a store (even for a brand I like), I ended up going to Best Buy’s website instead. From there I was not only able to pre-order the game, but I was also able to find a store near my home where I can pick it up. All without having to unplug from the internet.

Shopping at Best Buy always makes me feel scuzzy because they treat me like a shoplifter when I try to buy video games there, but in this digital age, I’m willing to give up brand loyalty for the convenience of the web. Losing my transaction won’t hurt GameStop, but I can’t help but wonder how many other people choose a competitor over a separate trip to Gamespot.

Gamestop told me that they have their in store pre-order policy in place for “security reasons”, but that doesn’t really make any sense. They allow you to purchase things with a credit card off of the internet, but they won’t allow you to put down a $5 deposit for pre-orders? If Best Buy can offer this type of convenience then GameStop should be able to come up with a better solution too. I still plan on stopping into GameStop when I’m itching for a new game, but they’ll miss out on the games that I know I’m going to buy, long before they even come out.

This isn’t the first time that someone has tried to hype the launch of a Stage6 replacement. As soon as Stage6 announced their shut down, there was a flurry of fake Stage6 clone announcements. Most of those sites fizzled out before they even got started.

NewStage6.com was the first “replacement” to pop up on my radar. Initially they had a timer counting down until their launch, but today, the site is all but empty. Highlol.com was another website that tried to create buzz around the Stage6 collapse. They promised free HD DivX downloads, but there still aren’t any videos on the site today.

Having already been burned a couple of times, you can understand why I tend to be skeptical about these sorts of promises. With DivX Inc. having come out and denied any affiliation with the site, I can’t help but wonder how far they will let this get before they try to shut it down. On the other hand, because DivX benefits from having more of their content out there, maybe they are really better off ignoring it. Still, if DivxIT does gain traction, DivX might not be so happy about someone copying their site, especially when they don’t seem willing to sell it to begin with. If DivX does try to go the hostile route, I think that they may be up against more than they realize.

According to my sources, the creator of DivxIT is a part of the social revolution group, Anonymous. I wasn’t able to confirm whether DivxIT is the brainchild of a solitary fan or if it is part of the larger movement, but I do think its worth noting that Stage6 was hacked earlier this year. Whoever hacked the site posted membership information online, but I don’t know whether or not they would had access to the GUI. April 29th may still end up being a bust or just a cheap knock off, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this turns out to be an exact replica of the Stage6 website.

I was also able to learn that prior to setting his sights on web video, DivxIT’s mystery founder also created the MyVideoTab.com website. MVT looks like a great resource for anyone who is interested in learning how to play cover songs off of the internet, but its ownership is also shrouded in mystery.

Even before Stage6 shut down, there was already a Stage6 clone in China, but trying to watch videos from the US brings back terrible flashbacks of 26k dial up connections. If I was going to launch my own clone, I would have gone with the 6egats.com domain instead, but someone beat me to that one already. We may end up getting punked with some wacky Scientology video on the 29th, but it will be interesting to see how this ends up playing out.

Update - So much for my conspiracies about black helicopters. It looks like DivxIT and DivX have worked out a deal for the new site. DivX must have asked them to change the name to something less confusing though because the new site will now be launched at Vreel.net. The launch was also postponed until May 6. On the Vreel website they have a FAQ where they say that their “database will be built from the ground up from day one onwards.” They also thank DivX for being cool about working out a deal with them.

On the same day that TiVo was celebrating another legal win over Dish, they also learned of new lawsuit against them. Jonathan Riches has sued TiVo and some mysterious entity know as “HDTV” over the lack of HD TiVo in his jail cell. TiVo may end up needing to take Dish all the way to the Supreme Court to win their feud, but don’t bet on Riches suit getting quite as far. He’s already sued TiVo once before and had the case quickly dismissed. In fact over the last year, Riches has seen over 1,000 of his bogus lawsuits thrown out of court. I can understand how the losing access to TiVo’s sweet HDTV goodness might be uncomfortable, but I’m not convinced that it rises to the level of unconstitutionality.

What do you think is life without TiVo cruel and unusual punishment? (for dramatic effect)

It’s hard to know how popular handgun rentals will be, but if Redbox has success with the program, I bet we’ll see Netflix work out a loaner program with the post office to compete.

As someone who lives in the United States, it’s easy to forget that TiVo isn’t available everywhere. Over the last few years, we’ve seen TiVo support expanded to Canada, Mexico, China and pretty soon Australia, but TiVo’s international expansion hasn’t come without its fair share of head fakes.

Early on in their history, TiVo tried to bring the TiVolution to Britain, but the initiative proved too costly and they later withdrew support to focus on North America. For a long time, I thought that TiVo would stick exclusively to the US market, but about three years ago, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun announced that TiVo was trying to form a Japanese partnership and had plans to launch a version of TiVo in Japan, beginning in early 2007.

2007 came and went and while TiVo has achieved significant progress on their international expansion, they never mentioned the TiVo Japan partnership again. After failing to launch the service in 07′, I had given up all hope of seeing TiVo in Japan, but after a long slumber, it appears that the sun the moon has once again risen on the TiVo Japan website.

Instead of announcing new plans for a Japanese service though, the website has apparently been hacked by a group who is upset about an upcoming advertising program by TiVo. If you go to the TiVo.jp website, they’ve posted a warning about plans by TiVo to disable fast forwarding capabilities on their sponsors’ commercials. In a statement condemning the program, the hackers have vowed to retain control over the site until TiVo agrees to a forthcoming list of their demands.

“We at the Japanese branch of the Television Internet Video Organization (TIVO.jp) believe that fast forwarding through bad content is a fundamental right that every human being should have access to. It shouldn’t matter whether you live in Alviso, California or Yamanashi Japan, we dream of a world where ad skipping is available to everyone.

With TiVo silently plotting to take away our fast forwarding capabilities, we felt that we had no choice, but to strike back by taking control over the TiVo Japan website. Our hope is that TiVo will reconsider their anti-ad skipping stance and will agree to reinstate our ability to blow past bad commercials.”

While I applaud TiVo for trying to come up with an innovative way to reward their shareholders, I can’t help but wonder how popular fast forward blocking will be with TiVo’s customers. It’s likely that this may be an April Fool’s joke by TiVo and that they may be having some fun with their own website, but somehow I doubt that they would Goatse their customers with a faux protest. The site has an RSS feed and I’ll be tuning in for more announcements. I don’t think that we’re any closer to seeing TiVo DVRs in Japan, but at least the website has new content.