Articles about Video

CyberLink PowerDirector has been one of the top consumer video editors for a few years now, and you don’t have to use it for long to understand why.

The core editor gets the program off to a good start. Import your source files into the Media Room, organize them on the 100 track timeline, and apply hundreds of effects and transitions by dragging and dropping: it’s all very easy.

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MAGIX Software GmbH has updated its movie-editing product range with the release of MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 2014. Also available in Plus and Premium versions, the new build comes with the promise of improved multi-track performance through more efficient use of multi-core PCs.

The new build also comes with "tons" of new content, with all elements now HD and 16:9 compatible. Movie Edit Pro 2014 also gains HDR effects for the first time too, while Plus and Premium users gain a new proxy editing feature.

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A new feature is rolling to Facebook mobile, a feature that has been designed to provide "an easier way to watch video". "How could a video possibly be made easier to watch?", you may well ask. "All it takes is a quick tap to start playback!" The new feature will play videos as soon as you see them in your news feed -- no need for a tap.

Videos start playing silently and if you're not interested in watching you can just keep scrolling by. But if a video does take your fancy, how do you think you view it with sound and in full screen mode? That's right… you tap on it. Just like you do at the moment. The feature is not yet available to everyone, but if you don’t see it in your account on your mobile handset, you can check out a video of what it looks like in action.

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CyberLink has unveiled the latest version of its flagship video creation tool, PowerDirector 12, and image editor, PhotoDirector 5. And these are major updates, too, with some particularly interesting high-end additions.

Multicam editing isn’t something you’d expect to find in a consumer video editor, for instance. But PowerDirector 12′s new MultiCam designer might just change all that with its ability to easily combine, organize and edit footage of the same event from up to four cameras.

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In its continuing effort to thwart the evil Google (except when partnered with it) Microsoft announces another improvement to its search engine alternative, this time in the form of video. Microsoft terms this update "completely reimagined", but users can be the judge of that.

"We know there is more than one great video service out there and that’s why we showcase the best the web has to offer. On Bing you can not only find great videos from YouTube, Hulu and Vimeo, but also content from Dailymotion, Vevo, MTV, CBS, MSN and more", says the Bing video search team.

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Ever since consumers flocked to HD flat-screen television the manufacturers have been busy hatching plans for the next get-rich-quick scheme. With 3D pretty much in the toilet, the next scheme to get consumers to all fork over their money yet again is 4K. Also known as ultra HD, the spec has twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of the current 1080p format, with four times as many pixels.

Today that vibrant 4k future moves a step closer with the official announcement of HDMI 2.0. The specifications bandied about in the announcement are eye-popping. "This latest HDMI Specification, the first to be developed by the HDMI Forum, offers a significant increase in bandwidth (up to 18Gbps) to support new features such as 4K at 50/60 (2160p), which is four times the clarity of 1080p/60 video resolution; 32 audio channels; as well as dynamic auto lip-sync and extensions to CEC".

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Crackle, the online streaming service from Sony, remains one of the competitors in today's growing and increasingly competitive market. Today the entertainment arm of Sony announced a new strategy. The company will partner with tech giant Microsoft for what both hope will be mutual benefit.

"Sony’s Crackle is the latest digital network to start producing its own original feature-length films, with next Thursday’s premiere of the martial arts flick Extraction. But antsy Windows Phone action junkies don’t have to wait: Crackle is giving us an exclusive early pass" reports Microsoft's Michael Stroh. Windows Phone customers are not the only one who will get this exclusive content -- Xbox Live and Windows 8 users will also benefit from the deal.

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If you are a Netflix customer with a family, you will likely have encountered some flaws in the service's design. When you visit your queue in order to locate a movie you added you will firstly need to scroll through everything your spouse has added, and if you have kids then the task becomes even tougher. After solving this problem earlier in the month with individual profiles, the company is turning to another problem in need of solving.

Today Netflix announces what is essentially an improvement on the queue, calling it "My List". Michael Spiegelman, director of product innovation at Netflix explains: "We’ve designed a better way to help you easily find and watch those titles you picked to watch on Netflix and are happy to introduce My List to all our streaming members globally. With My List you can now quickly go to your own row or gallery on Netflix and instantly find those titles you already picked to watch".

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Shortly after Microsoft released its native YouTube Windows Phone 8 app in early-May, Google sent the software giant a cease and desist letter, demanding the app's removal from Store. The reasons, according to the document, centered on three main features that Microsoft baked-in, namely content download, an ad-free user experience and forgoing playback restrictions. The app was pulled from Windows Phone Store in late-May, and replaced with the older iteration.

Good news! Late-yesterday, following a collaboration with Google, Microsoft quietly launched a compliant YouTube Windows Phone 8 app. "We've released an updated YouTube app for Windows Phone that provides the great experience our consumers expect while addressing the concerns Google expressed in May, including the addition of ads", says Microsoft in a statement issued to me. "We appreciate Google's support in ensuring that Windows Phones customers have a quality YouTube experience and look forward to continuing the collaboration".

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Instagram just introduced a major change to the video-posting feature in its Android and iOS mobile apps, with the popular social network now allowing users to upload pre-recorded clips from the smartphone's gallery.

The revamped video-posting feature is part of the new Instagram apps for Android and iOS, version 4.1. "Starting today you can upload videos from your phone's media library and share those moments to Instagram regardless of when they were captured", says Instagram. "Once you select the video clip you'd like to import, you can trim it down to the exact part you like best. We've also made it so that you can choose how you square-crop your clip so you can keep the action front and center".

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Amazon Prime has been slowly growing, from shipping to video and even a lending library, but the company has also been busy adding original content these days and that continues today. Previously the retail giant even crowd-sourced new shows, asking those who viewed the pilots to choose which would make it to production.

Now the company wishes to launch five new kids shows -- in pilot form, once again. "Following the positive response to its first set of TV pilots, Amazon Studios today announced it will produce five more original pilots for kids, including the first pilots for ages six to eleven. The new pilots come from Emmy Award-winning creators as well as a Hollywood newcomer discovered though Amazon Studios’ open-door submission process. The pilots will stream on Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM in the U.K. for customers to watch, provide feedback, and help determine which shows should be produced as a series", the company announces today.

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Prolific Windows Phone developer Rudy Huyn (known for popular offerings like 9Gag, Fuse and Wikipedia) has finally released the much-awaited, third-party Vine client called 6Sec. The new app arrives in Store after a lengthy development and testing phase and, right from the get-go, is touted to provide complete functionality.

The odds, however, are against Huyn's client -- according to Finnish maker Nokia, an official Vine app will "soon" launch on Windows Phone 8. 6Sec will, therefore, face fierce competition and, in order to gain considerable traction, must offer unquestionable value straight from its first iterations.

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Vine, the popular Twitter-owned video-sharing service, just released an update for its iPhone app, which is designed to increase user engagement and provide beefed up sharing options.

"This is our biggest, most exciting update yet -- and we've got even more coming soon", says Vine cofounder and CTO Colin Kroll. The iPhone app now offers access to 15 channels, including Arts & Experimental, Cats, Comedy, Dogs, Family and others, which users can browse and post to straight from Explore. Each channel comes with a custom theme and Popular feed.

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Microsoft has released Skype 6.6 for Windows and Mac, which introduces minor updates to the company's popular chat service that "focus on quality by addressing user feedback and improving ease of use".

Version 6.6 concentrates on adopting consistent entry points for sending video messages across all platforms, plus implementing a number of platform-specific fixes.

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The war for your dollars escalates as more services vie for control of the wallet, enabling customers to watch movies and TV shows without need of running to the local store or kiosk to fill the video habit. Netflix and Amazon compete for the prized crown, but Redbox has launched Instant to get into the market as well. Blockbuster? Bueller? Bueller? Oh, that's right it tried too.

Redbox Instant by Verizon (yes, that is the whole official name) aims to up the ante in this war with its latest Android update. Finally bringing the streaming service to rooted Android devices.

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