Articles about Video

Video chat should be simple, but it is not. The biggest issue is fragmentation. On iOS, for instance, Facetime is a wonderfully easy solution, but there is no Android client. While there are plenty of cross-platform third-party options to solve this, they aren't always elegant. Skype is a good example of an app that should bridge the gap, but ends up being buggy and clunky.

Google is aiming to solve this dilemma with its 'Duo' video chat app. With it, the search giant is putting a heavy focus on ease of use. The offering is available for both Android and iOS -- the only two mobile platforms that matter (sorry, Windows 10 Mobile). Announced three months ago, it finally sees release today. There is no news about the Allo chat sister-app, sadly.

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Google is pushing out Chrome 52 for Android, and the big news with this release relates to video. With video being such a massive component of internet traffic, it is perfectly natural for Google to focus on this area, and the company says that improvements have been made to battery consumption and loading times.

There is a marked shift of focus to speed and power efficiency -- compared to the desktop where the focus has long been quality over everything else.

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Microsoft has announced a new video service called Stream that will enable businesses of all sizes to securely manage and share videos.

From today on, any user with a business email address will be able to sign up for the preview of the new service in seconds. With Stream they can then begin to upload, share and tag videos from their organization. It will also be simple to discover relevant videos since the company will employ machine learning to help users find trending videos and will also give them the ability to search by hashtag, most liked videos or other key search terms.

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Internet Explorer has been much-maligned over the years, and Microsoft Edge sees the Redmond company trying to shake off the shackles of the past. Its latest marketing push finds Microsoft claiming that Edge is the best desktop web browser for Netflix viewing.

The reason? In addition to claims about greater battery efficiency, Microsoft's killer blow is that Edge is the only of the main desktop browsers to support 1080p viewing. It might seem like a surprising and audacious claim, but the test bears it out. Microsoft Edge has a serious unique selling point.

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End-to-end video streaming and monetization platform Anvato announced recently that it has been acquired by Google, and that it will be joining the Google Cloud Platform team.

Anvato is a video processing software solution, offering encoding, editing, publishing and distribution of videos on various platforms. The company’s clients include NBCUniversal, MSNBC, CBS, Univision, HGTV, Bravo and Fox Sports, and they use their services to power live streams, to edit videos directly in the cloud, and insert ads.

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Video collaboration increases productivity and improves both business and personal relationships, according to video conferencing technology company Lifesize.

The company polled its users and says that 99.2 percent of respondents find video conferencing boosts relationships both in and out of the office. No word on how many people were polled, though.

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VideoLAN today releases the first public beta build of VLC for Windows 10. Now a universal app, it comes with the same core feature set as the Android and iOS apps but also a few platform-specific extras. VLC 2.0.0 is compatible with all the common Windows 10 devices, including smartphones.

The main features that VLC 2.0.0 brings to the table are the vast audio and video format support, the ability to view and download subtitles and synchronize audio and video, and a network sharing browser. Additionally for Windows 10 users, it also plays well with key features like Cortana and Continuum.

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Whether you have a story to tell or product to sell, there are multiple benefits to Explainer Videos. Producing short films for online audiences allow you to showcase your wares and expertise, offering an affordable, snappy and entertaining route toward grabbing attention, boosting conversion rates and increasing sales.

With recent research predicting that 79 percent of global consumer Internet traffic will be video by 2018, it’s little wonder that marketers the world over are focusing on the medium of moving pictures and investing in explainer videos, confident of the potential for generating healthy returns.

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For quite a while, I was hesitant to embrace Facebook because of privacy concerns. While that is still a worry, I have softened a bit, coming to like its Messenger app in particular. While the logic Facebook uses to list content in my timeline still eludes me (what's wrong with chronological?), it is a satisfying experience overall.

Believe it or not, the ability to leave comments and reply to posts using video was not previously available on Facebook. This is probably because video cannot be text-mined, but I digress. Today, the social network announces that video commenting is now a reality. Want to try it yourself? It is actually very simple.

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If you like taking Live Photos with your iPhone then you probably want to share those moments with other folks. One of the best ways that you can do that is by converting your Live Photos to GIFs, so that everyone can enjoy them even if they do not have an iOS device or Mac.

By now there are loads of apps that let you do that, but Google believes that there is room for one more. So, its Research arm has introduced Motion Stills, which has a neat little trick up its sleeve.

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At this year’s Computex show in Taiwan, Intel announced that it is adding new chips to its Xeon E3 1500 line of server processors to help service providers handle the massive amounts of online video-related traffic created by the "visual cloud".

Webcasts, video-conferencing, digital TV broadcasts, cloud gaming, video transcoding and even the delivery of remote workstations all make up what the company and other chipmakers have begun to refer to as the visual cloud. The new chips that Intel is adding to its Xeon E3-1500 line have been created with extra capabilities that aid in accelerating video and multimedia workloads.

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Gaming mice are pretty common nowadays -- there are many makes and models available. Some are rather basic, while some have advanced features, such as adjustable weights and DPI. Many of them light up for aesthetic purposes too. It can be almost impossible to stand out from the crowd.

Today, however, SteelSeries begins selling a gaming mouse that raises the bar. The wired Rival 700 gaming mouse is modular, and has some unique features -- an OLED display and tactile feedback. Believe it or not, the price is quite affordable too.

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In an effort to remain competitive with rival messaging platforms, BlackBerry has decided to bring video calling to its cross platform BBM messaging apps.

Last week, it was unveiled that the Android variant of BlackBerry Messenger would be receiving the ability to make video calls as a beta feature. Now the company has announced that this feature will also be appearing on Apple’s iOS.

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Xiaomi Yi is among the most attractive action cameras for consumers on a budget. For just under $80, you get pretty much everything you could hope for. The only thing that is missing is 4K support, which is now starting to show up in more and more devices in this segment. Its successor, however, addresses this shortcoming.

Yi Technologies, the company behind Xiaomi Yi, has officially announced the second-generation of its action camera, called Yi 2. It packs a new chip, formally known as Ambarella A9, that enables 4K video recording at up to 30 FPS and 1080p video recording at up to 120 FPS.

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As someone born in the 1980's, I grew up with MTV. Quite frankly, before I bought my first cassette or CD, I got my music fix by watching these classic music videos. While MTV has since moved away from music videos, websites like YouTube have stepped in to fill the void.

Even though music videos have evolved with innovative cinematography and cool effects, they are still largely the same old thing -- a mix of audio and video. Today, Google Play announces a collaboration with musician Elizabeth Rose to create something more appropriate for tech-focused millennials -- an interactive music video.

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