Flash vs QuickTime is it Like Obama vs Clinton?

Well it looks like Flash has won the video player wars when it comes to site embeded streaming video but QuickTime is still king when it come to downloadable video to play on an iPod, iPhone or iPod Touch.

Now when it comes to placing ads (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) in and around video I've found that Ad-Networks are shying away from QuickTime and downloadable media because it's hard to tell in real time if someone has watched an ad in a downloaded video.

iTunes, iPods, iPod Touches and iPhones don't play Flash because Apple has made them that way but they do support video podcasting where many of us online video producers get our views. On the other hand advertisers, media buyers and ad agencies like Flash because they can see real time stats.

When will we be able to sort this out?

When will we have our National Convention and decide on our video player candidate?

How will BARACKY: THE MOVIE end?

Video for Your iPhone

Kyte.tv has a video player that works on the iPhone through the Safari Browser.

Does your video podcast or vlog play on the iPhone through the iPhone Safari browser?

Sony Walkmaning Away from Music Store

According to Techwhack Sony is “closing down their Connect digital music store.” And won’t be competing with the iTunes Store.

Wow do I feel out of touch, I didn’t even know Sony had a music store. Maybe that was its problem. I did have a really nice Sony Walkman when I was a kid. I might still have it in a box somewhere. They are coming out with a new line of Walkmans that will have FM tuners and Windows Media Audio (WMA), AAC and MP3 music formats, show JPEG photos and playback MPEG-4 video files. Now the top-of-the-line Walkman video players (NWZ-A810 series) have a 2-inch QVGA LCD screen but do they play video podcasts?

Please let me know if you get one. Maybe you might win one at a conference???? I saw a guy win a Zune at a conference once. In fact that’s the only time I’ve ever seen a Zune. They could become collectors items soon where only the really cool kids have a Zune because everyone else has an iPod or iPhone.

Getting a $350 discount on an iPhone

For a video producer one of the many great things about an iPhone is that it’s an iPod that you can load your videos on to and then carry them around with you. You can have your demo reel with you at all times ready to show it anyone you can get to watch it.

On the other hand two of the worst things about the iPhone is that it costs a lot more than most other phones ($600) and you have to sign up for a two year contract with AT&T.

At one of the parties I was at up in San Francisco last week I ran into a guy with a new iPhone who said he had an interesting way to get a cheap iPhone. I asked if he knew someone at Apple and he said, “No.” but all it took was just a little bit of time and a credit card.

The first step he said was to visit a site like Pricegrabber and find the best deal on a new Blackberry Curve 8300 Smartphone. Once you find the best deal, which right now looks like it’s a FREE Blackberry Curve 8300 Smartpnone with a $150, mail-in rebate. Make sure it’s from a well rated dealer then buy it. Next sign up for the cheap activation then wait for the Blackberry Curve to arrive in the mail.

Once the Blackberry Curve shows up, place an ad on Craigslist to sell it for $350 or $400. Keep in mind the more you charge the longer it will take to sell but it should go pretty quick right now. He then went on to say that lots of guys drop their phones in the toilet or break them and they are locked into a two-year contract with AT&T and if they go back into the AT&T phone store they will have to buy a new smartphone at full price ($495 without activation) because Blackberry Curves are subsidized by the carrier so they are more expensive without the two year contract and if you just dropped your new Blackberry Curve down the drain you have to pay full price to replace it because the don’t sell Blackberry Curve Insurance. So getting a replacement for $350 is well worth it. Next he went on to say that once you’ve sold the Blackberry Curve for $350 or more take the cash, go to an AT&T or Apple Store and buy a new iPhone then transfer the service contract you had on the Blackberry Curve to the iPhone by signing a new Two Year contract that cancels out your old one. Keep in mind I haven’t done this so I don’t know that it works for sure and I don’t know if it’s illegal in anyway but it sounds like you could save $350 on an iPhone.