Infrastructure

Vimeo, the big video sharing site, known widely for its popularity among the creative community of videographers and filmmakers, has introduced a new functionality to its “couch mode.”

Internet-connected TVs with built-in apps are poised to grow 36% over the next five years. That growth will be fueled in part by demand for built-in apps for Netflix, YouTube and others, said research firm In-Stat.

Vimeo, the big video sharing site, known mostly for its global popularity as the video player of choice for the creative community, is launching today a commercial service for small businesses.

Some 15-20 percent of Roku owners are cancelling their cable or satellite services agreement and are relying solely on a broadband connection to get their television programming, said company VP Jim Funk in this exclusive interview with Beet.TV.

WASHINGTON, DC — Seeing an opportunity with government agencies for the distribution of Web video, Boston-based Brightcove has launched a "federal government initiative" with Carahsoft, a big government IT consulting firm.

While the imminent introduction of Verizon's 4G smart phones created a good bit of buzz at CES, the highly anticipated Verizon iPhone will likely run on the company's existing 3G network, at least initially, says Maggie Reardon, lead telecom reporter for CNET News.com in this interview with Beet.TV

In November, Verizon FiOS announced a substantial increase in connection speed to 150 MBPS down and 35 MBPS up for all of its 12.5 million U.S. subscribers. 

Subscribers to Verizon FiOS TV now have the ability to download a range of premium video to rent or buy onto several devices including Windows PC's, the Blackberry Storm2, HTC HD2, Motorola Droid 2 and Droid X.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass — With its acquisition of ON2 and its video codec VP8,  Google is seeking to establish a unified, industry-wide codec for publishers to create HTML5 video.

LOS ANGELES — While the television industry is abuzz in anticipation over Google TV, the big story in the convergence of television and the Web could be the Xbox, says Forrester's James McQuivey, a top industry analyst.

As broadband consumption moves increasingly to mobile devices, the speed of wireless networks is becoming crucial and many carriers are increasing speeds, accouding to Akamai's just released report "The State of the Internet."

PARIS — Dailymotion, the big global video sharing site, has been developing tools for content discovery including "hubs," areas of content around themes and personal interest.

A small Bay Area, angel-backed start-up called SpeakerText provides publishers with a plug-in  to transcribe videos with clickable and shareable transcripts. 

Cisco, ramping up its efforts around online video management services, has purchased Boston-based ExtendMedia for an undisclosed sum, Cisco announded today.

New York-based online video platform company Twistage has been gaining traction in addressing the needs of companies' internal "enterprise" needs for online video management.

Elemental Technologies, the Portland, Oregon-based company that quickly transcodes videos for the Web, has received a $7.5 million round of funding from Disney's Steamboat Ventures and other earlier investors.

Viewdle, the visual recognition software company with origins in the Soviet military, has received a venture round from the RIM's BlackBerry Fund, says John Albright, co-managing partner in this exclusive interview with Beet.TV.

Akamai, the Boston-based content delivery network, said today that demand for Internet services around the World Cup doubled over demand in 2006 during certain peak times.   

LOS ANGELES –  Cisco is ramping up its support for 3D TV as the industry gears up for the launch of the first slate of 3D networks later this year and early next.

As the HTML 5 versus Flash debate rages on, the yeoman's Web work being done by many media companies still relies on Flash-powered video.