Comparing the Tubes : YouTube, Yahoo, MetaCafe, Google, Revver, AOL, DailyMotion, BlipTV, Veoh, Crackle (Sony), Myspace

I produced and uploaded a new into video for CarbonTicker’s Carbon Savings Account through TubeMogul, on November 9 around 10 PM. (Yes, I work (some) Sunday nights…). I then decided to compare the transmission and service quality one can expect from these sites today. I collected data between November 10 and November 12. Must say this exercise has turned out to be a real eye-opener - literally.

Obviously, all of these video sharing services are free, so this is definitely NOT a “gripe-fest.” What you have here is a “quick and dirty” look at the state of web video today, based on the following criteria:

Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes = 10, No = 0
Image clarity:
Download speed:
Ease of obtaining embed code:
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: Yes = 0, No = 10
Points: 0 - 10, 10 being best for image clarity, download speed, and

Here we go:

YouTube upload: Success





Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 5
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 10
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Yahoo upload: Success

Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 7
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 10
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Metacafe upload: Success



Carbon Savings Account from CarbonTicker.com - Celebrity bloopers here


Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 6
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 10
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: Yes - 0

Google upload: Success





Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 6
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 9
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Revver upload: Success ???

Video availability 24 hours after upload: N/A - 0
Image clarity: N/A - 0
Download speed: N/A - 0
Ease of obtaining embed code: N/A - 0
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: N/A - 0

AOL Video upload: Success ???

Video availability 24 hours after upload: N/A - 0
Image clarity: N/A - 0
Download speed: N/A - 0
Ease of obtaining embed code: N/A - 0
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: N/A - 0

DailyMotion upload: Success

Carbon Savings Account from CarbonTicker.com
by itv21

Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 7
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 9
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Blip.tv upload: Success




Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 7
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 9
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Veoh upload: Success



Watch Carbon Savings Account from CarbonTicker.com in Game Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com


Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 7
Download speed: 10
Ease of obtaining embed code: 9
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: No - 10

Crackle (Sony) upload: Success

Video availability 24 hours after upload: Yes - 10
Image clarity: 10
Download speed: 9
Ease of obtaining embed code: 9
Pre-roll ad tagged-on: Yes - 0

MySpace: Failure: error while uploading to site.

Score for each criterium: N/A - 0

Here it is, neatly summarized in our newly inaugurated V-Cast Rating Chart:





Videocast credit: All of the sites listed, except AOL Video, Myspace, and Revver - THANKS!

Animate Your Video Chat with Fix8

All you need is a web cam. Once online, you can select facial and other accessories to make you look like the real thing, whatever that is. Fix8 can also manipulate your voice and give you other editing tools to really mess around with your…face…avatar…digital persona…virtual self….

Besides video chat, you can also use good old fashioned IM to show off any of your own digital version. A mobile edition is supposed to hit the street "real soon now." In the meantime, you must download a PC application. Windows only. Yuk! Can't recommend you, Fix8 till you go multi-platform!


Several other companies let you record greetings and messages with personalized avatars. While Logitech was one of the earliest players, the most cost-effective business implementation I've found so far is from SitePal.

With Fix8, once you create the video, you can broadcast it on social sites and IM services including AOL, MSN, Skype and Yahoo. The company’s statement says “real-time” in several places, but it really NOT real-time communication via video - you must do the recording first. I couldn't test this yet, but we’re checking.

Fix8 has partnered with the Shanghai Media Group to offer something called “AuditionsTV,” where you can submit fix8 content for insertion into live or taped programming. And, if you think you have yen for it, you can search for TV auditions in your geographical area, served to you automatically - now, THAT'S COOL - and submit yourself.

Hulu, the anti-YouTube, launches

Hulu, the NBC Universal-News Corp. joint venture designed to compete with video site YouTube, has launched a test version of its site. But it is more of an anti-YouTube than a competitor, because it focuses less on user-generated content.





It comes after months of delay. NBC withdrew its video channel from YouTube last week, and also ditched Apple's iTunes in favor of Amazon's music service. (See my post about Amazon here.)

Hulu will be the exclusive online provider of videos from NBC and News Corp, and it will then syndicate the material to other sites, including AOL, MSN, MySpace, and Yahoo, but apparently not YouTube.

Hulu got $100 million in backing from Providence Equity Partners, and arose because of animosity from NBC and News Corp toward YouTube, in part because that site kept hosting vidoes containing copyrighted videos.

NBC had warmed up to YouTube last year, working with the popular video site to promote its vidoes, until Jeff Zucker took over NBC in February. The company then changed its tune, and filed a lawsuit against YouTube.

The Fix Is In

And the egg is on my face. As you can see the SearchVideo widget now works. Whoever made the fix: Microsoft?..AOL?..I thank you. Now, could we just have better selection? Less game ads? Less ads? Am I asking for too much? How long will I be punished for my rush judgement?

I promise to clean up my act. Then again, I might not. That's no fun. So I will continue looking for new video search services, test them and fall on my face again. Hah - you expect that? You need entertainment?? Give me tips. I'll perform the dirty deeds. If I don't hear from you, you'll be at the mercy of my blind instincts. Is this what you REALLY want?

AOL Video annihilates YouTube!

Imagine that! The “College Monkeys’ (aka Students) Survival Guide” rap music video infomercial we ran from the end of November till the 31st of December tallied the following statistics:

AOL Uncut Video: 2602 views
BLIP.TV (Best independent video site we’ve found so far): 82 views
Google Video: 20 views
Grouper: 11 views
Mobango (Mobile video site): 85 views - Nice surprise!
Revver: Couldn’t access site on 1/1/2007….
VEOH (New video site in beta): 64 views
YouTube: 31 views….
Yahoo Video: Couldn’t find video on 1/1/2007….

Surprising but very useful numbers!