YouTube Update: Automatic Captions, HD, and YouTube Direct
Tomi H�s�
November 19, 2009
"Since we first announced captions in Google Video and YouTube, we've
introduced multiple caption tracks, improved search functionality and even
automatic translation. Each of these features has had great personal
significance to me, not only because I helped to design them, but also
because I'm deaf. Today, I'm in Washington, D.C. to announce what I
consider the most important and exciting milestone yet: machine-generated
automatic captions."
"Since the original launch of captions in our products, we've been happy
to see growth in the number of captioned videos on our services, which now
number in the hundreds of thousands. This suggests that more and more
people are becoming aware of how useful captions can be. As we've
explained in the past, captions not only help the deaf and hearing
impaired, but with machine translation, they also enable people around the
world to access video content in any of 51 languages. Captions can also
improve search and even enable users to jump to the exact parts of the
videos they're looking for."
"However, like everything YouTube does, captions face a tremendous
challenge of scale. Every minute, 20 hours of video are uploaded. How can
we expect every video owner to spend the time and effort necessary to add
captions to their videos? Even with all of the captioning support already
available on YouTube, the majority of user-generated video content online
is still inaccessible to people like me."
"To help address this challenge, we've combined Google's automatic speech
recognition (ASR) technology with the YouTube caption system to offer
automatic captions, or auto-caps for short. Auto-caps use the same voice
recognition algorithms in Google Voice to automatically generate captions
for video. The captions will not always be perfect (check out the video
below for an amusing example), but even when they're off, they can still
be helpful-and the technology will continue to improve with time."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/automatic-captions-in-youtube.html
1080p HD Is Coming to YouTube
November 12, 2009
"We're excited to say that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full
resolution is on its way. Starting next week, YouTube's HD mode will add
support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution
of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today."
"As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube
is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big
monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out
of the fullscreen experience."
http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/11/1080p-hd-comes-to-youtube.html
Connecting citizens and journalists with YouTube Direct
November 17, 2009
"we created YouTube Direct, a new tool that allows media organizations to
request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users.
Built from our APIs, this open source application lets media organizations
enable customized versions of YouTube's upload platform on their own
websites. Users can upload videos directly into this application, which
also enables the hosting organization to easily review video submissions
and select the best ones to broadcast on-air and on their websites. As
always, these videos also live on YouTube, so users can reach their own
audience while also getting broader exposure and editorial validation for
the videos they create."
http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/11/connecting-citizens-and-journalists.html
YouTube Direct
"YouTube's video platform has enabled a new generation of content creators
to connect with billions of viewers every day. There's a great opportunity
for organizations to leverage this online activity for video campaigns,
coverage, or programming initiatives - but many find it difficult to
connect directly with YouTube's community in a simple, effective way.
We've just made that a lot easier with YouTube Direct."
"YouTube Direct allows you to embed the upload functionality of YouTube
directly into your own site, enabling your organization to request,
review, and re-broadcast user-submitted videos with ease. News
organizations can ask for citizen reporting; nonprofits can call-out for
support videos around social campaigns; businesses can ask users to submit
promotional videos about your brand. With YouTube Direct, the
opportunities to connect directly with the YouTube community are endless."
http://www.youtube.com/direct
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/