chicot60
03-17-2011, 12:11 AM
By Scott Morrison
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SAN FRANCISCO (DOW JONES)--Google Inc.'s (GOOG) YouTube said Tuesday it has acquired digital video technology maker Green Parrot Pictures for an undisclosed amount.
The Irish startup's technology will enable YouTube to improve the quality of jerky, blurry or unsteady videos as they are being uploaded to the site, Jeremy Doig, a director for Google's video technology, said in a blog post.
Doig said that with 35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute from people all over the world, some of YouTube's most popular or moving videos are shot using low-quality mobile phones and video cameras. He noted that videos of recent protests in Libya were emotionally captivating, but were often jerky, blurry or unsteady.
Green Parrot Pictures was founded in 2004 by Associate Professor Anil Kokaram at the Engineering School of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The company's cutting-edge video quality improvement technology has been used in major Hollywood movies such as "Lord of the Rings," "X-Men" and "Spider-Man," Doig said.
The technology improves videos by sharpening images, reducing visual noise and steadying the pictures, while at the same time using less bandwidth and improving playback speed, he said.
In a posting on Green Parrot's website, the company's small team said it is excited to join Google, where it will work "to improve the online video experience for hundreds of millions of user worldwide on many different products, platforms and services."
A person familiar with the situation said it was too early to speculate on how Google would incorporate Green Parrot's technology into its YouTube service. The person said Green Parrot would comply with all existing contractual obligations with movie studio partners, but the source declined to elaborate.
The deal marks Google's second video-related acquisition since last week. The Web giant also acquired video website Next New Networks to help third-party content creators develop new videos and make money on YouTube video site.
The person familiar with the situation said the deals reflect Google's commitment to provide the best video experiences for users, whether they are amateurs using mobile phones or professional content creators.
Shares in Google closed down 0.1% at $569.56 and were off 0.2% at $568.38 after hours.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110315-716573.html
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SAN FRANCISCO (DOW JONES)--Google Inc.'s (GOOG) YouTube said Tuesday it has acquired digital video technology maker Green Parrot Pictures for an undisclosed amount.
The Irish startup's technology will enable YouTube to improve the quality of jerky, blurry or unsteady videos as they are being uploaded to the site, Jeremy Doig, a director for Google's video technology, said in a blog post.
Doig said that with 35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute from people all over the world, some of YouTube's most popular or moving videos are shot using low-quality mobile phones and video cameras. He noted that videos of recent protests in Libya were emotionally captivating, but were often jerky, blurry or unsteady.
Green Parrot Pictures was founded in 2004 by Associate Professor Anil Kokaram at the Engineering School of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The company's cutting-edge video quality improvement technology has been used in major Hollywood movies such as "Lord of the Rings," "X-Men" and "Spider-Man," Doig said.
The technology improves videos by sharpening images, reducing visual noise and steadying the pictures, while at the same time using less bandwidth and improving playback speed, he said.
In a posting on Green Parrot's website, the company's small team said it is excited to join Google, where it will work "to improve the online video experience for hundreds of millions of user worldwide on many different products, platforms and services."
A person familiar with the situation said it was too early to speculate on how Google would incorporate Green Parrot's technology into its YouTube service. The person said Green Parrot would comply with all existing contractual obligations with movie studio partners, but the source declined to elaborate.
The deal marks Google's second video-related acquisition since last week. The Web giant also acquired video website Next New Networks to help third-party content creators develop new videos and make money on YouTube video site.
The person familiar with the situation said the deals reflect Google's commitment to provide the best video experiences for users, whether they are amateurs using mobile phones or professional content creators.
Shares in Google closed down 0.1% at $569.56 and were off 0.2% at $568.38 after hours.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110315-716573.html