Google and On2 have announced a definitive agreement that will result in the Google acquisition of On2 for a transaction valued at approximately $106.5 million. On2′s feature product is the industry leading VP6-E and VP6-S video codecs. The VP6-E for Flash and JavaFX video and the VP6-S profile for High Definition (HD), full screen video are available in their Flix Video Encoding and Publishing software packages. The On2 Flix Engine also supports the H.264 codec for Flash, iPhone and iPod. On2 customers include Adobe, Skype, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Sony, and Brightcove. The On2 acquisition gives Google ownership of a prolific and critical codec for the delivery of video content. On the heels of the recent HTML5 video tag debacle, Google appears to be strengthening its position for the next video codec showdown.

“Today video is an essential part of the web experience, and we believe high-quality video compression technology should be a part of the web platform,” said Sundar Pichai, Vice President, Product Management, Google. “We are committed to innovation in video quality on the web, and we believe that On2’s team and technology will help us further that goal.” Google to Acquire On2 Technologies [Business Wire].

Here is the email FAQ that all On2 license holders received:

“There are a number of details to work out as the transaction proceeds, but I wanted to take a minute to answer some immediate questions about what it means for our Flix products and customers.

Q: Who do I deal with for Flix technical and sales support?
A: You’ll still deal with On2 as you always have. We will keep you closely informed of any changes (for example, new email addresses) as they occur.

Q: Why is Google acquiring On2?
A: Google has indicated to us that they are continually looking to improve video quality and delivery on the web, and that our video technologies will allow them to do even more with their products and initiatives. They have indicated that they are interested in all parts of our video technology. With Google Video, Google Talk and YouTube, among others, they have a substantial interest in developing tools and technology that will better support more high quality video on the Internet. Google has indicated that they believe that our team and technology will help Google make higher quality video available online.

Q: What will happen to Flix?
A: Google is acquiring all of On2 and therefore all On2 products. It is too early to discuss specific product plans until the deal closes, however, all existing agreements will remain in effect under their existing terms.

Q: What, if anything, will happen to my license?
A: All agreements you have with On2 remain in effect under their existing terms. We expect that Google would honor its obligations under existing contracts.”

Read Google to Acquire On2 Technologies on businesswire.com

Read more about VP6-E and the VP6-S profile for High Definition (HD)

Visit On2 Technologies Inc.

Get ready for HD on a whole new level. A collection of renegade engineers and entrepreneurs have been working on a system to capture video at resolutions that were previously unheard of. Released in 2007, the RED ONE was the first camera produced by Red Digital Cinema Camera Company. The camera uses a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor that captures 4K 16:9 (4096×2304). The highest resolution that most consumers are currently familiar with is 1080HD which is only (1920×1080) by comparison. This was only a warm up for the Red team.

Now Red is paused to make a giant leap in ultra resolution image capture technology. When they are released over the next year and into 2010, the SCARLET and EPIC camera systems will provide the foundation for ground breaking new ways to use video and images. EPIC is the “flagship of the Red family” Sporting a top resolution of 28K (28000×9334 pixels), EPIC’s images can be combined to film true stereoscopic (3D) IMAX movies capable of being experienced in even more immersive ways than are available today. It is estimated the EPIC core system will start around $55,000.

For those without such bleeding edge needs, there is SCARLET. “Even starting at the bottom of RED’s line is higher resolution than broadcast HDTV. A 3K resolution (3072×1620 pixels) Scarlet module with a 2/3-inch Mysterium-X sensor with up to a 120 fps shooting rate equipped with a mini-RED/C-mount is expected to be available for $2,500 by next fall. With fixed 8X lens to make a basic working camera, the price is expected to be under $3,750.” RED’s Modular Camera Breaks New Ground by Frank Beacham, tvtechnology.com

Sample Red Video courtesy red.com:

[Click to Continue Reading the Rest of This Article]

The VCR, debuted at CES in 1970. On October 27, 2008 JVC stopped producing VHS-format videocassette players and will end global sales when existing inventories run out.

On December 23, 2008, the last major supplier of pre-recorded VHS tapes, Distribution Video Audio Inc. of Palm Harbor, Florida, shipped its final truckload. Without new decks or media, these events signal the end of VHS as a supported format. The VHS format remains the public’s first experience with the era of video recording. As an analog format, it recorded images on magnetic tape wound on a spool. The VHS cassette tape was born.

“Panasonic Corp. (TSE:6752) and others no longer make the once-ubiquitous machines, so JVC’s exit rings the curtain down on major Japanese manufacturers’ presence in the VCR market.” JVC CEASES PRODUCTION OF STAND-ALONE VCRS, MARKING END OF ERA, tradingmarkets.com, [27 Oct 2008]

“The last major Hollywood movie to be released on VHS was “A History of Violence” in 2006. By that point major retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart were already well on their way to evicting all the VHS tapes from their shelves so the valuable real estate could go to the sleeker and smaller DVDs and, in more recent seasons, the latest upstart, Blu-ray discs. Kugler ended up buying back as much VHS inventory as he could from retailers, distributors and studios; he then sold more than 4 million VHS videotapes over the last two years.” VHS era is winding down, Geoff Boucher latimes.com, [22 Dec 2008]

Now maybe beta can sleep easy.