Megavideo, a new online video sharing site based out of Hong Kong, has YouTube in its sights. In a video on its homepage, the company claims to best YouTube for ten reasons:
- Video publishers can earn money through a rewards program
- Publishers can also earn money through AdBrite in-video advertisements
- Users can move the playback position to anywhere in the video
- The website supports twenty languages
- The video player can be customized to match the designs of websites where you want to embed
- There is no maximum playtime for video uploads
- Video conversion takes no more than 30 minutes
- Videos can be uploaded in batch
- Original video files can be downloaded
- Megavideo loves you more than YouTube
Since users can also move the playback position to anywhere within a video on YouTube, and the last given reason is pure filler, only eight of these advantages seem to be justifiable.
The site is notable for its lack of banner advertisements. The company appears to be aiming to generate revenue by charging people for premium features. Premium members must pay at least $10 per month, but they can upload videos up to 5GB in size and their uploads get prioritized before regular members. Also, only premium members can download videos from the site (as opposed to streaming) and earn revenue from advertisements and the Megavideo rewards program.
Megavideo is provided by the same company that created Megaupload.
Watch Megavideo’s self-proclaimed ten reasons for preferring their service to YouTube below:
The technology, bells and whistles and Customization options appear to be far superior to YouTube - but the bottom line is the AVAILABILITY and SELECTION of videos to watch.
You just can not beat YouTube and MySpace.
Also it might not be cost effective for those giants to offer so many user friendly options and keep the huge database and free user base they have
Despite their limitations, we have to be grateful for the fact that we are all getting these services FREE
Actually, you are incorrect. Megavideo is saying you can skip ahead to any point in the video and it will start buffering / streaming from that point.
Youtube does not do this. In YouTube, you can skip to any point in the video, but only AFTER the entire video has downloaded.
Mark, you seem to have a VERY fast internet connection
With YouTube you can NOT move the replay position unless that part of the video is already loaded.
With Megavideo you can move the replay slider to parts of the video that are not loaded yet. Loading and replay resume from the new position.
Just my 2 cents.
They’re toast.
Timeshifting is possible in Youtube after their recent update. It’s an inherent Flash Video ability so it’s not like they pioneered some major technique.
Interesting spokesperson, that’s for sure.
One thing I wonder is why there isn’t more competition in the quality and display of the videos. If I can get full-screen with over 400×300 resolution I’d use anyone else. YouTube usually looks like garbage.
I watch the online video space carefully, and the stats from the industry clearly indicate that YouTube has 50% more audience than all other video networks combined.
This is no YouTube killer, Revver has tried the monetization aspect, and I’ve not seen a tremendous amount of adoption
But comparing these two companies in a headlines is somewhat sensational.
Here’s the stats on video network usage
http://www.web-strategist.com/.....marketing/
I’m not sure that I will love it more, but will definitely give it a try. Competition is good!
Mike is right. Megavideo is boasting their use of flash communication servers, which is allowing for the video to be skipped to any point pre-buffered. Google Video showcased this capability a year ago. It’s only time before YouTube matches. They are just slow to adapt, as seen with the instant full screen functionality implemented months after flash enabled it.
I noticed none of those reasons include “more videos” or “more users.” Both reasons why you use a video site. On the other hand, I think going for a pay model is pretty brave and could work out for them. If they don’t have many people working at the company then a few thousand “paying” users could make the company quite profitable.
The question then becomes can they get a few thousand paying customers? In a market that has like 50,000,000 users worldwide, I think they might have a shot…-Metagg
These are also the guys behind the p0rn site http://www.megarotic.com (first page is SWF, once you click through it’s definitely NSFW).
This is clearly not a YouTube competitor, just another video uploading service, with nothing really new to offer, except a different revenue model.
I’m really surprised this has been reviewed on TechCrunch, and with this particular headline.
If anything, the real YouTube competitors are the niche video websites, targeting users with specific video content, that know how to serve their communities better.
nice push up bra
Hmmmmmm…10 reasons why this will end up in the Deadpool
1) It’s not YouTube
Trying to beat YouTube/Google in a technology war is just…dumb
2) It’s not backed by Google
3) Megavideo…it just sounds stupid
4) YouTube gets more traffic then the rest of the video sharing sites combined
5) YouTube gets a ton of free publicity, Megavideo will have to work impossibly hard to get anywhere close
6) CNN will never have a Megavideo debate
7) Megavideo will never be on the iPhone
9) Megavideo’s content can be seen on YouTube
10) Megavideo = Megastupid
Damn smilies!
Ouch! They need to turn down the reverb in that video.
I am not that impressed with Megavideo… The name is cheesy, the design feels very template like, orange and grey is very fatiguing, in fact it just feels cheap and gimmicky! A couple of test searches failed to compare with YouTube.
It is going to take some converting for me to give up YouTube. Still, I will humbly eat my words if MegaVideo takes off and does the ‘business’.
One more thing… The Megavideo chick in the video is not a patch on the gorgeous Morgan Webb!
Look at lulu.tv for monetization ideas
Just expressing my personal opinion here.
Isn’t Megaupload owned by Kim Schmitz aka Kimble?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Schmitz
I personally won’t hold my breath for any payments.
Who would work with a convicted felon and expect to get paid .
I think that if they start paying out good money then they may have good chance.
Does anyone notice how hard this girl is trying to speak with an american accent?
A valuable feature for all these sites would be full-screen. Youtube now does it, but only on youtube.com, not when it’s embedded.
Another thing they all need is RSS/Atom feeds with embedded Flash. Youtube does it, though not many know about it.
I can tell you one reason why it sucks. I hit play and it had to buffer for a good 5 seconds before it started playing.
That said, their player is nice. Youtube’s player doesn’t seek anywhere on their own site, only in embeds, which is very weird.
Craigster : Don’t be arrogant! Just because a man made a mistake in life doesn’t mean he will run a criminal enterprise his entire life! Why do you watch movies, shop at stores etc etc. run by criminals you don’t even know! Dumbass do your fishing research before you open your mouth!
As for Mark. Way to go man! You just made a big fool out of yourself by claiming that youtube does the buffering and you can preload the video at any given timeframe within the movie! Maybe you should spend an extra 2 mins doing some research!
And here I am a single person trying to make http://www.indianvideos.com work. How am I gonna compete with these huge sites with huge pockets?
Shall I give up? I already quit my day job also.
J/K
But any insight guys?
Tried to post some links, but the post didnt go through.
Check out
http://www.google.com/search?s.....e+%2b+jail
There is a businessweek article where the guy compares himself to Hitler
“Schmitz spent several months in pretrial detention, an experience that inspired him to try using his skills to make a legal profit. “That’s where I decided to use my knowhow and skills to become the world’s most successful businessman,” says Schmitz, with characteristic modesty. He adds, “Wasn’t Hitler writing Mein Kampf while being arrested? ”
Charming guy…
11. MegaVideo is run by a robot
Youtube’s delivery of video’s, even though you can’t start streaming anywhere in the video, is good enough for most people and most vids. They need to offer something truly disruptive to take on youtube.
Wow, this is great.
The story on this guy keeps getting better and better
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2.....algorithm/
I quote:
“Hacker stunt-double and convicted financial fraudster Kim Schmitz (aka Kimble) is up to his old tricks,
this time with a package of techno trickery for making a killing in the stock market.
To satisfy the dreams of instant fortune common to those who believe in fairy tales, he’s devised an
“AI-based decision system” for share trading which scientifically “selects the optimal
combination of trading strategies for current market conditions”. “
It’s the QUALITY that these video sites need to promote. YouTube video quality is TERRIBLE. Disgusting, overcompressed, 12 fps, ultra-pixelated 320×480 videos are going to be the end for youtube if they don’t hurry up and do something.
You can’t compare megavideo with youtube.
The site is operated from the guys who operate megarotic.com.
In my opinion Megarotic is full of stolen video files. I would guess that 99% of the content is stolen and the the entire adult industry is pissed about the company.
Also they operate megaupload and I opine that they manipulate their alexa ranking by forcing people to install the alexa tool bar.
Are they now paying people to upload stolen content on megavideo.com ?
I guess they have good reasons to operate their busines from Hong Kong.
Here is why I think they have a chance to become a serious Youtube competitor:
1. They own Megaupload.com, a site with 3 million unique visitors per !DAY!. Critical mass for Megavideo is guaranteed.
2. They offer 100% of the advertising revenue to the content owners which makes this an interesting playing field for big media companies as well as Internet celebs.
3. If Alexa.com is right they went from rank 350,000 to top 1000 in just 3 days? Daily rank 985? Thats like the biggest jump ever.
Plus their timing is brillant. Gootube has some Fortune 1000 enemies and I wouldnt be surprised if one of them gets their hands on Megavideo for much less than 1,6 billion.
ha ha, tim is such a shill.
Interestingly, this is the second company that I’ve heard of in two days that is planning on making it’s money through premium services. The other company is: OnlyBusiness.com, http://www.onlybusiness.com. I wonder if this is the beginning of a larger trend?
Check out: http://www.pass-ed.com/Living-Textbook.html
Allow me to offer my opinion on this matter.
Here are a few interesting facts.
All advertising spots and file download templates from megaupload.com
point to megavideo.com
I think that this is where all the traffic is coming from.
This means that the traffic growth from the last 3 days is not viral at all.
It suggests that it is a clever attempt to manipulate us into believing the site is taking off like a rocket.
On another interesting note, it seems that the site was launched a few days ago, however some video uploads seem to claim that they were uploaded weeks ago.
Would it be a far stretch to think that they simply stole all the content from other sites such as youtube etc.. and used it to populate megavideo.com ?
If that were the case then I think it might be the biggest case of copyright
infringement in internet history. Sad thing is I know for a fact a number of now popular dating sutes actually got started this exact way… Spruce Goose comes to mind. They could have used a better spammer tool to load the videos with key words.. this looks like send safe or ghost sender to me. LOL..
daddy did his homework.. LOL
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=GCXC595R
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as33-0npooQ
good work, glad you were so lazy you failed fraud 101
kids now days…
Vic: interesting, I did some research
This might be a “coincidence”, but I find it interesting that by looking at a few random videos,
the Youtube commentary is exactly the same as the one on Megavideo.com.
In my opinion Megavideo blatantly stole the videos and commentary from youtube.com and uploaded it to megavideo.com
I wish I had balls like that.
Check out the following links so you can see for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APiiKsH0dR4
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=X0SV0HMK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ25-glGRzI
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=BSTM05IA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtIHBRsy1lI
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=S0RA1GAP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sgycukafqQ
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=B101X9WR
LOL
Search for the word youtube on megavideo.
Here is Leonardo di Caprio’s YOUTUBE EXCLUSIVE
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LKKC6IIZ
hahaha
http://www.abum.com will beat youtube
haha, in my dreams maybe?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....fraudsters
Did anyone try the Megavideo/Youtube import feature? It Might explain why they have many Youtube videos. I just saw a forum posting from a guy who imported his entire Youtube account with over 600 videos to Megavideo. Pretty smart way to get tons of content.
Tim:
Interesting post.
Too bad that the timing involved makes no sense.
I doubt youtubers rushed in and quickly imported all their videos into megavideo in the last couple of days…
Just my humble opinion.
That seems awfully convenient.
I wonder if Leonardo Di Caprio did that.
It seems unlikely to me that the top 200k youtube posters decided to import their videos to megavideo.com in the last 3 days.
Plausible Deniability I guess…
by the way , is Tim = Kim ?
LOL
my daddy always told me: “if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck. Its probably a duck…”
Sorry, they arrived too late. YouTube has first mover advantage…which is why they beat GoogleVideo and were bought. This competition will only offer YouTube the opportunity to make its product offerings strategically enhanced.
Also, why promote your video site with a poorly made video? Audio is a mess.
To Henry:
Isn’t it possible that a Leonardi Di Caprio fan imported this video? As far as I understand anyone can import any Youtube link to Megavideo. And Youtube does not own 99.9% of the content on their site. I don’t see the problem?! I saw Megavideo in beta 1 month ago. Thats plenty of time to import a lot of videos.
To Craigster (aka Henry):
Can you provide more information why you think this German guy is behind Megavideo? On Wikipedia it says he is a consultant for Megaupload and iFilm, Friendster… Anything solid would be welcome.
The only people that will be happy will be the RIAA and MPAA etc because now they have another company they can sue the pants off of for what they call copyright infringement.
How about cause the sync doesn’t completely line up in our own demonstration video”. Maybe “no direct mic used when we made our crappy video so it has crappy audio too”.