Gotuit Launches Broadband Video Portal

ReadWriteWeb writes "Richard MacManus covers the launch of Gotuit.com, a new broadband video portal from VOD (video on demand) company Gotuit Media. The portal is free to use and offers instantaneous video delivery of professional media content, such as the latest popular music videos and movie trailers. Content is streamed directly to the user's PC, so there's no buffering or download. The UI is slick and navigation between videos is near seamless. But the most exciting part of Gotuit.com is perhaps its ability to search inside video items. Gotuit has built a system which enables their staff to 'tag' specific points inside each video with appropriate metadata. This allows users to create playlists of video snippets — based on keywords — and share those with other people. Gotuit is different from YouTube and Google Video in that it offers professional media content and its video streaming technology is more advanced."

Comments

PR bullshit

[nacturation]

Content is streamed directly to the user's PC, so there's no buffering or download.

Wow, streaming video without any need to buffer -- it just starts playing with 0 bytes. And look! You don't even have to download it -- the video must just automagically appear on your hard drive or something.

offers instantaneous video delivery

Bullshit... total PR fluff.

of professional media content

Translation: no, you can't upload stuff. We get paid by the professional media firms to advertise their videos in your face. It's like a 24/7 all-advertising site that you can't contribute to, except to build playlists which consist of all ads. Please participate in this site so that we can sell your marketing data back to the professional media firms.

enables their staff to 'tag' specific points

The fact that the PR firm put quotes around the word tag shows that they know nothing of the technology.

This allows users to create playlists of video snippets - based on keywords - and share those with other people.

The only way the tagging would have been remotely clever is if users could tag certain parts. But who'd want to create playlists of ads anyway?

Gotuit is different from YouTube and Google Video in that it offers professional media content

I suppose lying is a longstanding tradition for PR firms.

and its video streaming technology is more advanced.

Oh, and Google kills babies.

Re:PR bullshit

[Macthorpe]

I wonder how much the submitter got paid to, you know, submit it?

I'd like to know the going rate, because writing BS advertisements for a free-to-submit news site where the editors seem to be too stupid or too well paid to notice an advert when they see one seems like a profitable business to me.

Re:PR bullshit

[binkzz]

I don't know why you're being modded down; you're absolutely right.

Re:PR bullshit

[El Torico]

I suppose lying is a longstanding tradition for PR firms.

If there truly is a hell, then most PR people have express tickets to it. There, they would be forced to develop euphemisms for the tortures of the damned. Of course, they would change it to "stress and duress" of the "long-term detainees".

Re:PR bullshit

[TheDreadSlashdotterD]

I suppose lying is a longstanding tradition for PR firms.

Contrary to popular belief, there is very little money in truth.

Re:PR bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

why is the above comment modded flamebait? because the author didn't take the time to put it in nicer words? i think he was really quite subtle. there's so much bullshit in that press release, it makes me want to PUKE. here, for example:

Content is streamed directly to the user's PC, so there's no buffering or download.

ah, streaming ... that's always nice. you know, when you're able to start playback of media before the entire file has finished downloading. but here they're talking about something else. what they really mean is this: transmission is strictly real-time, so for most people the data will be compressed down so much that the video looks crappy and the audio sounds awful. and you're not supposed to keep the downloaded data. every time you want to see a clip again, you're supposed to stream it again, incurring extra cost to you and extra profit to gotuit. you see, in case the "content providers" don't pay them enough to make their site profitable, they'll just start shoving advertising down the tube along with the stuff you want to see.

of course everyone who wasn't born yesterday or before the invention of computers knows that in reality, the data is in fact downloaded and buffered, but they don't want you to think about that too much, lest you realize that it's trivial to grab their media and transcode it into a proper format. one that you can put into your favourite player, so you can play it offline, in fullscreen, on your iPod, pause it, remix it, however you please. that's just not what they want you to do; they want their precious media locked up inside their proprietary flash app where you can't even send a link to your facourite clip to a friend.

if you had the option to download videos in a standard format, you could get them in better quality, even when your connection or their server is a bit clogged (you'd just have to wait a little), and watch them in any way you like, at any time, how ever often you want. again, this is not what they want you to do here.

finally, you have to realize that you're not the paying customer here. the real customers that gotuit serves are so-called "content-providers" that want to buy "eyeballs". you're not an audience that watches an artistic performance. you're not a recipient that experiences music. you're not a viewer that is entertained by drama or comedy. no, you're a user that consumes content. an expendable part in their machinery, something that makes their business model work.

and that's just what's wrong with that one single sentence.

PS: after i typed this, the moderation of the above comment was changed from flamebait to insightful, and rightly so. i'm posting my addendum regardless, because throwing it away would not please my ego :-)

Re:PR bullshit

[IAmTheDave]

and its video streaming technology is more advanced.

Aside from Google killing babies, what's really up is:

• Uses Flash 9, not Flash 8. Flash 9 has more built-in support for video streaming and compression.
• No buffering is a setting... which means that for most without 6mbps lines, you're gonna get skips and jumps. Wow. Much more advanced technology.

Moral of the story? Utube just needs to compile it's player on Flash 9 and it will also have this magically "advanced" technology. Just, well, noone will yet HAVE the Flash 9 player.

Re:PR bullshit

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't even get Flash 8!

Re:PR bullshit

[kayroline]

I think you are harsh. Yes, some of it is inflated. Some incorrect. But did you really go to the site to check it out?

Re:PR bullshit

[nacturation]

I think you are harsh. Yes, some of it is inflated. Some incorrect. But did you really go to the site to check it out?

I think you're a troll. You created this account just to reply to me? How strange. (And journal about some other slow as hell video site it appears.) And, yes, I did check out the site. The site itself doesn't negate the fact that the writeup is still bullshit.

No Substance

[CETS]

Going to their site and clicking around a bit reveals there isn't anything of substance on the site. Even news articles link to nothing.

Re:No Substance

[HawkinsD]

If you don't enable JavaScript from gotuit.com, everything you click on results in a grey page with the words "Nothing here".

Which I find sort of funny.

Re:No Substance

[gravis777]

I went to their site in Firefox in XP, and started clicking around. Bunch of white screens with no content. Either that, or it must take ages to download their player. After five minutes on one screen watching it "transfer" data (still, no buffering), I gave up. I got better things to do than to wait five minutes to watch a music video that I could have seen on youtube in like 5 seconds of buffering, or could have downloaded in 30 seconds from Apple.

Re:No Substance

[jproffer]

I got the same thing - actually, I got the same thing in both FF and IE..

Different from YouTube?

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Why Gotuit is different:

What differentiates Gotuit from the likes of YouTube and Google Video, is twofold:

1) Gotuit is strictly about professional content. It's partnering with mainstream media video producers. This means you won't get the home grown humour, survailence footage, etc etc, that makes youtube so fun (see this attempted mugging for an example)

2) The technology is more advanced than their Internet competition currently. Gotuit has instantaneous video delivery - it is streamed directly to the user's PC and so there's no buffering or download. (uh huh, no buffering). As a bonus side effect of choosing flash nine, we're encouraging WMF & all other linux users to a) not use our service (no F9 for linux until 07) and b) discourage as many people as they know to do likewise.

Meh, more sanitized 'professional' content, none of the free, cool stuff. No linux support. Lame.

Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[coffeechica]

Maybe I'm simply not getting it, but... is that name supposed to mean something, or is it just a random assembly of letters? I can't figure out whether I'm supposed to read it in a special way or not, and even reading the article isn't helping (how discouraging - see whether I'll do that again in the future!)

Anyway, interesting idea, but it needs a better name even if it does mean something. I can't be the only one who's confused over it. At least I really hope I'm not.

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[HugePedlar]

"Go to it" is how I read it. Silly name anyway, but makes a kinda sense.

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[stupid_is]

it's pronounced "go twit" :-)

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[HugePedlar]

Actually, reminds me of a decorative plate hanging on my grandmother's kitchen wall. It's labelled a "Round Tuit", and it allows her to complete all the tasks she's been putting off for years.

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[RpiMatty]

It is pronounced Go-To-It.

I have an On Demand cable channel from gotuit for the NFL. Its pretty neat, it lets you play all the clips tagged with a players name, or all touchdown clips, or all fumble clips, ect...
There are a couple other gotuit channels but I haven't tried them out.

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[Billosaur]

Actually, the word "gotuit" is from the Czech for "more meaningless content"...

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[silverbax]

Go-2-it

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[butterwise]

"Got you to it."

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[PHPfanboy]

"Go you twit" (I'm dyslexic)

Re:Gotuit? Go-tuit? Got-u-it?

[Fallen Seraph]

Round Tuit as in "Get around to it" -_- You people suck at reading bad wordplay :P

Why Gotuit is different

[neonprimetime]

1) Gotuit is strictly about professional content

Sorry guys, no paris hilton.

2) The technology is more advanced

Light years beyond everybody else, they are using streaming video! wow!



Doesn't sound like too strong of an argument.

Re:Why Gotuit is different

[HawkinsD]

So what exactly does "professional" content mean?

is this like the newspapers claiming that their content is "professional", and so you shouldn't read those dumb blogs?

Or does it mean that it's just commercials?

unclear on this whole tagging thing

[eekygeeky]

the appropriate "tags" for this article, in my opinion, would be "slashvertising", and "blog", indicating the reasonable suspicions one should have well in hand to approach a posting like this.

is that the point, or is tagging for something else?

Re:unclear on this whole tagging thing

[neonprimetime]

or is tagging for something else?

I use tagging so that I'm appropriately biased before I read the article. If it says duh or fud I then I know that I should get pissed off before I read it, and as soon as I'm finished I should make a post that complains about what a waste of my time it was, and why /. shouldn't be posting this crap.

Re:unclear on this whole tagging thing

[Anonymous Coward]

The tag I've always used for stories like this is 'slashvertisement', although i'm thinking 'buyanad' might be shorter and communicate the same level of disdain.

Re:unclear on this whole tagging thing

[Anonymous Coward]

is that the point, or is tagging for something else?
Not at all! Tags will become a new method of Instantly(TM) finding any and all videos containing a desired subject!
Just look at the following sample search results after the site is in full swing!

Exhibit A
--------------
Your search for 'boobies' returned the following result(s):

• National Football League: Superbowl XXXVIII Halftime Show
  Relevance: 50%

Over 100,000 partial results in HipHop.
Over 100,000 partial results in Pop.

You may want to consider refining your search query.

Exhibit B
------------

Your search for 'this site sucks' returned the following result(s):

• Gang Green: This Job Sucks
  Relevance: 66%
• KMFDM: Sucks
  Relevance: 33%
• Crass: Sucks
  Relevance: 33%

Your search query may be too limited. Try using more general keywords.

Yay.. no WMV?

[plasmacutter]

=).. finally a site which does streaming without stupid WMV...

Impossible

[kkiller]

Gotuit has instantaneous video delivery - it is streamed directly to the user's PC and so there's no buffering or download.

TFA could use an edit, author seems to have swallowed PR guff without playing some basic logic games. Streamed directly to a PC? Prey tell how you would stream the video indirectly. And inless you have clear direct access to the video source, some form of buffering would surely be necessary.

Come on /., we can do better than piss poor press launches from mediocre video sites.

Re:Impossible

[Jesus_666]

Regular content sites stream indirectly via the internet. All the traffic goes through one or more servers until it reaches your PC. Gotuit instead streams directly: When you register on their website a magical 10 Gbps NIC appears in your computer. That magical NIC is directly connected to the Gotuit mainframe, so they can stream directly. That's also why there is no buffering.

Re:Impossible

[1u3hr]

Streamed directly to a PC? Prey tell how you would stream the video indirectly.

Naturally, that feature requires you to have a TV tuner card. Their app tunes you in to your local CBS affiliate. No buffering!

Oh, did we forget to mention the ads in your face?

[nysus]

How silly of us! Yes, every once in a while you'll be forced fed a nice dose of consumer-oriented video pablum to insult your intelligence. Enjoy!

Define Instantaneous

[joschm0]

The portal is free to use and offers instantaneous video delivery of professional media content

I've been waiting over 10 minutes now for a video.

Re:Define Instantaneous

[joschm0]

I'm still waiting after 30 minutes...I'm now giving up.

Re:Define Instantaneous

[dreamchaser]

That's funny. I just watched Nickleback's 'Savin Me' video and I was actually surprised. It loaded and played instantly. There was one small skip in the first 20 seconds, the rest played flawlessly.

Not for me

[mancontr]

For the complete Gotuit experience, you'll need to download the latest Flash player, free from Macromedia.
Click the icon to download now.
Go ahead, we'll wait for you.

If you use Linux, the "latest" is 2 versions behind the windows one, and you can't enter this site.. :( I'll keep with the good 'ol youtube & google video...

Google Video?

[The MAZZTer]

Google Video uses AVIs...

Re:Google Video?

[plasmacutter]

actually they use flv's.. but the point is I don't have to read the annoying phrase "windows media 10 required"

Re:Google Video?

[IANAAC]

but the point is I don't have to read the annoying phrase "windows media 10 required"

Which we Linux users are used to seeing. Now we get to see this:

For the complete Gotuit experience, you'll need to download the latest Flash player, free from Macromedia.

Click the icon to download now.

Go ahead, we'll wait for you.

Even though we have Flash installed, albeit not the latest version.

Re:Google Video?

[forkazoo]

actually they use flv's.. but the point is I don't have to read the annoying phrase "windows media 10 required"

I don't know for absolute sure, but I have used wget to get the video files, and file tells me it is an AVI, so I think that your parent poster is right. I rename them to .avi, and have no trouble playing them on my windows box.

I dunno how different an FLV is from an AVI, given how FLV is related to the priprietary evil stinking pile of dookie called "Flash." (See, I put "Flash," in quotes just like the press release did with "tag," because I refuse to accept it as being an actual word.)

No buffering?

[_iris]

"Content is streamed directly to the user's PC, so there's no buffering or download."

I loaded the page, waited 9 seconds before the video played and watched 41 seconds of the "Hip Hop" video before it stopped playing (WinXP Pro, FF 1.5.0.4, 3m/384k cable connection).

A better use for portals:

[PrescriptionWarning]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if3Qv2tHyfA&search= portals

BIG SITE WIPEOUTS

[digitaldc]

BIG WAVE WIPEOUTS
See some of the top surfers in the world bite it on some of the biggest waves. Watch the Big Wave Wipeout playlist in Gotuit Sports...

---Amazing, a blank screen!

The technology is more advanced than their Internet competition currently, it so advanced your PC can not even display it!
Gotuit has instantaneous video delivery - it is streamed directly to the user's PC, it happens so fast that there's no buffering or download, or even a picture!

Nothing to see

[chord.wav]

They only have a semi-empty homepage. None of the links in that site works. Not even a single link.
Everything points to a "nothing to see here" page.

If you want to promote a site, at least make it work...

As Penn&Teller would say, this is bullshit.

Re:Nothing to see

[Anonymous Coward]

This is probably due to the fact you have javascript disabled in your browser.

Re:Nothing to see

[chord.wav]

It was indeed, a javascript problem. Thanks.

Instaload

[Xoder]

So, I realize that this is impossible, but I definately noticed almost no lag time (a second at most) both for initial playback and pause-restart. The longest lag point is when the page itself is being loaded. (DSL, highest transfer rate I've ever seen coming down it is 110KBps (Torrent).)

Great! Yet another Beta

[Anonymous Coward]

So, since Google started releasing products with the BETA label each and every company starts doing the same.
It's an old truth that software never gets finished but this is ridiculus.

Re:Nothing to see: possible JavaScript issue?

[HawkinsD]

I had that experience, too, until I told FireFox to allow JavaScript from gotuit.com.

Then I got stupid music videos and marketroid yammering, and I was sorry that I'd wasted my thirty seconds.

How does it work ?

[Anonymous Coward]

read the source code of course

oh and using Flash 8 is not exactly revolutionary, well it is if you developed the Flash binary however using it doesnt really count, buying Adobe shares seems like a good move

Full speed back to the past professor!

[dud83]

Let's do streaming video without buffering, such an excellent early 1990s idea! *_*

another gratuitious use of "content"

[brre]

offers instantaneous video delivery of professional media content, such as the latest popular music videos and movie trailers

It has video such as music videos and movie trailers.

Stripped of the hype and the usual misuse of "content" that's what it is.

"Content" doesn't get delivered here; video does. Its content if any is another question. "Media content" is at best redundant but more likely means nothing. "Professional media content" means commercial; recorded for money, generally passed off as entertainment, more likely promotion.

You may watch video here. You may be entertained. Don't expect content. That's the short and sweet of it.

What's in a name?

[Nom du Keyboard]

Gotuit. Looks like: Got-uit, but what's a "uit"?

GoToIt, or Go2It would have been smoother, dontcha think?

Benefit to "professionally produced content"?

[QuantumFTL]

Is there any benefit to having this "professionally produced content"? I mean, there's still a few good things on TV, and even occasionally at the theatres - could it be that having a strong commercial incentive could allow for more niche shows to take off online, where the demographics are better targetted? Could Gotuit allow for better service to small viewerships, especially those who are fans of low budget comedies? (Red Dwarf, anyone?)

Linux = v7

[Doc Ruby]

AFAICT, Adobe has released a Flash player for Linux only up to version 7. Are they skipping v8? Just shafting Linux indefinitely?

Is there some alternative source for a FPv8-compatible player that actually works?

Re:Linux = v7

[Anonymous Coward]

They hired Mike Melanson a couple months ago to work on v9 for Linux.

fumble clips?

[Anonymous Coward]

mmmmmmmh...

Not a portal...Not broadband...

[jriskin]

They've launched a site with a few videos on it.

Isn't the definition of a portal something that takes you somewhere else?

50kB/sec (400kbit) is HARDLY what I could consider broadband.

I wouldn't call apple.com/trailers a broadband portal, but at least I can usually get over a 1MB/sec for their HD trailers.

=!Works well with Linux?

[r_jensen11]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to play any videos on there using Firefox on Linux. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we only have Version 7,0,63,0?