Anyone who has ever uploaded a video to YouTube, or watched a video on YouTube, knows that the quality isn't exactly something to write home about. To keep bandwidth costs and service speed up, YouTube administrators have, up until recently, limited uploaders to 100MB file size, and cropped all files to the paltry 320x240 resolution. YouTube already announced plans to increase the storage space, and now they are planning on doing something about the resolution. All files uploaded to YouTube are of a much higher quality, and some are even high-definition (1280x720 or better). YouTube representatives recently confirmed that YouTube does store the original versions, and only makes the compressed/shrunken version available to the average viewer. YouTube is currently testing a new version of the YouTube player, which determines your bandwidth, and adjusts your video quality accordingly. If all goes well, you can expect high-definition YouTube videos within three months.

YouTube has upped the upload limit of YouTube videos to 10 minutes in length and up to 1GB in size, yes no more compressing to 100MB. You can also now upload multiple videos on YouTube at the same time with the YouTube Uploader. Right now the software is only available for Windows PCs but there will be a Mac version too. To get started, just go to the installer webpage and download the software. Then you'll be able to access the Multifile Upload page and start uploading. These videos will be available in My Videos after they have finished processing.

Google Inc. has unveiled test version of a new Video Identification system on YouTube that should identify pirated videos as they get uploaded.

YouTube Video Identification will help copyright holders identify their works on YouTube. We have worked with Google to develop one-of-a-kind technology that can recognize videos based on a variety of factors. As its Beta status indicates, our Video Identification is brand-new, cutting-edge stuff, so we will be constantly refining and improving it. Early tests with content companies have shown very promising results. As we scale and refine our system, YouTube Video Identification will be available to all kinds of copyright holders all over the world, whether they want their content to appear on YouTube or not.

More information about the YouTube Video Identification can be found here.

There has been reports on spammers using YouTube's "Invite a friend" service to send out spam E-mails. According to the security experts at Sophos, the spam bypasses traditional E-mail filters because the messages originate from YouTube's servers from the source address of service@youtube.com. So far, only dating websites and gaming accessories have been advertised through the comments section of the E-mail service.

Recently, UC Berkeley started uploading videos of their lectures to YouTube for the masses to view, free of charge. YouTube now is a host to over 300 hours of lectures on bioengineering, peace and conflict studies, and physics, according to the UC Berkeley. As time goes on, UC Berkeley hopes to upload more lectures to YouTube, and on more topics. "UC Berkeley on YouTube will provide a public window into university life - academics, events and athletics - which will build on our rich tradition of open educational content for the larger community," according to Christina Maslach, the vice provost for undergraduate education.

With the three main firms currently competing in the media playback industry being Microsoft, Apple and Real, Adobe has decided to launch its very own media player in an attempt to gain a foothold. Adobe Media Player (AMP for short), which is backed by several companies including CBS, PBS and Yahoo (as well as a few other online companies), is designed to work with files based on the same .FLV format used by YouTube and several other video sharing sites, with Adobe saying:

Adobe is driving the next generation of internet video delivery with the Adobe Media Player, the Flash Media Server, content protection technologies, and a broad and powerful ecosystem of partners providing key solutions from content creation through delivery and monetization. AMP brings the best of both the broadcast television and web video worlds to your desktop-providing high-quality content both online and offline, with a wide range of business model possibilities.

AMP is still only a BETA at the moment, with a final release scheduled for March 2008, but if you want to take a look at it you can download it for free from here.

Google will begin massive copyright filtering on Youtube, the company it now owns, in September.

Google lawyer Philip S. Beck described the system as a recognition technology that would rely on digital fingerprints that copyright holders would provide to YouTube to help filter out illegal uploads. Once the fingerprint is in the system, YouTube's software would be able to recognize and remove it within a minute or two.

Google says that it hopes that its new software would end the complaints - and litigation - from companies such as Viacom.

CASIO Introduces Two Stylish New EXILIM Digital Cameras with "YouTube Capture Mode"
Plus Next-Generation H.264 High-compression, High-quality Movie Technology.
The Camera Models are the EX-S880 and the EX-Z77.

EMI Music - one of the world's leading global music companies, Google and YouTube, the leader in online video - today announced a landmark agreement which will give YouTube users unprecedented access to authorized videos and recordings from EMI Music artists, including those featured in user generated content.

"With this deal, all four of the world's major music companies are now official YouTube partners," said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-founder of YouTube. "EMI is a proven leader in the emerging digital music landscape and one of the world's largest and most respected music companies. We're excited to add EMI Music's stellar roster of artists' content to our site and make it available to our community."

Apple today announced that it's bringing the Internet's most popular originally-created content from YouTube to the living room with Apple TV. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user's widescreen TV. Using Apple TV's elegant interface and simple Apple Remote, viewers can easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube in the comfort of their living room. Thousands of the most current and popular YouTube videos will be available on Apple TV at launch in mid-June, with YouTube adding thousands more each week until the full YouTube catalog is available this fall. Apple today also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option with a 160GB hard drive. Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available tomorrow for a suggested retail price of $399 (US), while the older 40GB version will still sell for $299 (US).

Popular video distribution site YouTube could soon find itself facing fierce competition from a new site dubbed the "YouTube killer". The site will be the result of a new partnership between News Corp and NBC, with other big name companies including Yahoo!, Microsoft and Time Warner/ AOL being involved in supplying and distributing content. TV shows that will be available when the service launches this summer include Heroes, 24, House, My Name Is Earl, Saturday Night Live, Friday Night Lights, The Riches, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, The Tonight Show, Prison Break, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, and Top Chef, along with movies including Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Devil Wears Prada, The Bourne Identity, and Bourne Supremacy. The new service will be free to consumers using ad-supported videos, and there are plans to syndicate the content via other web channels such as MySpace, MSN, and Yahoo!

Some people claimed it was bound to happen. Some people hoped it never would. Pirates didn't care one way or another, and continued uploading illegally-obtained clips to YouTube. There have been tons of rumors regarding YouTube getting sued, and Viacom can proudly claim that they are the first company to actually do it. Viacom was unable to reach a licensing agreement with YouTube, and ordered their clips off YouTube. YouTube attempted to comply, but piracy appeared to prevail. The lawsuit details 160,000 clips still on the site, and wants $1 billion USD in damages. Viacom claims that YouTube's business model, which is "based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws". YouTube claims that they have done everything in their power to remove Viacom's content from their website, and is almost certain the courts will agree.

YouTube, the video sharing service now owned by Google, has often come under pressure from broadcasting companies about their material being shown without permission on the site after users upload it illegally. However, the BBC (a major TV and radio broadcaster in the UK) has reached an agreement which should see three channels being shown on YouTube, with each showcasing short clips of the BBC's content. One of these channels will be used for news, whilst the other two will host entertainment. The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, called the deal a "ground-breaking partnership" that would "engage new audiences in the UK and abroad", but the deal has been criticised by other media companies which claim the BBC is straying from its licence-fee funded public service.

Australian state Victoria has decided to ban access to YouTube from public schools. The state made this decision in an attempt to slow "cyberbullying". Cyberbullying is the simple act of bullying someone using the internet. The main YouTube clip that triggered this was a very controversial one. The clip was recorded by a group of people a mentally-challenged girl met over the internet. The group harassed her, made her perform sexual activities, peed on her, and then set her hair on fire, all with the intent of recording it on camera for YouTube. Victoria has approximately 1,600 schools withing it's borders.

Fox Entertainment Group gave YouTube a very nice subpoena. This subpoena demands the full identity of mister "ECOtotal". Fox wants this information mainly because "ECOtotal" had posted a bunch of Simpsons and 24 episodes, some of which were posted before they were released on television. The VP of Fox Entertainment Group feels that "the uploaded material could cause Fox irreparable harm". Ecototal's YouTube account has been suspended.

In a search for information relating to the murder case of Ryan Milner, Canadian authorities posted a clip of surveillance footage from the nightclub he was murdered just outside of onto YouTube. After over 34,000 views of the clip, police used the comments posted in response to the clip to help track down George Gallow for questioning. George Gallow then confessed to the murder. This is the first time that police have used YouTube as a tool for criminal investigation.

YouTube is both loved and hated in the corporate world. While some media companies threaten to sue YouTube for having pirated content hosted on it's site, others have struck deals with YouTube. Fox, Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal have decided to take a different route entirely. They will start their own website, and place on it all their various television shows. There is no mention whether the viewable content will be free to users or if these media companies will charge for the use of their website.