Google to Launch Online Video Playback Today

Via John Battelle's Searchblog:

"I've confirmed that Monday Google will launch an in-browser video playback feature based on the open source VLC media player. This is the logical next step for Google's video search and upload function, which began taking uploads from anyone who cared to submit back in April.

Google will not disclose the raw numbers of videos that have been uploaded to date, but the company will make all those which were tagged as "free" available for real time streaming through the VLC player, which Google has modified and will make available for download Monday morning. The company also intends to make its VLC code available to the open source community as part of their Google code project."

Mr. Battelle goes on to discuss the possibilities of Google's online payment system and the video service working together, as there is no doubt that they eventually will. He also mentions how big of an opportunity Google is giving to those who don't have the resources to support their own videos online; Google is basically helping the little guy to get his message out, and that's pretty amazing.

Related:

• Google Sitemaps: Google has developed a great new tool for webmasters that want to get their listings to Google faster. This tool is Google Sitemaps, and it uses XML technology in order to crawl changes made to your site more efficiently.
• Find Audio and Video Files on the Web: If the printed word isn’t enough for you, it’s also possible to find audio and video content on the Web, including live streaming media.