Apparently  the two companies announced yesterday that

Microsoft’s new “Smooth Streaming” technology will be bundled with a new Akamai service offering called “AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Microsoft Silverlight.”

But forget about how it works… as if i would ever understand anyway… think about what this could mean. Will Richmond of VideoNuze hits the nail on the head;

“Users expect TV-quality video when they go online; anything less just doesn’t make the grade anymore.” Especially in the HD era, premium video providers are recognizing that quality is king and as a result are accelerating their shift to more robust delivery infrastructure. And the payoffs are clear: higher-quality video drives longer viewing sessions, greater engagement and improved monetization opportunities.”

Check out the demonstration for yourself here http://www.smoothhd.com/

I was pointed to Howcast.com today. I find it fascinating how people are finding different business models for on-line video, but particularly in this area, where the subject matter can be just about anything at all. As they say on their homepage “Howcast shows you fun, informative how-to videos and guides” Video Jug paved the way here with their “Life explained on Film” website.

What I want to know is do people really go to these sites for genuine advice or is it just an entertaining distraction; a kind of more defined YouTube? And why would a producer produce a ‘How to’ video and upload it to one of these sites rather than a generic UGC site? Howcast does offer the princely sum of $50 to Directors making programmes on their behalf. Budding Spielberg’s would have to make a lot of programmes to get into a higher tax bracket going down that route!