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Google Video Not Ready for Prime Time?
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Jan 13, 2006 03:13 PM
from the not-quite-past-two-o's-in-goog dept.
from the not-quite-past-two-o's-in-goog dept.
elfguy writes "Ars Technica has a piece on the Google Video Store, and their opinion is that it seems a little rushed to market. The interface is very bad, with paid and free videos mixed together. While free videos can be viewed in Flash on any platform, their paid DRM'ed videos require a Windows program, and the page tells you the available formats only after you purchase it." From the article: "As I pointed out in my coverage of the keynote, for all of its evangelization of open standards, Google has done an about-face with the video store. Not only are the videos protected by DRM, but Google has gone and rolled its own home-grown solution instead of using one of the current solutions. On one level, that makes sense: Apple doesn't share its DRM, and Microsoft is Google's biggest competition. However, inflicting yet another flavor of DRM on the public goes against the desire of many in Congress and in the consumer electronics industry to see a single, unified standard emerge."
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Software is always released too soon... (Score:2)
Google is going to pound "new" technology after "new" technology at us, so prepare yourself for some that might not be useful or need polishing. I would blame this on the fact that:
From this article [sfgate.com] and I think that would explain why we get so ma
Flipper babies? (Score:2)
For them the feeling is mutual... (Score:2)
Why's that? Do they freak you out?! [flipper.no]
Do they?! [cornerstorkbabygifts.com]
I probably should have told you to cover your eyes...
I take it that this violates..... (Score:2, Insightful)
Another DRM: (Score:2)
Exactly! (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Google Video Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
iTunes, et al (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:4, Insightful)
If it is so beta that it just doesn't work then don't release it. So far any "beta" from Google has atleast been polished and worked well. This simply does not. And some of the issues aren't a "is it beta" or not question, like the DRM.
So please, I love Google to, but drop the "its beta crap". They are a corporation that is taking your/my money. I want quality products. This simply isn't.
Parent
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:3, Insightful)
Except it does work. And it's labeled as a beta, which is a clear warning sign to anyone who's paying attention that it might have issues. Don't like it? Don't use it. Meanwhile, the people who do like it would like you to shut the fuck up.
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
Google isn't charging any end users for the service. I didn't have to pay to browse the videos, and neither did anyone else. Your argument that "I want quality products" is completely misplaced, the only people who should be bitching about this being a "beta" are the people whe sell on it.
You may view it as a technicality, but it's very clear in a business sense. This software IS beta, it's not finished. Google is charging vendors who wish to participate in this beta a fee for handling the transaction. When Google gets adequate feedback, they will alter the software. When the software becomes extremely user friendly, Google will raise the transaction rate and possibly begin charging the end user.
The product is marketed as a service for selling and finding videos. You mistake the fact that you have to pay for a video with that of having to pay for a googles product.
Parent
can anyone say "loooooow expectations"? (Score:2, Insightful)
Ahh, so you subscribe to Microsoft's definition of "beta", which means that it stays up long enough to do some amount of testing, so lets through it at the customers and let them bang the hell out of it.
Beta does not mean that it is perfect, but beta is supposed to be that step just before it does ship, which means you would not expect any MAJOR issues. Not being able to tell if something is drm'ed or not until after you "purchase" it to me falls into the cate
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:3, Insightful)
Also the main point in the summary (and through much of the article) is the DRM issue, and that's not something likely to change from beta to release (assuming that they do someday move ahead from beta).
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't usually have trouble with SkypeIn (also still in beta), but there are times when a call just cuts out. Heres the trouble: I don't know why; it could be from SkypeIn, someone calling me from a cellphone who's switching towers, or any other link that breaks in the chain.
I still pay for SkypeIn, because I can get calls while I'm abroad with people having to pay only local rates (which sometimes amounts to free).
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Google Video Beta (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Create a sweet news site
2. Form a large following
3. ???
4. Profit
5. Come out of beta
Beta = exclusiveness = demand (Score:4, Insightful)
How many people beat their door down to participate in the Gmail beta? Why not roll the same effect into their other services.
Soylent green is people!!!
Parent
Not All Negative... (Score:2, Informative)
Interface is ok (Score:2, Insightful)
The interface isnt bad, its just simple (which is good in my books). There are links which let you view only the free/paid content or both. The search works pretty well.You could call the interface minimalitic but what else did you expect from Google ? The
Re:Interface is ok (Score:5, Insightful)
If it allows you to purchase videos that won't work on your system without ever warning you of that prior to purchase, it is indeed bad, not "simple".
Imagine if when you bought a DVD from Amazon they would just pick-to-ship by title, mixing discs of all different region codes together. When you got your new DVD, popped it in your player, and discovered that you had bought a Region 3 DVD that was unplayable on your Region 1 player, would you thank Amazon for "simplifying" the process? Or would you be upset?
My bet is you'd be upset -- especially when Amazon could obviate the problem altogether by simply matching your address (or what local store you buy from) to the appropriate region - which they do.
"Simple" makes doing the right thing easy. "Bad" makes doing the wrong thing easy. Google Video's UI is bad.
Parent
Re:Interface is BARELY ok (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Interface is BARELY ok (Score:3, Interesting)
As to resources, iTunes seems to be more of a resource hog than Safari, but less than Firefox on the Mac, so I don't see anything to complain about there.
Re:Interface is BARELY ok (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Not just that (Score:5, Informative)
1- When you buy the video, you are told "requires Windows XP and an Internet connection". You only find out AFTER buying it which format it comes in.
2- When you buy the video, you buy the right to stream it only. If you try to download the video, it will only download a small file and STILL stream the actual video from Google, so you cannot view it offline.
3- Because of the special DRM, there is no way to put paid Google videos on iPod or other mobile devices.
Re:Not just that (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
look to the horizon (Score:3, Funny)
Stop hiding behind BETA Google. (Score:2, Insightful)
I love Google, but I am tired of this 'it's in BETA' excuse. They have had stuff in beta for years it seems. Look at their news and email services... they are still in beta! So if problems occur, they can just blame it on being in beta?!?!? I think not.
http://religiousfreaks.com/ [religiousfreaks.com]Re:Stop hiding behind BETA Google. (Score:2)
Re:Stop hiding behind BETA Google. (Score:2)
The Register has a similar piece... (Score:2)
This is What They Always Do... (Score:2, Insightful)
The interface is not all THAT clunky, but releasing in BETA for a very long time is generally what they do for just about everything. The Google search itself was considered beta for, what, close to 3 years... GMail is still beta and they have millions of Gmail users.
Now they big fat wallets - does that mean they will do things differently?
Not likely.
DRM is anti-consumer (Score:2)
No wonder consumers are rejecting it.
Inflammatory preaching... (Score:2)
Another DRM... (Score:5, Insightful)
On one level, that makes sense: Apple doesn't share its DRM, and Microsoft is Google's biggest competition. However, inflicting yet another flavor of DRM on the public goes against the desire of many in Congress and in the consumer electronics industry to see a single, unified standard emerge."
Good! Muddle up the field more. The more confusing this stuff gets for the average consumer, the more they'll become aware of DRM and its potenially adverse repercussions.
If Congress and the electronics lobby were successful, we'd be forced into a crappy DRM scheme with little recourse. More DRM is good for us consumers; we can go elslewhere if the DRM scheme of one provider is horribly crippled.
A unified DRM scheme would no doubt include some form of hardware "Trusted Device" nonsense that would make life needlessly frustrating. Companies have the right to protect their products and services, but we certianly deserve the freedom to walk away and try some other firm's DRM. Hopefully one that is minimally intrusive.
Rushed Indeed (Score:4, Interesting)
Google Bundle (Score:5, Funny)
Of course, initially it would have to be Google Master Beta...
Down with Proprietary DRM (Score:4, Funny)
The Website Looks Fine (Score:3, Informative)
I saw a piece on this the other day, so I checked out the Web site. I'm one of those people who is pretty critical of bad UIs (just ask my co-workers). I don't see any major problems with their Web site UI. It's nothing especially good or bad. I did not have any problem using it. I'm not too keen on the DRM, as it seems to be implemented and it seems a little deceptive if you can't actually download the files for viewing, only stream them. That isn't really buying a video, just subscribing to a service that will stream it for you. It makes it pretty useless for watching shows on your laptop while commuting, or on a drive.
My opinion is the service is technologically too limited to be useful to me, but the UI is just fine.
Not the first (Score:3, Insightful)
Some commenters have said that, althought every Google is working on is labelled as Beta, all of them seem to be very polished and ready.
They must have forgotten that little cache app fiasco, the web browsing accelerator that was so crappy it had to be removed from the public access.
Not because is by Google it has to be good by definition.
--
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Re: Google Video Not Ready for Prime Time? (Score:4, Funny)
I went to video.google.com, typed in Paris Hilton, and 5 seconds later I was watching a video of her in a skin-tight suit washing herself down with soapy water.
What's not to like about that?
Re: Google Video Not Ready for Prime Time? (Score:3, Funny)
I feel a terrible disturbance in the force.... (Score:3, Funny)
It's Friday the 13th, I think good has taken it's first serious step towards the dark side.
Major issues with Google NBA videos (Score:5, Informative)
I love this bit in the download FAQ (Score:4, Insightful)
No. Once you buy a video, you can download it to other computers up to several times."
I wonder how many "several" is?
Google's open-standards negligence (Score:3, Informative)
In the meantime... Google Earth, Picasa, Google Talk, Google Desktop, Google Deskbar, and now Google DRM Video are notoriously limited to commercial platforms and/or tools. So much for Google being the preferred choice of the O/S world.
RFC: A Unified Approach to DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
None at all.
Seriously. Copy protection is completely unnecessary. While media vendors wait for the Perfect Copy Protection (which will never come), they are leaving money on the table right now.
So, you can wait for the major industry players to settle on a common framework for media copy protection which will work across computers, media centers, PDAs, cell phones, portable game systems, etc. (not bloody likely; they all are jockeying to get single-source lock-in); or you can forego the copy protection "requirement" and start making money now by selling media in common media formats now.
Better get moving; your fickle shareholders aren't going to wait forever for you to get your asses in gear.
Schwab
Free clips are fun, but the paid stuff is "WTF?!" (Score:5, Insightful)
However, the paid video stuff is a total embarrassment and arguably the worst thing that Google have ever released in their entire history. It's overpriced, not available outside of North America in many cases [yes, Google blocks some paid content to non-US/Canadian countries!], DRM-restricted (often with "you can only watch for a day" limits too!), requires Windows, can't be viewed offline (online streaming only), is often "old" material and is annoyingly mixed in the "Popular" page with the free ones (are you *seriously* telling me that the most popular paid ones are loaded anywhere near as many times as the most popular free ones?).
Apart from the utterly lousy presentation/DRM/etc. of the Google Video paid material, there's not much of it either (I mean, one episode of CSI so far for $1.99 - one-day pass on Windows only, blocked to European users (!!) and you've got to be online and can't copy it to any other device? How many times can you say "WTF?!"?).
And, of course, we can't go without mentioning BitTorrent/P2P - which is the #1 rival to *any* paid video streaming business. We're seeing downloadable, DRM-free, HD/widescreen, DivX-encoded TV content literally 2 or so hours after the programme finishes. I know which one I'd prefer to see (and if it could be done legally, I'd be willing to subscribe on a per-month basis).
Re:Free clips are fun, but the paid stuff is "WTF? (Score:3, Informative)
There's Beta .... (Score:3, Insightful)
I laughed when I read the part of about "rushed to market". That's a stock phrase that just doesn't apply to Google products. They can't "rush to market" because they pay zero attention to the market. They only have one profitable product (AdSense), but that product is so profitable that nobody has to pay attention to "the market". So they just keep inventing Cool Stuff, and pushing it out. That's why new features keep appearing on Google.com with no advance notice.
Right now, you're saying, "What's wrong with that?" Well, if all you want is hacker toys, nothing. But some us get a little impatient that Google products stay "Beta" for years, and never get their rough edges polished off.
Take Google maps. Yeah, it's a great app. I always try it first for directions. Sometimes I just sit and play with it, it's so cool. But it's how many years now and it's still "Beta". And even though Yahoo Maps is much less fun to work with, I still go back to it sometimes, because Google maps still doesn't memorize addresses for you or plug in Yellow Pages entries.
With Google, "Beta" doesn't mean "This is a preliminary version." It means "Here's as much of the product as we feel like working on. We won't bother with all the boring stuff that makes a mature application, because just thought of some other Really Cool Stuff we'd rather be working on."