Politicos take on YouTube, video's future

POLITICOS TAKE ON YOUTUBE, VIDEO'S FUTURE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
Thursday's House Telecom Subcommittee hearing explored the future of video. It quickly became apparent that the hearing wasn't just a playful show-and-tell for the companies represented, as some politicians proceeded to put YouTube in the hot seat over its copyright policies. YouTube CEO Chad Hurley defended the site's practices as in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal law designed to shield Internet hosts from liability provided that they meet certain requirements and respond to notices from copyright holders to remove offending content. The event also turned into yet another debate over enacting so-called Net neutrality laws, with Democrats continuing to urge such a move and Republicans decrying them as unnecessary regulation.
http://news.com.com/Politicos+take+on+YouTube%2C+videos+future/2100-1028...

* Markey Makes First 'HillTube' Clip
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) pulled out a digital camera at the start of a subcommittee hearing on the future of digital video Thursday and began taking pictures of fellow committee members, the audience, and the press.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6440949.html?rssid=193

* Chairman Markey's opening statement
"Today the Subcommittee will explore the future of video more broadly. This inquiry will run the gamut -- from high resolution, high definition digital on big screens to digital wireless video services on mobile gadgets and finally, to the video services and technologies enhanced by a high speed, open architecture Internet. It is a future characterized by services that may compete with the movies or traditional television, as well as by services and technologies that will complement the video experience consumers have been used to for years."
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2809&I...

* House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell's opening statement
"I will pay particular attention to the impact of digital video on local media outlets. This Committee has worked in the past to see that local media outlets, including television broadcasters, adequately serve their local communities. It is clear that the advent of digital video is both an opportunity and a challenge for local broadcasters. It is an opportunity to better serve local communities with increased coverage and more delivery options. It also presents challenges to a business model centered on advertising."
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110st49.shtml

* Eshoo Troubled By Cable’s Switch Digital Plans
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) voiced concern Thursday that a new capacity-expanding cable technology would disable digital set-top boxes that rely on CableCards to unscramble content, frustrating attempts by Congress to allow consumers to shop at retail stores for channel-surfing devices.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6441140.html?rssid=196

* TV Plugs May Need Regulating, Says Raymond Creator
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Everybody Loves Raymond creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal said Thursday that the government may have to step in and regulate product integration, which he said adversely affects the creative community and is being forced on it by studios, though he later clarified to say that the key was disclosure to the public that the products were being hawked.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6440974.html?rssid=193

* Cuban: 'Net Can't Handle Streaming HD
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
HDNet founder Mark Cuban downplayed the future of live Internet streaming as the Internet is currently configured, a technology he pioneered with broadcast.com, while pitching the future of high-definition television, his latest venture.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6440959.html?rssid=193

* Rep Ed Markey Interviews YouTube's Chad Hurley
http://463.blogs.com/the_463/2007/05/rep_ed_markey_i.html

* Mostly Pleasant Surprises and One Expected Unpleasantness at "Future of Video" Hearing
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/934