YouTube goes wide
If that YouTube video of a guy getting hit in the crotch by the 2×4 looks different today, that’s because it is.
YouTube tweaked their display on Monday, expanding their videos to 960 pixels and giving them a widescreen look.
Videos that aren’t in the 16:9 aspect ratio will be hit with black bars on the side. That includes most videos at this point.
But what is YouTube driving at?
The site is getting ready for some of its legit partnerships with real entertainment companies to blossom. Up soon are full-length movies from MGM.
YouTube is playing catchup with Hulu, the competitor launched by NBC and Fox last year to keep their copyrighted videos (ie “Family Guy” and “Saturday Night Live”) out of the clutches of YouTubers.
Hulu’s speed to market with some great product - I watched all four hours of “Lawrence of Arabia” on the site last week and regularly use it for episodes of “House” – left YouTube looking flat-footed and appealing to the teens-with-webcams set.
If they can clean house a little bit – and changing the look and of the player can add a lot to that – then YouTube can become yet another legit distribution channel for media companies.
Mike Koehler
Multimedia Editor
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