Youtube API is nice but…

March 12, 2008

Youtube recently announced details of their video API (Application Programmer Interface), allowing developers to create their own concoctions powered by Youtube technology. The wildly anticipated game, Spore, is already on board to use the API in their game to send videos of the game straight to Youtube:

Youtube is a massive entity, one of the top 5 websites on the web, and it deserves some praise, but I have a void that I long for.

High definition video.

Vimeo does it and does it well, so why can’t Youtube? They have the massive data capacity of Google behind them as well as the capital, so where is it? I already know about the “higher quality” videos that are coming, but they are hardly HD. I want 720p!

Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that the API is here and developers can develop, but high definition is here people. I was in Best Buy the other day and MANY ordinary consumers (not like you and me) were buying HDTVs and high definition camcorders. They were flying off the shelves. The age of pixelated telephone videos is passing and higher quality video is here. Another example, look at the top live video shows on Ustream.tv. Almost all of them have a high quality picture to accompany their content. I get many praises and subscribers on my Youtube channel solely based on the quality of my videos. Most people could care less what I’m saying in the videos, but they love the fact that I produce great quality videos with my Canon Powershot TX1 (and also with my Canon HV20).

So while I praise Youtube for their API (because APIs are always awesome), I can’t celebrate too long before I utter the words, “but where’s HD”. Let’s hope it comes sooner than later. Here’s the announcement video of the new API in case you haven’t seen it: