Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. They are used in every aspect of our lives including education, entertainment, marketing for businesses, and shopping.
Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities and other qualities. This will affect how they will appear on different devices.
With the Internet, streaming became a popular option for the distribution of video. Netflix transitioned from using DVD to a streaming platform. All videos are available online. Streaming brought concepts such as video compression due to buffering issues over various networks.
The traditional medium for video was broadcast television. This required the money and expertise of major media companies. They hired the talent, both on-air and support, filmed the shows, and distributed them.
Enormous telecommunication systems were set up, incorporating satellites and dishes which aided in the transmission. Reception came from, initially, antennas on the physical structure or the television itself.
This was mostly replaced with cable, which transmitted the broadcasts over wire. Different corporations got involved in this industry.
The Internet changed the way video, along with other content, was distributed. This evolved as Web 2.0 emerged due to the advancement in network infrastructure along with two-way engagement.
YouTube became the dominant online video platform. This service allowed individuals to upload their videos. It moved video production from professionals to amateurs. Eventually, the major media companies started to share clips of their shows on this medium.
Social media became a vital part in the advancement of video distribution. YouTube became the standard but was not the only platform that accepted video.
Facebook was a website that allowed users to upload videos although it was not a major component like YouTube.
Where the social media applications became a factor was in the sharing. Facebook and Twitter both allowed users to share video clips with other users. This was aided by the ability to embed them which allowed viewing from the front end. It did not require returning to the original application.
This made these platform multi-media, accepting many different content formats.
A recent entry into the video game is TiKTok. This focused upon a different aspect of the market called shorts. YouTube allowed for video creation of any length. TikTok focused on those which were 90 seconds or less. The videos were uploaded by individuals.
One of the criticisms of the social media platforms is the fact the users are the product. They create the value which the owners, mostly shareholders, benefit.
These platforms are monetized through the sale of advertising and data. They became major artificial intelligence companies, developing algorithms that allow for targeting of ads.
Ads were placed at the beginning of the videos along with the pages surrounding where they were being viewed. This generated revenue for the platform, something that users did not share in.
YouTube did change this practice a bit by allowing content creators to share in the money produced from the ads. This was only a small portion of the content creation base, meaning that most channels did not aid the user at all from a financial perspective.
One of the promises of Web 3.0 is changing how social media changes. The foundation of this is built on blockchain, using cryptocurrency as the payment mechanism.
Video platforms such as 3Speak are mirroring YouTube with the idea that users upload their videos. On a blockchain like Hive, the Proof-of-Brain (PoB) mechanism allows for rewards to be distributed based upon votes. These payouts can be the base layer coin or layer 2 tokens (or both).
Ownership is a big concept with Web 3.0. With a platform like YouTube, if one loses the account, all uploads are gone. Web 3.0 seeks to use decentralized node systems that store the video content, allowing for protection against centralized entities.
Here is a list of the most popular types of video files:
Video file formats changed as computing evolved.
The Internet changed video distribution. Artificial intelligence is going to alter video creation.
Software is advancing which can take text and convert it directly to video. This has major implications for films and television shows.
When people are able to create video content without having to film means the process is democratized. While the technology is in the early stages, it is easy to see a time when feature length films are generated completely using software, with little human involvement.
The term film dates back to the time when moving images were recorded on actual film. In the digital world, this is no longer the case.
Many people use the term film to refer to movies. This is one of the major differences between that and video.
It is likely that we see this change as software becomes a larger part of the process.
A video is a recording of an event. On the other hand, a film is the intentional telling of a story.
