Stage6.com closing...

Just got this email this morning... Looks like Divx is shutting down Stage6 and some of us will have to find another home for our videos...

<h2 style="margin-top: 15px; float: left;">Stage6 to Shut Down on February 28</h2>

I’m Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. I’m writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you’ll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I’d like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.

We created Stage6 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover a new kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always knew there was a chance that it might not succeed.

In many ways, though, the service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 became very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented filmmakers who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We helped prove that it’s possible to distribute true high definition video on the Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by offering content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other products beyond the PC.

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that.

Now, why didn’t we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That’s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren’t providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn’t continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won’t (and can’t, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

So that’s where we are today. After February 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger DivX universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices arrive on the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered by DivX Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, music and Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We remain committed to empowering content creators to deliver high quality video to a wide audience, and we’ll continue to offer services that will make it easy to find videos online in the DivX format.

It’s been a wild ride, and none of it would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for making Stage6 everything that it was.

--Tom

Bummer, you would of thought someone would buy it from them if it was that busy?

Well there is my little site, it's not as higher quality as what stage 6 runs at but it does play in real time for most broadband users.

www.hdvundersea.com

Here's some more interesting info... Seems Divx/Stage6 had been under the cross hairs of Universal in a copyright/ legal brouhaha...

http://seekingalpha.com/article/63562-can-...-stage6-pirates

DivX (DIVX) took a step closer to being forced to walk the plank after suffering their first legal setback in their copyright dispute with Universal Music Group. In a legal filing published late Tuesday night, Judge Dana Sabraw dismissed DivX’s request to declare Stage6 legal, ahead of their UMG piracy trial.

The dispute originally started in December 2006, when UMG notified DivX that several of their videos were showing up on their Stage6 website. In the original cease and desist letter, UMG didn’t provide DivX with a list of the infringing videos, but still demanded that DivX remove all Universal content. A month later, UMG sent a second letter, only this time identifying specific videos that they had problems with. DivX promptly removed the videos in question and didn’t hear from UMG’s legal department for another 8 months.

After this 8 month period of awkward silence, UMG approached DivX and agreed to license their content, albeit at a very steep cost. In order to atone for their past sins, UMG wanted DivX to pay them $30 million.

Sensing a shakedown, DivX balked at the deal and decided to take their chances in court. They had fully complied with all of the provisions of the DMCA and if UMG wanted to punish them, they’d need to attack the DMCA’s safe harbor provision to do it. After calling their bluff, UMG dragged their heels on filing a lawsuit, but the potential threat for conflict still created a real problem for DivX. With the company trying to spin off their Stage6 asset, these storm clouds of uncertainty cast a long shadow over the legality of their Stage6 operations.

With UMG threatening legal action against the site, DivX was forced to choose between trying to sell the asset at a discount or trying to see if they could ride this storm out. With UMG seemingly content to continue to accrue alleged damages, DivX felt compelled to ask the courts to rule on whether or not Stage6 was protected under the safe harbor provision.

DivX took a huge risk by pushing this issue. If they are right, then their wager will certainly pay off. If the courts can establish the legality of their Stage6 website, it would remove a lot of the uncertainty surrounding the business and would allow potential suitors to feel more comfortable about its long term potential. If DivX is wrong though, the consequences could be severe.

Six weeks after DivX filed for declaratory relief, UMG finally made good on their threat and filed a lawsuit against DivX accusing them of piracy. By bringing DivX up on charges, they were able to successfully argue that their trial was a more appropriate venue for this question to be answered. While this does represent a setback for DivX, I doubt that the result was entirely unexpected.

Still, through legal maneuvering, UMG has been able to regain control over home court advantage and they’ve put themselves into a position where they can always settle or walk away if things start to look bad. Even if DivX sticks with the full court press, they may not end up with the declarations that they were hoping for. In the discussion section of the judgment, Sabraw sympathized with DivX, but couldn’t justify running a separate trial now that DivX is facing legal action.

Defendants argue declaratory judgment is an incomplete remedy since this action does not include all parties to the lawsuit pending in the Central District. Furthermore, since Plaintiff cannot identify all copyrights at issue, Defendants argue the remedy in this Court is limited to adjudicating only the copyrights named.

The Court agrees with Defendants. Although the fear of uncertain litigation may have initially justified Plaintiff in filing this action, Defendants have since filed a lawsuit in the Central District that eliminates the uncertainty. Moreover, the DCMA [sic] safe harbor analysis Plaintiff seeks here will be more completely and efficiently undertaken in the Central District, where the court will be able to determine Plaintiff’s compliance with respect to particular copyrights that Defendants identify in the course of those proceedings.

While it may appear that DivX has lost round 1, the dismissal of this case won’t be the end of this dispute by a long shot. With the declaratory issue now out of the way, DivX will need to focus on defending themselves against UMG’s lawsuit. Even though DivX’s initial lawsuit has been dismissed, they’ll still get an opportunity to defend their website. Still, until DivX can reach some kind of resolution, the lawsuit will certainly make it more difficult for them to separate their Stage6 assets from their core business. With rising bandwidth bills, the credit crunch and legal questions surrounding this asset, it may be difficult for them to find a buyer who is willing to get involved in this kind of dog fight.

Sensing that conditions weren’t right, DivX pulled back on their plans for Stage6 in December and in a press release announcing the resignation of Jordan Greenhall, they also warned that their Stage6 transaction wouldn’t be finished by the end of the year like they had planned. The company promised to update investors in the first quarter of 08′ and with DivX expected to report earnings soon, you can bet that Stage6 will be a hot topic on their next conference call. The plan that DivX management lays out will be critical in determining how investors interpret the financial results.

Last quarter, investors rewarded DivX by focusing on their non-gaap growth and ignoring the Stage6 and compensation expenses. If DivX still plans on spinning off Stage6, then it’s fair for investors to ignore the rising bandwidth costs and focus on the value of the underlying asset.

If DivX’s legal battles really mean that they need to hold onto Stage6 in order to maximize its value, then investors may be in for a shock when they realize that Stage6 is really a long term investment. Facing the prospect of a drawn out legal battle, they may not take as much comfort in “one time†charges or expenses.

The answer to the Stage6 riddle isn’t an easy one, but after years of profiting from their popularity in the pirate community, it’s ironic to see DivX’s finally starting to feel some heat over the activities of their community. Even beyond the copyright liabilities, there is a significant cost for DivX to foot the bill for pirated Stage6 content and I suspect that DivX isn’t anymore enthusiastic about piracy on Stage6 than UMG is. There’s no way to know how this all will end, but I have a feeling that it's going to take a lot longer than what people are anticipating.

Bugger...

Bummer, you would of thought someone would buy it from them if it was that busy?

Wags, I rarely ventured out beyond looking at fellow u/w video work like those posted by Nick H, etc on Stage6. This morning, looking thru stage6.com, I didn't realized how much blatant copyright material is posted on that site! Music videos, movie clips, full TV shows, Japanese Anime, etc... I'm guessing this has turned into a legal nightmare for Divx and they decided to pull the plug (and most likely no one would want buy a company with such a potential lawsuit brewing). Real shame as there are some gems of original content HD video on that site.

Like that article I posted above from seekingalpha, the irony of it all is how much of Divx's success was from their codec being embraced by pirates...

Oh fiddlesticks!

So... where else to host a 960x540 Xvid file?

Or just go Flash 960x540 and host myself?

Well its still working today...

maybe they forgot it's a leap year this year...

maybe I forgot that I'm in Sydney they are West Coast US.... could be shutting down in a couple of hours

J

well the site has closed my it looks like uploaded videos are still working for a while.

interesting, now they have a link to Veoh on the Stage6 site...

I'm giving Vimeo a try.

http://www.vimeo.com/user381786

Interested to know people's experiences with the other sites. vimeo.com, veoh.com and blip.tv keep cropping up as alternatives. Especially keen to hear how it's going with hosting big files. Like 950x540 for example.

Nick,

I'm using Vimeo... not bad. I don't reckon the quality is as good. They embed ok but it doesn't do the cool things that DivX did, like the dimmer etc.

Have a look at my site as it has the videos embedded.... I am thinking about hosting the flash myself but have had problems getting the .fla or .swf to have the player controls. Any tips?

Jon

I've forgotten how to do it I'm afraid Jonny. I made a good player about 18 months ago, I think using Flash Pro but Dreamweaver may have been involved too.

Blip.tv is getting good reports from former Stage6 users and I think I'll check that out first.

There are various Flash Video Players around but I never found one I was totally happy with. Here's some starters for building your own player in Flash Pro or Dreamweaver. Good luck!

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/video/

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/video_guide.html

http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/8/main/wwh...e=00000092.html

http://livedocs.adobe.com/flash/9.0/UsingF...e1af6-7c9f.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svgUFb_N-Z0

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/flv_tutorial.html

Thanks Nick,

I'm away for the next few days but I go through those links, it's something that has been bugging me for ages. It must be pretty straight forward as everyone does it, it's just finding the time to do it.

Jon

Jonny,

if you want to embed a flash player in your webpage, have a look on this website: http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/

HTH,

Peter

Blip.tv, seems to be working very well.

I have my divx encoded videos on there. Look as good as they did on stage6.

Veoh will go the way of Stage 6 when the studios are done with them. They have all sorts of pirated material on there.