As online video takes center stage with the explosion of YouTube, iFilm and like sites, members of AOL, EMI, Google, Yahoo and Brightcove came together to discuss the current desire of consumers for user-generated content and the long-term impact it poses on the media industry.

Read the full article by Amanda Termen in CNet's "Is the Web the new Hollywood?"

ABC entered new territory May 1st as it began offering full length episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Alias online via ABC.com. Yes, we're as surprised as you. ABC will be offering the shows on-demand during a two month trial to test the consumer reaction and we would assume how the business model pans out.

The episodes are completely free of charge but users will come across commercials just as if they viewed it via traditional TV.

We trialed it ourselves and asked a few others to gauge their reaction. Based upon our results and the feedback we received, everyone agreed the video and sound quality is surprisingly good. Most people gave it two thumbs up and quote of the day was "that's pretty pimp".

Jumpboxtv.com has redesigned its entire delivery platform to utilize Brightcove's services and player. With several episodes ready to debut, (Robert Evans' Ask Bob, and Ice-T's Cyber Judge) Brightcove's versatile services and products have quickly become a perfect fit for JumpBoxTV's short and long-term strategic goals.

KyLinTV launches its Heartfelt Dramas Spotlight just in time for Mother's Day. The special Mother's Day Spotlight features 200+ hours of the latest movies and TV dramas from China, Japan, and other parts of Asia ...

Brightcove, a pioneer in Internet TV, announced it is making the standard edition of its Internet TV service available through a free, open commercial preview. The Brightcove Internet TV service gives anyone with video content from independent producers to major media companies to marketing teams the ability to easily build broadband TV channels and distribute their video through the Internet. The open commercial preview will offer individuals and organizations the ability to use Brightcove in advance of the full commercial release at no cost.

Orb Networks announced expanded support for playing and recording Internet TV and other online video from any mobile device with a streaming Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, or 3GP player on any carrier network and WiFi.

Maven Networks, Inc., the pioneer in commercial use of high-resolution video delivered via the Internet to PCs, TVs and portable devices, and thePlatform, the market-leading provider of digital video publishing solutions, are partnering to provide cutting-edge Internet TV solutions. The two companies' integrated offering presents an unparalleled, complete digital media delivery solution, from content management to rich consumer experience. The combined solution will make it faster and more affordable for media companies to launch highly scalable, unique and engaging Internet TV experiences that will keep audiences coming back for more. Having a combined ten years of complementary product development and market experience, thePlatform and Maven are uniquely qualified to meet the rising demand for best-of-breed broadband video solutions.

Disney's plans to test free internet distribution of ABC shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" will help connect the company to the 22 million US homes that regularly stream video, predicts a new report from the Strategy Analytics Broadband Media and Communications service.

Anystream, the leading provider of multiplatform publishing solutions to the media industry, today announced that MLB.com uses its Agility software in an automated live webcasting and on- demand workflow to easily and affordably reach new users through a multitude of global syndication partners.

WhiteBlox, the industry's leading broadcast network solutions provider, has finalized the network and links to broadcast exclusive online content for The NAB Show in Las Vegas on April 22-26, 2006. WhiteBlox will be airing content from the show LIVE over the Internet, free to the public, via its proprietary private-network building technology. The events can be accessed via the official NAB site: http://www.nabshow.com/ or at the WhiteBlox website: http://www.whiteblox.com/pressRelations/pressRelations_b.html.

Plano-based ViewCast Corporation announced the introduction of Niagara GoStream, a single-channel, portable streaming media encoder appliance designed for ease of use by streaming experts or novices. This compact unit can quickly go from its DualDock rack shelf in an indoor environment to outdoor, on-location events for live Web casting. The GoStream product aims to breakdown the technology barriers of most streaming media products by simplifying the user experience.

ITN Multimedia announces the launch of its streamed 24-hour news channel service and the ITN Weather Channel on Vodafone mobile TV. This is in addition to the services ITN already provides on Vodafone including hot news, regular bulletins, entertainment news and soap updates.

thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions and Ooh! TV, a free, online entertainment network targeting Generations Y and X, today announced that Ooh! TV has chosen thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) to manage and publish digital video for the Ooh! TV entertainment portal unveiled this month.

CNet has a story titled "High-def TV not ready for Net's prime time" that is worth the read. Of course it is a very controversial subject as some sites claim they stream HD quality video and several companies are working different technology methods to stream HD for Internet TV.

However, the article goes onto say that HD over the net is a ways off because the pipes just can't handle it yet. "In fact, every industry expert interviewed for this story said that the way things stand now there just isn't enough bandwidth going into the home to stream the more expansive HD video."

Interactive Television Networks, Inc. (ITVN), a leader in Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), today announced the launch of The Karaoke Channel, the first IPTV karaoke channel.

The Karaoke Channel is the product of a three-year agreement between ITVN and Sound Choice, the leading karaoke music producer in the US. The 24/7 channel will feature thousands of individual song titles from Sound Choice, with titles spanning over 100 years of music and including the biggest hits from every genre. Additional titles will be added every month.