This morning, Google announced via their Google code blog that the company plans to offer a new product called Page Speed Service, which will help customers load and deliver their web pages faster. Google's Page Speed Service fetches content from the customer's server, rewrites their pages by applying web performance best practices, and serves them to end users via Google's servers across the globe. Google says while its Page Speed Service is currently being offered to a "limited set of webmasters free of charge", the company plans to charge for the service and says "pricing will be competitive". There are no details on when the service will launch, but I'm hearing it will be sometime in the fourth quarter.

How this will impact traditional CDNs in the market is too early to know without more details from Google on what exactly the service will support, but Akamai, Limelight, Level 3 and Cotendo in particular can't be too happy to see this. Google's service might not support content that's generated dynamically and we don't know what features and functionality will be missing, but clearly when Google plans to offer a service like this, they have the ability to disrupt the market.

I will update this post with more details when I get them.

This morning, Logitech announced their first quarter results and in addition to their CEO leaving, the company said they were cutting the price of their Revue unit to $99, down from the original $249 price tag. (As of the writing of this post, Logitech's website is still selling the Revue for $249 when you add it to your cart.) While Logitech has never said exactly how many units they have sold to date, the company did say that sales for the device totaled $5M in Q1 of this year, which would mean about 15,000 units sold in that quarter. Someone from the company also told me that they sold less than 40,000 units last year, so if you combine Q4, Q1 and Q2 sales, it looks as if the company has sold around 60,000 units to date.

While cutting the price of the Revue down to $99 now makes the device affordable, there still is not enough content available through the Google TV platform to make consumers really need the box. Google hasn't added a lot of new content to the Google TV platform since it launched and until they do, there is not a lot of incentive for consumers to use it. Currently, you can get Netflix, Amazon Instant Video (not Prime streaming), NHL, HBO Go and YouTube, but that's about it for mainstream content. Even the Google TV website doesn't really highlight what content is available for the platform, you have to go under the "spotlight" section to find a list.

If Google were to buy Hulu and start offering a YouTube Premium subscription service, that would make their Google TV platform a lot more valuable and bring some much needed content to the system. But until Google does something to bring a much larger selection of content to the platform, it's going to be very hard for Google to get a lot of traction in the market and Logitech is not going to sell many Revue units, even with the price being reduced to $99.

The real play for Google TV and the future of the platform is embedding it into TVs, something Google is well aware of and is working hard at. When that happens and more TVs on the market have Google TV built it, Logitech's Revue unit will really no longer be needed.

Related Posts:

– New Logitech and Google TV Product Display Shows Up At Costco, Still A Hard Sell

– Google And I Agree On One Thing: TV Is Not Dead

I get a lot of emails from vendors asking to speak at our Streaming Media East/west conferences and I appreciate so many companies wanting to speak and taking an interest in our show. Unfortunately, I simply can’t fit everyone into the program with all the requests I get so with that in mind, here is how I select which vendors get to speak and how the selection process works.

I have about 120 speaking/presentation spots at each show and usually get more than 500 speaking requests. About 75% of all the speaking spots go to customers, which I classify as end-users who buy and deploy online video services as well as content owners. Since there are so few spots for vendors, I pick vendors who help bring their customers to speak at the show. The way we get so many top notch content owners and enterprise users to speak at the show is with vendor’s help. They invite customers, introduce us to them and try to bring them to speak on a particular topic.

So if you are a vendor and want to speak at the show, you have to submit your speaking request with a customer. For now, all you have to do is send me an email and list a few potential customer (company) names. I don’t need individual speaker names, unless you have them, and you don’t have to confirm that any of the companies are available yet, just offer some suggestions.

Once I have that I will cross check it against companies who have already asked to speak or are confirmed speakers and will look to see what sessions these companies may fit into. Once I figure that out, we’ll try and confirm one of them and it they agree to speak, then your company gets a speaking spot as well, usually on a different session that the customer is on.

That’s the process I have been using for 12 years now to keep it as fair as I know how. We don’t sell speaking spots with the East and West shows and companies can’t buy their way in via sponsorship. I know that’s not how other shows do it, but it’s also one of the reasons the StreamingMedia.com shows has been around for 15 years. Think of all of the other online video related shows that have come and gone over the past ten years because they gave all the speaking spots to the sponsors and never focused on creating value to attendees.

So that’s the selection process  for vendors and if you have questions, ideas or suggestions, I’m always reachable via email and phone (917-523-4562) and I am happy to speak to you at any time.

On today's StreamingMedia.com webinar about Adaptive Streaming & HTTP Delivery, RealNetworks shared the below slide featuring a nice chart that breaks out some of the differences and features from Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. You can see a higher-res copy of the image by clicking on it and be sure to check out the on-demand archives of today's webinar for more information on Adaptive Streaming & HTTP Delivery. Today's webinar will be archived within 24 hours.

Today at 2pm ET I'll be moderating another StreamingMedia.com webinar, this time on the topic of "Adaptive Streaming & HTTP Delivery". HTTP streaming and adaptive bitrate technologies continue to evolve and promise more efficient streaming, resulting in a better experience for viewers and cost savings for content publishers. Learn more about these technologies and how you can leverage them in your business.

Join Cisco, RealNetworks, Adobe Systems and Harmonic and learn:

• The evolution of adaptive bitrate (ABR) technologies and how they are being used by customers to optimize the viewer experience across multiple devices.
• Various creation and delivery methods designed to meet the changing world of streaming media and what this means to your organization.
• Challenges with video streaming within the enterprise (complexity, player availability, security, device fragmentation and network requirements).

Register here and bring your questions for the presenters for the live Q&A portion of the event.

The 2011 Streaming Media West show will take place November 7-9th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles and I've just started placing speakers today. Below is the advance program for the event which details every session title and description. The HTML5 track will be shared shortly. I've already lined up some great moderators from Variety, CNET, Cable Labs, TechCrunch, AOL Video, ReelSeo.com and others who are involved. Keynotes will be announced soon.

I have hundreds of speaker submissions to still review but if you see something below your interested in, better try and grab it before it's gone. Email me at mail@danrayburn.com

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

A101 – Facebook: Transforming The Future of Online Media
Join Facebook and other leading media companies to discuss new methods of distributing digital media assets to the largest social media platform in the world. Technologies covered on the panel include HTML5, adaptive streaming, authentication, live events, tablets, mobile and DRM. The panel will also cover unique and highly targeted marketing opportunities to over 700 million global users of Facebook. Explore ways to transform social networking and digital media distribution into making mounds of cash.

Moderator: Tim Napoleon, Co-Founder, President, Alldigital

B101 – How the Cable Industry is Changing the way Video is Delivered
Cable operators are pursuing a new market-based approach to enable IP delivery of cable TV services to consumer owned equipment. This session will explain the benefits for subscribers and CE equipment manufacturers of new IP-based, in-home cable services and how market-based solutions are providing cable content directly to an expanding range of consumer owned equipment. Learn the role standards organizations play in the development of these platforms and the key technologies used to enable both the hybrid tru2way and direct IP solutions.

Moderator: David Broberg, VP, Consumer Video Technology, Cable Television Laboratories

C101 – How To: Encoding For Adaptive Streaming
This seminar identifies the most relevant adaptive streaming technologies and details the most critical factors for comparing them. Next, the seminar details how to choose the ideal number of streams and key encoding parameters. Then it provides an overview of options for encoding and serving the streams, and closes by describing techniques for serving multiple target platforms like Flash and iDevices with one set of encoded H.264 files.

Presenter: Jan Ozer, Principal, Doceo Publishing

A102 – Google TV Demo: The New World of Smart TVs
Like the smart phone before it, the smart TV will bring a new layer of functionality to your existing home entertainment experiences. In this session, executives from Google will examine the value the web will bring to TV, the opportunities for content providers and developers, and the common myths and misperceptions around smart TV. Attendees will also see an overview of Google TV, including the latest developments on the platform, the killer apps, and what lies ahead.

Presenter: Donagh O'Malley, Global Head of Content, Google TV

B102 – Driving Video Views & Engagement with SEO and Social Media
Thanks to social media platforms and search engine optimization, a tremendous opportunity exists in building new audiences and driving views via outside channels. In this session, speakers will present and discuss the case for social video and video SEO. Additionally, panelists will showcase real-life examples and case studies as well as provide expert guidance in terms of both planning for and implementing successful strategies and tactics to boost exposure and discover-ability.

Moderator: Mark Robertson, Founder, ReelSEO.com

C102 – Best Practices For Enterprise Communications
One size doesn't fit all when it comes to matching video delivery platforms with enterprise communication strategy. A town hall meeting with the CEO is a very different thing than a geographically dispersed team meeting, and different technology requirements are needed for each. To further complicate things, all video delivery platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, and different departments in the organization often own different parts of the technologies and strategies. What's a communicator to do? Learn from experts in corporate communications, event planning, and technology support about best practices for finding and using the right mix of video technologies to reach your audience most effectively.

Moderator: Patty Perkins, Team Leader, Wells Fargo Creative Services Technology, Wells Fargo

A103 – Simplifying the Multi-Format Video Workflow
A variety of streaming formats-Silverlight, Flash, HLS, WebM-is generally required to serve the multitude of screens through which content is consumed. Each format can include separate workflows, storage components, and strategies. Network-based media processing offers an increasingly popular approach to simplifying these workflows. How does packaging of media elements in the network (versus on the encoder) work? What are the benefits? What additional features are possible with network packaging (DRM, CAS, ad insertion)? Does this approach work for both small and large operations? In this session, we'll answer these questions and hear various approaches to this new workflow methodology.

Moderator: Matt Smith, VP, OTT Strategy & Solutions, Envivio

B103 – An Open Dialogue Between Video Ad Buyers and Sellers
This session will be a frank discussion with ad video buyers and sellers to discuss their perspective on what's really working in the online video advertising industry. What matters more, content or audience? Is it one or the other, or does each approach present significant opportunities? Also, is video advertising still an industry of empty promises in regards to transparency? What specific expectations do buyers and sellers have around control, and how are they affecting the growth of their business?

Moderator: Teg Grenager, Co-Founder, VP, Product, adap.tv

C103 – The Digital Living Room
Join experts from all sectors of the digital video world to discuss the ever-changing topic of “The digital living room” and how content producers and creators, service providers, and other video web services will thrive in this new economy. What business opportunities lie in the coming surge of Internet connected TVs? What role does mobile video play in the future of the digital living room and streaming content in general? Come hear what technologies and services are poised to be the market's biggest disruptors and how content owners, producers and distributors can capitalize on them.

A104 – Data vs. Content: Who's the Real Star of Online Video?
The rise of online video has opened up a world of metrics and audience data that can help us understand consumers' interests in a way that has not been possible before. At the same time, the growth of online content consumption drives investment in premium content to satisfy the demand. In this session, speakers will discuss what makes up good inventory-whether prioritizing audience data crunching or investing in high-quality, premium content will create the most engagement and return on investment. Ad networks and content platforms will debate which of these two approaches will prove the best for monetizing the boom in online video.

Moderator: Ran Harnevo, SVP, AOL Video

B104 – How-To: Technical Set-Up of Live Streaming Production
This session provides tips and tricks, best practices, and lessons learned regarding the technical set-up of live streaming production. Learn how to stream multiple formats from a single encoder, use social networking overlays, leverage adaptive bitrate streaming, and transition between live streams from multiple camera angles using multi-encoder synchronization. Come learn how to deliver interactive, high-quality experiences for your next live event.

Presenter: Rob Roskin, Senior Manager, Video Operations and Emerging Technologies, MTV Networks

C104 – The Impact Of Carrier Based CDNs On Video Delivery
This panel will discuss the CDN plans and implementations of
major North American carriers for delivering video to the last-mile. Topics will include the technologies, economics and product offering that make carrier CDNs compelling and how they may disrupt the traditional CDN model. Panelists will provide updates on their companies' strategies, perspective on the market and unique relationships their companies can forge with content owners and other partners.

Moderator: Barry Tishgart, VP, Comcast Cable

A105 – Traditional TV vs. The Connected Living Room – Who Will Win?
With the confluence of content from new media, UGC, and web-based video producers along with traditional studios, cable companies, and TV stations, what technologies are necessary to bring all of this content together onto one Internet-connected smart TV device? We've heard about the connected living room for years, but why has it not yet happened? What's holding back mass adoption of smart TV technologies? A look at how consumer demand, big media politics, and innovative new startups are coming together to make smart TV a reality.

Moderator: Mark Mangiola, Venture Partner, Canaan Partners

B105 – Making a Living on YouTube
Long gone are the days of cute kitten videos offering the only hope for "going viral," but is it possible to make a living making YouTube videos? As the audience grows more savvy and technology more accessible, the quality of content that reaches the millions of views mark needs to be more engaging and of higher production value than ever before. Meet some of the creators who are reaching these milestones consistently, as well as advertisers trying to gain access to these creators' huge audiences.

Moderator: Jenni Powell, Digital Content Coordinator, Relativity Media

C105 – How To: Enterprise Video Case Studies
This session will present case studies from leading enterprise organizations showcasing their use and deployment of video for live and on-demand applications. Attendees will learn about webcasting workflows, on-demand applications, and ways enterprise companies are using video today to improve communications, increase efficiency, and enhance their businesses.

Moderator: Patty Perkins, Team Leader, Wells Fargo Creative Services Technology, Wells Fargo

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

A201 – Cranking Up The Content Machine
This session will focus on what it takes to build up a library of quality content that will attract viewers. What's the competition for content like among the leading streaming companies? What kind of deals are they making with content owners? What kind of content is in/out of reach? These and other questions will be answered by a panel of content syndicators as well as reps from the content companies that sell to them.

Moderator: Andrew Wallenstein, TV Editor, Variety

B201 – Best Practices for Live Streaming
Producers are taking advantage of new technologies, workflows, and production methods to create successful live events. This session will discuss the entire webcasting workflow, including how to get the video signal from the site to end user; how to build an audience; when to use multi-bit rate streaming; strategies to consider for reaching mobile devices, and how to leverage social media platforms. Presenters on this session are the ones in the trenches, producing some of the live events you see on the web today.

Moderator: Jon Orlin, Executive Producer, TechCrunch

C201 – Webcasting Tips And Tricks From The Enterprise
This session will focus on best practices from enterprise corporations who have adopted and implemented live video across their organization. See first hand how these companies are using video for internal and external communications and learn how you can better leverage assets already available inside your company. Hear first hand from those who have been successful with their deployments and learn what advice their have for others deploying live video in the enterprise today.

Moderator: Patty Perkins, Team Leader, Wells Fargo Creative Services Technology, Wells Fargo

A202 – The Business of Premium Online Video
Over the past years, the majority of online video has been short-form UGC that is not advertiser friendly. As online video consumption grows, portals, vertical content networks, and video ad networks are looking to offer premium original content being demanded by their advertisers. With this business still in its infancy, the creative and business models are still unclear. Will what works on television work online? How does content find its audience without a traditional network to market and promote it? Does it make sense to create content without an advertiser funding it? Who are the players in the new ecosystem? A panel of heavyweights from the content creation, digital media, and ad agency worlds will debate and discuss the current state and where things are headed.

Moderator: Matt Farber, President, DoubleBounce

B202 – Cutting The Cord On TV: Will Online Video Really Lead To Cable's Demise?
From Hulu to Netflix, streaming video is having a powerful impact on the traditional television industry. But are consumers really cutting the cord and bypassing cable operators in favor of online video? With the broadcast networks facing some of the same threats as the newspaper industry, will services like TV Everywhere and over-the-top (OTT) content be the industry's savior? These topics and more will be addressed by this panel of content heavyweights.

Moderator: Greg Sandoval, Senior Writer, CNET

C202 – Cloud Demos: Amazon CloudFront and Windows Azure
With no up-front expenses and no long-term commitment, both Amazon's CloudFront platform and Microsoft's Windows Azure platform enable you to pay only for the resources you use, and it's simple to configure both of them within minutes to store and deliver your content and applications. In this session, you'll see how they both work and learn how to use them.

A203 – Strategies for Preparing Your Video for Tablets and Mobile Devices
If you distribute or produce content that will be digitally consumed, you are faced with preparing your media for a multitude of screens. From Android-based tablets to the iPad, iPhone 4, and beyond, mobility is the new video frontier. So what's the right strategy to reach all these devices? How many variants of one clip must a publisher create? Which platforms will yield the greatest uptake? In this session, industry leaders with hands-on experience will answer these questions and provide a best practices approach to help you develop your content to multiple devices.

B203 – How Streaming Video Is Changing The Television Landscape
Streaming sites like Hulu, CBS, ABC, and others have proven that savvy audiences are turning to their computers for entertainment, and in a way that's profitable. How are traditional and cutting-edge companies capitalizing on this trend? In addition to providing the content, how are they taking advantage of this "connected" platform as they deliver content? And finally, how might online video based subscription offerings affect cable companies to this new content source?

C203 – Connected Device Demos
As the number of broadband-enabled devices and platforms invading the living room continues to grow, lots of questions remain about their capabilities. In this session, company executives from some of the leading device companies will demo their latest TV platforms and devices. Attendees will see these devices and platforms in action, learn which content is available on them, and get their questions answered in a Q&A session.

A204 – How Old Media Is Embracing Online Video and New Media
This session will discuss how converging media technologies are redefining traditional distribution methods; how interactive and on-demand services are changing; and how entertainment and news video is being consumed on new platforms. Come hear from some of the leading publishers, broadcasters, and advertisers about the impact that video and new media is having upon their business models.

Moderator: Jose Castillo, President, thinkjose

B204 – Winners and Losers in Over the Top Video
Smart TVs have joined new set top boxes, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and media center PCs as ways for internet-streamed video to reach the big screen. But with so many choices, how do you pick which ones to develop for, which ones to deploy on, and which ones to ignore? This session explores everything from the possible emergence of a standard stack for Smart TVs to handicapping Roku, Boxee, Google TV, and more. We'll also explore best practices in developing apps that work across many of these devices.

Moderator: Troy Dreier, Senior Associate Editor, StreamingMedia.com