In the Best and Worst of 2005, I defiantly declared that Blip.TV was the Best Free Video Hosting site. I still believe Blip.TV and Revver are among the best video hosting sites for filmmakers. They offer video in various codecs (including a very good Flash Codec) that can be easily downloaded. Currently with Revver (and very soon with Blip.TV) you can even make a buck or two. However, as 2006 progressed, I realized that video hosting sites don't become popular because they serve filmmakers but because they serve their audience. After the break, our first award!
Best Online video site: YouTube. Not only did they make it easy to upload, but they also made it easy to find and interact with other content. Best move by YouTube: Encouraging online video to become a social experience.

As YouTube emerged, so did the YouTube celebrity. People like LonelyGirl15, who was neither lonely nor 15, and Geriatric1927, who cries regularly because he can't believe so many people watch or listen to his stories from yester-year.

YouTube also had an effect on Hollywood, as a lot Hollywood content started to find its way onto the site. A war seemed ready to erupt between the content holders and LonelyYoubeDevelopers15.

Worst foot in mouth: The wonderful Mark Cuban decides to single-handedly burst the YouTube bubble. With rumors floating around that YouTube was going to be bought, Cuban arrogantly calls any potential buyers "morons". He believed within months of the purchase, Hollywood would sue YouTube into oblivion. As of this writing, that has yet to happen and such a thing seems hardly a possibility.

Best Move by Morons: Google buys YouTube for a cool 1.6 Billion dollars. Many wondered whether Google could prevent YouTube from dying a slow and painful death at the hands of Hollywood but Google moved quickly cutting deals left and right. I am quite sure, as I write this, peace talks are in place with the remaining rebels, eh, overlords.

Things looked brighter in YouTube land. Like an excited schoolgirl clamoring for attention, Time magazine called YouTube "The Best Invention of the Year." Inventors all over the world were heard scratching their heads.

Time magazine took it a step further by adding that "You" were the person of the year. Yes, you. No, not just you but everyone. Everyone unconsciously added to the Biggest marketing buzzword of the year: "user-generated." How long before this becomes the biggest annoyance? If every company starts cranking out these "User Generated" videos, how effective will it be?

Outside of YouTube, the web community was abuzz about video. Podcasting and even blogging felt like old news. People argued over which word would best describe the new medium. Was it videoblogging? videopodcasting? vidcasts? vodcasts? Youtubing? Videostraubating?

Some of these videostraubaters videobloggers quickly found themselves being accepted by their richer and more handsome Hollywood cousins. Amanda gets picked up by a network, Rocketboom got rich, The New York Times seemed to write a feature on videoblogging every week, and people were turning off their televisions in favor of the internet.

There were also a couple of videoblogging fights. Ze & Rocketboom fought over traffic numbers. But the award for the Worst Videoblog smackdown was undoubtedly between Rocketboom and its former host Amanda Congdon. The battle still rages on. Who left whom? Who gets the house? Who gets the kids? Oh wait.

Videoblogging also became a weapon of sorts for the filmmaker. Best comeback story of the year: Four Eyed Monsters fails as a movie but like the phoenix rises again in the form of video podcasts. From the success of the podcasts, the movie finally reaches the big screens. With video podcasts, filmmakers could finally translate the idea of grassroots to something more tangible and more easily implemented. It was now becoming more and more about the small screen.

On the tech side, just like last year, everything seemed to get bigger. Bigger resolution, bigger cameras, bigger megapixels, more powerful computers, and more memory. Despite the bigger is better attitude, everything was also becoming more affordable for independent filmmakers. I would like to say that 2006 is the year of HD, but people have been saying that for a while now. However, this year is when the promise of HD actually reached the hands of Independent content producers. Which leads us to next award...

Best excitement generated by an unreleased product and the darling of DVguru bloggers: The one and only Red Camera. The buzz started sometime before NAB and has been gathering speed since then. Apple couldn't hold a candle to the amount of buzz created by this camera (at least within the DV community). After all, the Red camera is being created by a bunch of newbies, as in they have never created a camera before. Now before you Reds jump down my throat, let me say this: If Red was released this year, 2006 would be the Year of the Red camera. Damn YouTube, and all of its Time magazines & LisaNova's.

Red promises the world for the filmmaker for a cool 20k +/- while at the same time shaking up the world of camera manufacturers by providing a great deal. It is like getting a Panavision for the price of a Bolex. Or a Canon EOS for a Powershot. If, by next year, Red camera has failed to materialize, I will proudly award myself with the Biggest Sucka of 2007 or 2006 or whatever.

While we wait for the Red, a relatively new format rose to prominence. Best format of 2006: HDV, which bypasses the old DV and the relatively new DVCProHD with the sheer number of products and companies supporting it. One of the most exciting products of last year was the Panasonic HVX200 but because it has been saddled with the expensive P2 cards, it has failed to live up to the success of its DVX roots.

Best New unproven format: AVCHD. None of the major of the NLE's support it but I like the fact that it can record on flash drives while having better sound specs than HDV. We will wait and see. I am sure Redcine will also generate a lot of talk.

Best move of the year & Best Surprise of the year: Apple switches to Intel processors. Now some might argue that Google buying YouTube is the best move, but as of the end of 2006, the jury is still out on that one. Moving to Intel has obviously been a great move for Apple. Everything seems zippier on the Apple side again. Faster computers because of faster processors, more product cycles because of faster processor cycles. The Mac has also become platform-agnostic as you can run Windows or Linux on its hardware. Apple laptops are selling like hot cakes again. Definitely one of the best moves Apple has ever made.

2nd Best Apple shocker: Shake price drops from $2k to $500. One of the best deals anywhere. I am still confused on why Apple chose to do this. 2007 should be an interesting year for the Final Cut Studio suite.

Best Software Upgrade: Adobe After Effects 7. The best software from Adobe. Besides all the cool features, my favorite upgrade was the interface.

Worst Software release: Adobe's Soundbooth. Adobe defied logic when they released the beta version of the software that was only compatible with Intel Macs with no plans to undo their stupidity.

Best Free Software: There are a lot of great candidates in this category but my pick is Celtx. The cross-platform, feature rich, screenwriting software.

2006 also saw a dash to the living room. From game consoles to the expected Apple ITV, the living room media center is the next big battleground, just like the operating system was in the early 90's. We all know who won that battle, it seems like there might be a repeat.

Best move to the Living room: Microsoft's Xbox 360. It wins here, in a sense, by default. It is only decent option. With this headstart and Microsoft's domination in the OS market, the door may be closing quickly for the competition

Best trend in Hollywood: To embrace the web as a potential marketing device and also as a possible distribution model. Everybody and your mother is working on an online movie download service. Everybody and your mother and the cellphone companies are also working on a mobile media platform.

Worst trend for Hollywood: Blu-ray vs HD-DVD battle. The continuing battle of the next generation high definition DVDs is cutting into a potential goldmine for the studios. People are not going to be buying DVDs if they think hi-def DVDs are around the corner. And they are not going to buy hi-def DVDs unless they can see a clear winner. I am also tired of writing about the details of this battle. It is like a Bollywood film with too many twists and turns.

Most useful website outside of DVguru: Withoutabox.com. The biggest reason why filmmakers can still submit to festivals without tearing their hair out.

Favorite blog of the DVgurus: HD For Indies. It is the most cited source on DVguru. We actually have a chip inside of Mike's brain so we can track him at all times.

Top DVguru posts for 2006*:
1) Ten Video sharing services compared
2) The DVD rewinder
3) 10 Reason you shouldn't go to film school

Stay with us in 2007 as DVguru continues to expand. You will see more features and reviews next year, keep an eye out for those. Our weekly podcast is one of the our popular segments, we will continue to upgrade it with interviews and guests in the coming year.


Thanks to Russ and Scott for their support. If you have any Best and Worst suggestions, please feel free to leave it under comments.

* Based on Traffic