Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a WideOrbit

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 by Andy Beal

Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a WideOrbit

I wouldn’t hold your breath, but there’s a chance we’ll soon see the end of pixelated videos on YouTube. Google has today announced the acquisition of On2 Technologies and its portfolio of video compression technology. The $106.5 million deal could signal that we’ll soon see better compression technology used at YouTube– which means those videos that look great on your desktop, will still look great when they get to YouTube.

“Today video is an essential part of the web experience, and we believe high-quality video compression technology should be a part of the web platform,” said Sundar Pichai, Vice President, Product Management, Google in a statement. “We are committed to innovation in video quality on the web, and we believe that On2’s team and technology will help us further that goal.”

But wait! We’re in a recession, how can Google afford to pay $106 million for compression technology? Easy! It just offloaded the remnants of its failed Google Radio division to software firm WideOrbit. According to TechCrunch:

WideOrbit is taking over several assets of Google’s radio business, namely Google Radio Automation, Maestro and SS32 automation products. The company, which is backed by at least $34.5 million in venture capital, commented on the closing of the deal saying that it was looking to expand its product portfolio and taking over Google Radio’s assets was a key step in that process.

So to recap: video is still hot, radio, not so much.

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5 comments on “Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a WideOrbit”

Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a … - How to profit from the next big wave! - Google Wave Money Online Says:

August 5th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

[...] Link to the original site [...]
Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a … » web Says:

August 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

[...] more from the original source: Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a … 05 August 2009 9:22pm – Object « Google: You Buy Some, You Sell Some Google Acquires On2 [...]
Xiou Says:

August 6th, 2009 at 7:14 pm

The On2 buyout is all about China! On2 has strategic deals with Netease and other key Chinese players(56.com, Toudu.com) and its CODECS are the De-Facto standard for Chinese video delivery across ALL platforms. Besides China On2’s codecs/encoding/transcoding solutions are widely used throughout Asia and Google will now have much greater influence across the entire region. Asia has BILLIONS of potential users and On2 is THE WEB VIDEO KINGMAKER FOR ASIA. It would be foolish if the other major US players let Google steal this company, their cutting-edge tech and future explosive royalty-based revenue for a pittance. Barring other offers from the US, expect a savvy company in India or Asia to act!
WideOrbit Buys Google Radio « mitchnation.com » BETA « → the diary of a tech news junkie → by Chris "Mitch" Mitchell Says:

August 6th, 2009 at 8:55 pm

[...] Google Jumps On2 Video Compression; Sends Google Radio into a WideOrbit (marketingpilgrim.com) [...]
internet radio Says:

August 31st, 2009 at 1:25 pm

listen to internet radio

Marketing Pilgrim