14 DAY TRIAL // Yup, the title is correct and the well-known online video sharing service powered by Google might become a pay-per-video solution. Why, why, why? Well, don't be too angry because YouTube will remain a free service but it will probably sell some videos based on a new platform recently released by Adobe. As you know, YouTube allows users to view clips through the Flash Player provided by Adobe, an application that was improved with new functions revealed on Sunday.
Adobe Systems released a new video player application able to allow users to see when they are both online and offline and which will become available in the next months. The useful feature is represented by the possibility to download the videos and transfer them to any type of device without additional software or hardware. The bad thing, at least for the users that hungry for free content, is the function that allows producers to implement advertising and to track the clip usage. Although it might sound like a YouTube with DRM editions, it is extremely useful for the company and the video providers because they can avoid copyright infringement and illegal use of the clips. Think that the function can be used for the movies provided by large video companies such as Viacom, the owner of MTV and Comedy Central that offered a huge amount of content to YouTube.
"Consumers think: I bought my media, I own it, I should get to carry it with me from device to device. Adobe's video player works the way consumers think about media by giving them the freedom to carry it with them," Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said for Reuters.
So, all we have to do is to wait a few months after Adobe releases the new edition of the video player and see if YouTube tries to protect certain clips with the new function or continues to remain the 100 percent free service based on users' support.