Flickr adds video feature

Video is killing the radio and TV star as more and more people flock to the Internet to watch content on video sites like YouTube. Today everyone is buzzing about Flickr's jump into online video after the photo-sharing site announced a new feature that will allow its pro members the ability to upload video clips under 90-seconds and 150MB. This feature is restricted to Flickr users who pay the $24.95 annual membership fee, but anyone with an Internet connection can watch the short clips or post comments, unless the user enables their privacy settings.

Why the 90-second limitations? According to the site's help section, Flickr is trying something new by offering a place for videos that highlight special moments in your life and not commercial content. These "long photos" are great for people who don't know what to do with those short video clips taken with their mobile phone or digital camera, which usually end up buried somewhere in a computer. Video formats supported will include MPEG, MOV and AVI, and clips can be uploaded straight from a mobile phone.

On a different note, I just came across a site that fixes your grainy videos called Fix My Movie. The site enhances video so it looks less pixelated by using motion estimation and other techniques that correct lighting, sharpness, and video compressions. Check it out if you're planning to upload your short clips to Flickr or other video sharing sites.

Disclosure: Flickr is an online service owned and offered by Yahoo!, Inc., which also owns and operates Yahoo! Tech.