User-generated videos are going high-def.
Vimeo, a nascent video-sharing Web site owned by Barry Diller’s IAC, is expected to announce this week that it will begin distributing videos with a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 pixels, the standard for high-definition. That’s four times the typical resolution of 320×240 used by YouTube and most other video-sharing Web sites.
While movie trailers and certain other professionally-produced videos can be viewed online in high-definition, Vimeo is the first Web site to make HD available for user-generated videos.
According to founder Jakob Lodwick, the investment in HD was made worthwhile because Vimeo’s user base is made up largely of amateur filmmakers, as opposed to casual fans who rip content from other sources and simply post it online.
“Our audience completely rejects the notion that Web video needs to be a lower quality than television,” said Lodwick, who came to IAC through its purchase of collegehumor.com.
Vimeo has 250,000 registered users, 900,000 unique monthly visitors and a library of more than 300,000 videos, all of which can viewed using Adobe’s Flash Video player
Vimeo’s move comes as HD camcorder prices are dropping and sales of the devices are expected to be brisk this holiday season.
Retail analysts expect the price cuts for HD camcorders to spark a wave of adoption similar to the one experienced by plasma and HD television set makers after those products became more affordable.