Round-up: Watch HD video

The new trend for online video is high definition. Users can watch their favorite TV shows or top viral video makers in HD. That should give YouTube a run for its money, which is dragging behind the curve. Here’s a list of the video players that currently offer high definition viewing.

Hulu – The new kid on the block is making big news this week with its public launch slated for tomorrow. Hulu is the brainchild of News Corp. and General Electric’s NBC Universal and has won the hearts of some of the harshest tech critics. Among the shows offered are those from FOX, NBC, and Warner Brothers. Noticeably absent from the current list is Viacom and CBS, both in discussions with Hulu. You can watch favorite shows for free on Hulu, opening March 12 to all U.S. viewers.  [via Reuters]

 

Veoh – With a range of long form entertainment and user-generated content, Veoh is a free video sharing site started by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and two former Viacom execs. The site combines CBS, NBC, FOX, and Comedy Central. More recently, Veoh partnered with DivX, owner to the now dormant Stage6 sharing site. Veoh’s high definition is still in its infancy with no full episodes to be found. Users can, however, view movie trailers in HD. [via USA Today]

 

Swarmcast – Still in its beta version, Swarmcast’s Autobahn technology is capable of HD in Flash. The streaming video promises to be the first free video platform with the best quality in full screen 720p. Swarmcast uses an open source so that developers can modify and extend the player.

 

Dailymotion – Dailymotion last month installed a new player to support high definition. It is comprised mostly of movie trailers called “Official Content” and user-generated content known as “Creative Content.” Users can add the videos as their favorites, embed codes, or flag the video.  

 

MySpaceTV – MySpaceTV is still very much in its early stages. So far, MySpace has launched a two-minute movie trailer for Iron Man, one week after Dailymotion’s announcement of high definition compatibility. [via NewTeeVee]

 

Vimeo – With a dedicated HD channel, Vimeo supports 1280 x 720 resolution in Flash. Users can upload H.264 codec files with a max quota of 500 MB per week. This player is more for movie makers than movie viewers.