Google Video chiude i battenti

Con la seguente e-mail Google ha comunicato all’utenza Google Video la fine del supporto del sito. A distanza di anni dall’acquisto di YouTube, insomma, Google si mette alle spalle l’esperimento precedente ponendo definitivamente fine al servizio con cui ha esordito nel settore.

La fine del supporto è accompagnata dallo spegnimento dei server e dalla perdita di tutti i contenuti archiviati. Trattasi di materiale caricato dagli utenti prima del maggio 2009, quando le funzioni di upload erano state interrotte per dirottare completamente gli sforzi sulla repository principale del gruppo (YouTube). Ora l’interruzione è definitiva e l’addio è completo: Google Video chiude i battenti e per tutti gli utenti desiderosi di salvare i propri contenuti sono disponibili istruzioni in arrivo via email con cui si garantisce all’intera community di recuperare i filmati prima che vadano perduti.

Dear Google Video User,

Later this month, hosted video content on Google Video will no longer be available for playback. Google Video stopped taking uploads in May 2009 and now we’re removing the remaining hosted content. We’ve always maintained that the strength of Google Video is its ability to let people search videos from across the web, regardless of where those videos are hosted. And this move will enable us to focus on developing these technologies further to the benefit of searchers worldwide.

On April 29, 2011, videos that have been uploaded to Google Video will no longer be available for playback. We’ve added a Download button to the video status page, so you can download any video content you want to save. If you don’t want to download your content, you don’t need to do anything. (The Download feature will be disabled after May 13, 2011.)

We encourage you to move to your content to YouTube if you haven’t done so already. YouTube offers many video hosting options including the ability to share your videos privately or in an unlisted manner. To learn more go here.

Here’s how to download your videos:

Go to the Video Status page.
To download a video to your computer, click the Download Video link located on the right side of each of your videos in the Actions column.

Once a video has been downloaded, “Already Downloaded” will appear next to the Download Video link.

If you have many videos on Google Video, you may need to use the paging controls located on the bottom right of the page to access them all.

Please note: This download option will be available through May 13, 2011.

Thank you for being a Google Video user.

Sincerely,

The Google Video Team