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Stage6 closing for ever on Thursday

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Curt:
you'll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.
--- End quote ---
:o
... I'm writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you'll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I'd like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision. (...)

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it's really as simple as that.

Now, why didn't we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That's a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high-quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren't providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high-quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn't continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high-quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won't (and can't, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

So that's where we are today. After February 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger DivX universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices arrive on the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered by DivX Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, music and Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We remain committed to empowering content creators to deliver high-quality video to a wide audience, and we'll continue to offer services that will make it easy to find videos online in the DivX format.

It's been a wild ride, and none of it would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for making Stage6 everything that it was.
--- End quote ---

 :(

Curt:
You may want to capture a copy of the '9-11 Eyewitness', 679 MB, 105 minutes. No, it is not suitable for compression because then you won't be able to see the first person who jumped....  :o


http://www.stage6.com/user/hardtruthsoldier/video/2009951/911_Eyewitness_(New_Raw_Footage_and_AV_Analysis)

Curt:
Maybe only a few of you, if any, were using Stage6, but I will miss it a lot. Yesterday was THE last day, so I downloaded 370 music video files... (22GB - sometimes it really is a good thing to have a fast Internet connection!), and I am looking forward to watch and listen to all this fine music. Of course Stage6 was also housing some crappy videos, but in general the good thing about Stage6 was that you would find much higher quality videos than you would at uTube etcetera. Maybe Stage6 was not The King -...- but: Stage6 has left the building.

app103:
They are still up, through today. I am there now downloading old classics and documentaries while I still can.

next on the list: The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Curt:
I visited them 6 hours ago and was not able to download anything from my favourite tags. But it is good to know that at least some videos can be safed.  :up:

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