![](3D"http://images.stage6.com/user_images/s/spinner/avatar10008.jpg"){kind=avatar}
Stage6 to Shut Down on February =
28
NOTE: I'm reposting the same message I put =
up this=20
morning to open the blog back up for comments. Rest assured, we are =
reading what=20
you write and appreciate the outpouring.
I=E2=80=99m Tom (aka = Spinner), a Stage6=20 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. = I=E2=80=99m writing=20 this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on = February=20 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and = you=E2=80=99ll be able=20 to view and download videos until Thursday.
I know this news will = come as=20 a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I=E2=80=99d like to = take a few=20 moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.
We created = Stage6=20 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover = a new=20 kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always = knew=20 there was a chance that it might not succeed.
In many ways, = though, the=20 service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 = became=20 very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented = filmmakers=20 who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We = helped=20 prove that it=E2=80=99s possible to distribute true high definition = video on the=20 Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by = offering=20 content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other = products=20 beyond the PC.
So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the = short=20 answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive = enterprise=20 that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are = not in a=20 position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details = involved, but=20 at the end of the day it=E2=80=99s really as simple as that.
Now, = why didn=E2=80=99t we=20 think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you = may=20 ask? That=E2=80=99s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there = was a clear=20 need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience = online=20 because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren=E2=80=99t = providing that=20 to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.
As Stage6 = grew=20 quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites = delivering=20 high quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a = part of the=20 larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn=E2=80=99t continue = to run Stage6=20 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to = enjoy high=20 quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that = we were=20 kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, = which is a=20 fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it = out into=20 a private company or shut it down.
I won=E2=80=99t (and = can=E2=80=99t, really) go into=20 too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we = tried=20 really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own = private entity=20 or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two = scenarios=20 was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and = cease=20 operation of the service.
So that=E2=80=99s where we are today. = After February=20 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger = DivX=20 universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices = arrive on=20 the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered = by DivX=20 Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, = music and=20 Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We = remain=20 committed to empowering content creators to deliver high quality video = to a wide=20 audience, and we=E2=80=99ll continue to offer services that will make it = easy to find=20 videos online in the DivX format.
It=E2=80=99s been a wild ride, = and none of it=20 would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for = making=20 Stage6 everything that it was.
--Tom=20
I=E2=80=99m Tom (aka = Spinner), a Stage6=20 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. = I=E2=80=99m writing=20 this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on = February=20 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and = you=E2=80=99ll be able=20 to view and download videos until Thursday.
I know this news will = come as=20 a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I=E2=80=99d like to = take a few=20 moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.
We created = Stage6=20 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover = a new=20 kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always = knew=20 there was a chance that it might not succeed.
In many ways, = though, the=20 service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 = became=20 very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented = filmmakers=20 who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We = helped=20 prove that it=E2=80=99s possible to distribute true high definition = video on the=20 Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by = offering=20 content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other = products=20 beyond the PC.
So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the = short=20 answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive = enterprise=20 that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are = not in a=20 position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details = involved, but=20 at the end of the day it=E2=80=99s really as simple as that.
Now, = why didn=E2=80=99t we=20 think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you = may=20 ask? That=E2=80=99s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there = was a clear=20 need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience = online=20 because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren=E2=80=99t = providing that=20 to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.
As Stage6 = grew=20 quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites = delivering=20 high quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a = part of the=20 larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn=E2=80=99t continue = to run Stage6=20 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to = enjoy high=20 quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that = we were=20 kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, = which is a=20 fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it = out into=20 a private company or shut it down.
I won=E2=80=99t (and = can=E2=80=99t, really) go into=20 too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we = tried=20 really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own = private entity=20 or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two = scenarios=20 was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and = cease=20 operation of the service.
So that=E2=80=99s where we are today. = After February=20 28, Stage6 will cease to exist as an online destination. But the larger = DivX=20 universe will continue to thrive. Every day new DivX Certified devices = arrive on=20 the market making it easy to move video beyond the PC. Products powered = by DivX=20 Connected, our new initiative that lets users stream video, photos, = music and=20 Internet services from the PC to the TV, are hitting retail outlets. We = remain=20 committed to empowering content creators to deliver high quality video = to a wide=20 audience, and we=E2=80=99ll continue to offer services that will make it = easy to find=20 videos online in the DivX format.
It=E2=80=99s been a wild ride, = and none of it=20 would have been possible without the support of our users. Thank you for = making=20 Stage6 everything that it was.
--Tom=20
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