The 12 minute long Netflix Original "Meridian" might not be the most exciting program they've ever released but it is among one of the most interesting.  The program is available to anyone, via the Creative Commons license they attached to it, up to an including competitors such as iTunes and Hulu.  This seemly strange move is because it is actually a benchmark for encoding streamed video and the more people that see it the more information Netflix and others will gain.  It is originally filmed in 4k resolution at 60fps, which is far more than most displays can handle and much larger than residential data infrastructure is used to handling. 

The interesting part will start when new algorithms begin to appear to allow what is likely to be the next high definition standard to stream over the internet without immediately hitting data caps or losing so much resolution as to make it unwatchable.  You can pop over to Slashdot for links to more information about this release.

"But for Netflix, it's just par of the course. Thanks to its Silicon Valley DNA, Netflix has long collaborated with other companies on cloud computing-focused open source projects. Now, it wants to nudge Hollywood to do the same — and "Meridian" is only the beginning. This week, Netflix is also open-sourcing a set of tools tackling a common problem for studios and video services."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk