Google's new video upload and search service is a tipping point in the evolution of Internet TV, and more importantly represents increased evidence of a dramatic and radical shift in the role that Google intends to play as a platform for the Internet, and is an inversion of their original value and place on the Internet.
As has been discussed elsewhere, Google has been quietly building the world's largest storage system ("infinite storage"), and has been acquiring "dark fiber" ("infinite bandwidth") globally, and are now starting to layer services and APIs on top of that platform. Video upload, search and delivery is a natural for that "infinite platform" -- a services layer that looks more like a Google OS than a simple tool. Google has become the Microsoft of "Web 2.0" Platforms.
The irony, of course, is that Google has built it's value for website operators and consumers by layering discovery on top of open, distributed services, content and systems. Yet, with these moves, Google appears to be (re)centralizing many functions that the web's architects would typically have running in distributed nodes. In the world of video and video search, this can be contrasted with Yahoo's approach with Video Search and Media RSS, which respects and assumes distributed usage. We like that.
Nonetheless, as an online service company, Brightcove will build applications and value on top of whatever 'commodity operating environments' exist to support our work, whether that be Linux blades, Flash players, Windows Media, or the Google OS. We're looking forward to using Google Video!