YouTube buys Green Parrot Pictures

Google-owned YouTube said Tuesday that it has bought an Irish digital video company whose technology can help improve the quality of amateur footage submitted to the video-sharing site.

Financial details of the acquisition of Green Parrot Pictures, which was founded by Anil Kokaram, an associate professor at the engineering school of Trinity College in Dublin, were not disclosed.

YouTube said in a blog post that much of the 35 hours of video uploaded to the site every minute is "beautifully shot by professionals or aspiring filmmakers."

"But some of YouTube's most popular or moving videos are shot using low-quality mobile phones and video cameras," said Jeremy Doig, director of Google Video Technology.

"Take, for example, videos of recent protests in Libya," Doig said. "Although emotionally captivating, they can be jerky, blurry or unsteady.

"What if there was a technology that could improve the quality of such videos - sharpening the image, reducing visual noise and rendering a higher-quality, steadier video - all while your video is simply being uploaded to the site?"

Technology developed by Green Parrot Pictures "can do exactly this," Doig said, and has been used by major studios on films such as "Lord of the Rings," "X-Men" and "Spider-Man."

"Their technology helps make videos look better while at the same time using less bandwidth and improving playback speed," Doig said.