The Sundance Film Festival is using technology to provide video blogging, podcasts, and short films over the Internet. Fifty of the 73 short films from the festival are available online at its upgraded Web site. It is uncommon for filmmakers to allow the public to see their original content on the Web, but the Sundance project shows how filmmakers have come to see the Internet as a conduit for the promotion and distribution of their work. It is no longer necessary to get release a film in a theater to promote it, says Christopher Coppola, president of Ears XXI, an independent studio located in Hollywood. Coppola has used the Internet for over four years to screen and promote his films and now streams live video and creates content for podcasts and blogs. Sundance Online hopes that its additional content will act as a virtual extension of the film festival and attract an international audience. The 2006 Sundance Web site was revamped to provide easier navigation and to bring the festival online. Among the improvements are faster downloads, sharper graphics, an expanded help section, and the provision of weather and news updates on the home page. The site uses the Flash 8 codec, and films are offered at 700 Kbps for high-bandwidth users. This provides a much larger video window for viewing the short films. The film festival is sponsored by the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to developing film artists.