Stage6 was started by DivX as a high quality video site where users could upload and download large files. As a result it became a haven for videos of live shows - a few weeks ago I posted links to an amazing Joanna Newsom set and a Seattle Sleeping People performance. DivX have announced that they will be pulling the plug.

Here is the explanation for the site’s collapse:

As Stage6 grew quickly and dramatically (accompanied by an explosion of other sites delivering high-quality video), it became clear that operating the service as a part of the larger DivX business no longer made sense. We couldn’t continue to run Stage6 and focus on our broader strategy to make it possible for anyone to enjoy high-quality video on any device. So, in July of last year we announced that we were kicking off an effort to explore strategic alternatives for Stage6, which is a fancy way of saying we decided we would either have to sell it, spin it out into a private company or shut it down.

I won’t (and can’t, really) go into too much detail on those first two options other than to say that we tried really hard to find a way to keep Stage6 alive, either as its own private entity or by selling it to another company. Ultimately neither of those two scenarios was possible, and we made the hard decision to turn the lights off and cease operation of the service.

There are were scores of amazing videos on the site, all downloadable, and they’re only going to be available until next Thursday. Get ‘em while you can. now they’re gone. Damn.