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Rory Cellan-Jones

Blinkx - another way with web video

  • Rory Cellan-Jones
  • 2 Apr 08, 17:01 GMT


What do you want to watch online - and how do you want to watch it? That's been the nagging question we in the broadcasting business have been asking recently - and it is an even bigger puzzle for those who have poured big money into internet video, from to , from to .

Some believe it's all about low quality, edgy clips which you can graze on at your laptop - others see the internet as simply a way of delivering quality content in high definition to your plasma screen. Or perhaps you want to be able to click onscreen and get a wealth of information from the web about what you're watching? That's what , a company launching a new online video service, is betting can make it stand out from an increasingly desperate crowd.

Its BBTV application promises to take a ragbag of content, from news clips to documentaries to independent films, and present it to you online with Blinkx's added ingredient - clickability. The idea is that you are watching a news item about monks in Tibet, you click and get the entire commentary on screen, use that to navigate to the section which interests you, and then click again to draw down all that rich information that the web can provide.

Now Blinkx is an interesting company. It was born as a spin-off from the Cambridge search firm Autonomy and its main product is a video search engine which delivers superior results by examining the audio and picture content of clips as well as their titles. It floated on AIM last year, and when I met the Chief Executive Suranga Chandratillake in London this week he said it was on course to make revenues of between $6 and $8 million in its first six months as a public company. Though, of course, it is still loss-making, with around $1 million a month going out the door every month.

But isn't it too late for another video wannabe to enter this market? Joost, with its wealthy backers and plenty of content deals, appears to be struggling to convince viewers to come onboard. As far as I can see, the audience has decided that it wants either YouTube or mainstream television - and the likes of Blinkx may fall through the gap in the middle.

Comments

  • 1.
  • At 06:58 PM on 02 Apr 2008,
  • Paul Hurley wrote:

I think the Blinkx platform / BBTV is the best online video experience I have had. The quality is excellent. I am looking forward to seing more content.

  • 2.
  • At 07:32 PM on 02 Apr 2008,
  • Peter wrote:

When an internet company can deliver quality content,on demand, in high definition to any screen, the company that does that will be a blockbuster winner.

  • 3.
  • At 08:20 PM on 02 Apr 2008,
  • tim wrote:

Joost is a good idea but the main problem is the stupid password system that always stopps people getting in to the site.

Whats the point of a flashy website thats so passworded up no one can log on.

utube is easy to view so it has viewers unlike joost difficult to access so no viewers .

You would think those boffins that designed joost might have made it easy to get into . But NO NOT A CHANCE

  • 4.
  • At 10:42 AM on 03 Apr 2008,
  • Yelly wrote:

I believe that this internet video phenomenon is simply a bi-product of web 2.0. The real future is in internet TV and this is live TV, not just clips or short films. This surely must be the next step in creating video on the internet. I use a site daily, viewmy.tv that allows you to access global TV, wherever you are in the world for free and with no download. This is an innovative site as it also provides the user with the opportunity to get involved in the social network they have developed around the global TV. The site is really great and I believe it is this type of thing that should get recognition not just the big players

  • 5.
  • At 11:43 AM on 05 Apr 2008,
  • ellen thomas wrote:


Blinkx is brilliant, i use it every day the quality of the search is
way way way ahead, of all the other sites like joost and youtube and google given a couple of years
this company is going to be a monster
within the online TV and video search
and with 150 patents it is going to be
practically impossible to beat this company without infringing its patents
this i believe is the next generation
of online search.
Thanks Ellen.

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