Blinkx launches online TV and film platform

by Ben Bold, Brand Republic 02-Apr-08, 12:30

LONDON - Video search engine Blinkx has launched an online movie channel called BBTV that will allow web users to watch films online for free.

The initiative includes a partnership between Blinkx and UK indie film distributor Dogwoof, which will offer consumers a library of independent and world cinema films to choose from, as well as TV programmes provided by Blinkx's existing partners.

The film channel will be available free of charge -- a 0.5mb size file can be downloaded from Blinkx or Dogwoof.

BBTV goes live today and uses Blinkx's patented speech and visual recognition technology. This allows web surfers to link televisual and film content to information posted across the internet. The video indexing automatically creates a speech track of content, which makes it easy for viewers to navigate a programme using specific words.

The platform uses hybrid peer-to-peer streaming and a simple point and click interface to give online viewers full-screen, TV quality programming.

Suranga Chandratillake, founder and chief executive of Blinkx, said: "Consumers are accustomed to online video -- short-form, often amateur clips that play in a Web browser. Blinkx BBTV delivers online television -- full-length, professional TV programming, delivered in exceptional quality.

"The Web is the largest repository of connected information in the world, on any subject and from myriad sources. BBTV delivers television over the Internet, but it also fuses that TV with the wealth of information on the Web, rather than appearing as just another layer floating above it."

Blinkx said that it will be adding dozens of channels and premium video content to BBTV. The firm will also be supplying the technology behind BBTV to other companies.