RTHM.L Regulatory News (RTHM)

2 Apr 2008 07:01

Blinkx Plc02 April 2008 blinkx Introduces BBTV, Fusing High-Quality, Premium TV Content with the Interactive Power of the Web Video Search Leader Delivers First Broadband TV Offering to Integrate Video into the Fiber of the Web for Full-screen, Online Television SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - April 02, 2008 - blinkx, the world's largest videosearch engine, today announced the availability of blinkx BBTV, a significantadvance in online television that leverages blinkx's patented speech and visualrecognition technology to simultaneously deliver a high-quality televisionexperience over the Internet, and link it to the universe of information on theWeb, adding dimension and context to the viewer's experience. Launching with a library of premium independent films and a variety ofhigh-quality programming from existing partners, blinkx BBTV is a small download(0.5 MB) that is available free of charge at www.blinkx.com, starting April 2nd,2008. With hybrid peer-to-peer streaming and a simple, point-and-click channelinterface, blinkx BBTV delivers a new kind of online television: full-screen,TV-quality and truly immersed in the Internet. Until now, Web video has simplyused the Internet as a new distribution mechanism, failing to exploit its truepotential. By fusing TV and other video with the Web, blinkx BBTV enables usersto instantly browse or interact with online sources related to what they arewatching, whether it's Google, Wikipedia, IMDB or other Web sites offeringrelevant information - from news and entertainment, to travel and sports. "Broadband Internet connections are fast enough today that with the righttechnology, it's possible to deliver an experience that's equal in quality totelevision. Consumers are accustomed to Online Video: short-form, often amateurclips that play in a Web browser - blinkx BBTV delivers Online Television:full-length, professional TV programming, delivered in exceptional quality,"said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO of blinkx. "The Web is the largestrepository of connected information in the world - on any subject and frommyriad sources. BBTV delivers television over the Internet, but it also fusesthat TV with the wealth of information on the Web, rather than appearing as justanother layer floating above it." With the click of a mouse, BBTV enables an unprecedented level of interactionwith online television. blinkx's patented video indexing automatically creates aspeech track of content within the video, making it easy for viewers to navigateliterally word-for-word and jump to specific points in a program, simply bysearching for a spoken word or name. While watching programs or movies on blinkxBBTV, viewers can instantly access features never before possible, includingtranscripts of the audio track and background information on everything fromactors and personalities, to reviews and locations shown within the video.Alternatively, users can opt to sit back and watch the video full-screen,on-demand and in TV quality. In coming months, blinkx will be adding dozens of additional channels andpremium video content to the BBTV offering, and will also be working behind thescenes to power similar BBTV experiences for partner media and entertainmentsites that are looking for new ways to connect with their viewers. BBTV is fullycompatible with blinkx AdHoc, blinkx's contextual advertising platform. Key features of blinkx BBTV include: Speech-based Navigation Leveraging blinkx's patented speech recognition technology, BBTV automaticallycreates a speech track of the video, allowing users to search through content,literally word-for-word, and jump to specific points in a program, simply bysearching for a spoken word. Full-Screen, TV Quality Experience BBTV provides a superior user experience by leveraging hybrid peer-to-peerstreaming technology to allow fast, high-quality delivery of video content. Allcontent appearing on BBTV is delivered over an encrypted network and protectedby Microsoft DRM technologies. Clickable Video BBTV delivers online television that is truly interactive - users can "shift-click" on a word in the speech track for additional information on aperson, location or object within the video. Automatic Web Linking BBTV is part of the fiber of the Internet, so in the same way that informationon the Web is linked to other information on the Web, video that is deliveredthrough BBTV is connected to the universe of online content, whether it'sGoogle, Wikipedia, IMDB or other news, entertainment travel or sports Web sites,adding a new dimension to viewers' experience. As the pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as thesmartest way to search new forms of online content such as video. With more than220 partners and 18 million hours of indexed video and audio content, includingfavorite TV moments, news clips, short documentaries, music videos, video blogsand more, blinkx uses advanced speech and visual recognition technologies todeliver results that are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-basedkeyword searches. About blinkx blinkx plc (LSE AIM: BLNX) is the world's largest and most advanced video searchengine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 18 million hours of audio, video,viral and TV content, and made it fully searchable and available on demand.blinkx's founders set out to solve a significant challenge - as TV anduser-generated content on the Web explode, keyword-based search technologiesonly scratch the surface. blinkx's patented search technologies listen to - andeven see - the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search resultsnot available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for many ofthe world's most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San Francisco and London.More information is available at www.blinkx.com. Press Contacts: Tim TurpinSparkpr+1 (415) 321 1894tim.turpin@sparkpr.com Clare GaynerBite Communications+44 (0)20 8834 3454Clare.Gayner@bitepr.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange