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5 Feb 2009 07:00
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Beyond the SearchΒ Box,Β the NewΒ blinkx Brings You Better Ways to Browse Web VideoΒ and TVΒ with New "Entertain Me" and "Inform Me" Options
Video Search LeaderΒ Enhances SiteΒ withΒ New Tools toΒ Allow YouΒ to ExploreΒ and DiscoverΒ Online TV and VideoΒ Using Speech, FacialΒ and Concept Recognition
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. -Β February 5, 2009Β -Β blinkx, the world's largest video search engine, todayΒ unveiled new functionalityΒ thatΒ putsΒ all of its powerful technologiesΒ at the fingertips of users, unlocking new ways for users toΒ search, explore and discover video on theΒ Internet.Β
Over the past several years, asΒ Web video has experienced tremendous growth,Β theΒ quality and diversity of content has evolved significantly.Β Faster,Β more accessible broadbandΒ accessΒ isΒ changing the way that people enjoy video online:Β watching videoΒ on the WebΒ is no longer purely aΒ "lean forward"Β experienceΒ driven by search;Β it has become closer toΒ the TV experience, with users increasingly interested inΒ casually surfingΒ for video,Β or simplyΒ sittingΒ back and watching.Β
In response to this shift in consumer behavior, blinkx is unveiling a new homepageΒ featuringΒ "Entertain Me", "Inform Me" and "Give Me My Own Channel" buttonsΒ to offer users a better browsing experience, in addition to the most advanced video search technology on the Web.Β Leveraging patentedΒ conceptΒ clustering technology, blinkx identifiesΒ the most popularΒ entertainment clips andΒ the most importantΒ news stories from across the Web toΒ automaticallyΒ create playlists for the respective buttons, so users can sit back and enjoy the video, delivered as a channel directly to their computers.Β Alternatively,Β by clicking on "More Information" at the bottom right-hand corner of the player,Β users can choose to explore the videosΒ more actively, leveraging blinkx's patented speech, image, facialΒ and concept recognitionΒ technology to guide their browsing.
"Every day, millions of people come to blinkx.com with a specific search in mind - looking for a particular program or video clip,"Β said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO,Β blinkx.Β "But increasingly, we're seeing our audience use our site more like a TV: people want to sit back and be entertained, or use the information blinkx can generate about a video to guide their browsing experience.Β With our new homepage, we're offering aΒ more enrichedΒ viewingΒ experienceΒ for the Web's vast array of video content."
TheΒ newΒ blinkx.comΒ siteΒ allowsΒ usersΒ to selectΒ "Inform me" forΒ a roundup of the top news stories, "Entertain Me" forΒ the most popular viral video, orΒ "Give Me" to create aΒ personalized channel.Β They can then choose eitherΒ toΒ watch the content in a linear wayΒ as a channel, or click "More Information"Β in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen,Β toΒ tap intoΒ the full power of blinkx's search technology.Β Selecting "More Information" revealsΒ the following unique functionalities:
Speech tags:Β leveraging patented speech and concept recognitionΒ software, blinkx technology listens to the speech track of a given video, identifying and extracting speech tagsΒ that represent keyΒ words and phrases spoken within the video.Β These tags complement text metadata tags,Β improving the description ofΒ the videoΒ andΒ lightingΒ up as theΒ corresponding wordsΒ are spoken in the video.Β TheΒ speech tagsΒ can be used to navigate - bothΒ withinΒ the video, allowing users to jump directly to the pointΒ inΒ a video that aΒ wordΒ is spoken, and alsoΒ fromΒ the video,Β as a starting point to findΒ other relevant videos.Β For example,Β a video about President Barack Obama's inaugurationΒ mightΒ includeΒ speechΒ tags such as "Barack Obama," "oath"Β and "Lincoln Bible".Β If a user were interested in learning more about the history of the Lincoln Bible, he could click on the speech tag to retrieve and exploreΒ more videos about the subject.Β
Facial recognition:Β using its unique visual analysisΒ capabilities,Β blinkx automatically identifies and catalogs recognizable faces within a video.Β In the example of a clip of the inauguration ofΒ President Barack Obama, users would be presented withΒ thumbnailsΒ of the different faces that appear in the video, including the President, the former President and the Chief Justice of the United States.Β If interested in a particular person in the video, users canΒ simply click on the relevant faceΒ to jumpΒ directly to the scene thatΒ features that individual.
SceneΒ changeΒ analysis:Β byΒ watchingΒ each video frame-by-frame, blinkxΒ can detectΒ scene changes and matchΒ videosΒ thatΒ share similar visual components. ForΒ example,Β newsΒ videosΒ onΒ the presidential inauguration might come from different television networks, but if they share similarΒ scenes from theΒ event,Β then blinkx presentsΒ the videosΒ as a set ofΒ relatedΒ results.Β In addition, the scenes of each video are shown as a storyboard, allowing a user to track, visually, where they are within a video - these scenes can also be used as chapter anchor points, by clicking on one, the user is taken directly to that scene.Β
WithΒ theΒ addition of these new browsing options,Β blinkx now offers users the most effective, interesting wayΒ toΒ search,Β discover and exploreΒ online videoΒ -Β from newsΒ to entertainment toΒ their favorite TV showsΒ -Β all throughΒ a single destination.Β VisitΒ www.blinkx.comΒ to startΒ watching now.Β
As the pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as the smartest way to search new forms of online content such as video. With more than 420 partners and 32 million hours of indexed video and audio content, including favorite TV moments, news clips, short documentaries, music videos, video blogs and more, blinkx uses advanced speech-recognition technology to deliver results that are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-based keyword searches.
About blinkx
blinkx plc (LSE AIM: BLNX) is the world's largest and most advanced video search engine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 32 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 and user-generated content on the Web explode, keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx's patented search technologies listen to - and even see - the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for many of the world's most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San Francisco and London. More information is available atΒ www.blinkx.com.
Press Contacts for blinkx:
Tim Turpin
Sparkpr
+1 (415) 321 1894
tim.turpin@sparkpr.comΒ
NOMAD for blinkx
Charles Lytle
Citi
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