You may think the world already has enough Web TV applications to be going on with.
But the likes of Joost, Hulu, Vuze, Babelgum and more, now have a new competitor.
Blinkx already offer a video search engine, which enables users to browse their way through streaming videos from Google, YouTube, Metacafe and more.
Blinkx BBTV Launched
Now it has decided to try and compete in the already overcrowded online television sector, and today launched Blinkx BBTV (BroadBand TV) on to the masses.
The service offers the usual bells and whistles that you’d expect it to, with high quality video streaming, full screen viewing, and a choice of channels over many genres.
So far, so samey.
Speech Recognition Software
The one thing that BBTV offers over the glut of other online TV services out there is the speech recognition software which enable you to view the spoken lines of dialogue in certain films and shows.
While this ability certainly won’t appeal to everyone, it does have its uses. For starters, you can click on any line of dialogue to be taken straight to that point of the film, enabling you to easily select a certain favourite scene you want to watch time and again.
It could also be a boon to advertisers when combined with the Blinkx AdHoc service, as it would enable some highly targeted adverts to be launched on viewers.
Blinkx BBTV also offers IMDB integration which means that you can click on an information window while watching a film, and be shown the cast, crew, release date and synopsis, amongst other things.
Content?
The problem is, as nice as these features are, there is currently little content worth watching on the service, so it all seems a bit pointless.
The company boasts of 250 content partners, but with such big names as DogWoof Pictures, that number could mean nothing in terms of content actually worth watching.
Conclusions
The service is currently free to use, and free of adverts, although they are likely to follow in time. The only problem left is the admittedly small, but still present, download required.
If we can learn anything from Joost, it’s that viewers aren’t particularly keen on downloading software and would much rather watch streaming on sites such as Hulu.
