Coull.tv: UK based intelligent online video search web site
Coull, a UK company, has launched what it claims is the first intelligent online video search site. Coull.tv allows users to search for specific moments within video, watch videos, and interact with moving objects during play.
Irfon Watkins, CEO of Coull, says that the service is the next logical link in the video search chain. It’s the first time users are able to search video and be directed to specific objects in the video.
Watkins continues ““coull.tv adds a further layer of never-before-seen interactivity, with it being possible to click directly on objects of interest during video play. This means that information and advertising is not only on request, it is also contextualised, negating the requirement to put pre-roll or post-roll advertising in the way of the viewing experience.””
Fundamental to the coull.tv search tool is the ‘video activator’ application, software that can be freely downloaded, allowing any user to make objects within a video interactive. Each interactive element can then be tagged with keywords or phrases, or linked to products on e-commerce sites. Video content can then be freely uploaded to the coull.tv site, with no cost to the user – hosting and streaming are free.
“Also, for the first time, viewers can find the most interesting points in the video with ease and will be able to send specific links within a video to friends,” said CTO Dean Taylor.
The new Agent Provocateur film was the first viral advert to use coull.tv, allowing viewers to click on lingerie being worn by Kate Moss within the film and be forwarded directly to purchase the item.
It sounds interesting, though the site presently suffers a little from “Internet Explorer-itis” It does, at least in theory, sound more versatile than the likes of YouTube, and potentially more enticing for advertisers. Presumably the technology will find its way into some of the next generation of branded video websites.
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