Online video distribution platform Veoh continues to add to its services, with an announcement this week that the company would be collaborating with new technological services to bring DVD-quality high-resolution Internet television to its video service, and to effectively connect that video service to users' TVs.
Veoh will work with AMD to offer more than 100,000 high-quality videos through its service, as Veoh sets to distinguish itself in the market based on its video quality. The videos will have no length restrictions and will include both user-generated independent content, as well as content through deals with major media owners.
And the technology from AMD, called Active TV, will facilitate the Internet-to-TV service in tandem with the Veoh videos. In the story he filed on Reuters' blog, Kenneth Li writes, "We're not quite sure where or in what form Active TV technology will pop up. And plenty of skeptics wonder if anyone will care at all. Competitors will also have to convince consumers why their gizmos will be better than Apple's new set-top box device, Apple TV, that links iTunes to TV sets."
I first wrote about the Apple TV announcement back in January.
In the past few months, Veoh has greatly revamped its site, which I wrote about here and here. The improvements included the ability to download and view content from other sites, personalized recommendations, and the ability to group various videos together and embed those video packages other places. The new service also allows download-to-own.
I wrote in February that "This all ties into Veoh's plans to expand its online syndication business by allowing users to syndicate to iTunes, blogs, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Google. The distribution system, designed to set up modes of profitability for user video, is part of Veoh's Pro program."
In the past few months, it seems a new video distribution system is popping up in the news every week (Brightcove, Joost, ROO, and Next New Networks, to name a few), and Veoh has been adding scores of new features to try and develop its niche in the marketplace. The latest link is yet another way the company hopes to develop a business model that will be viable both on the consumer end, in fostering relationships with media conglomerates, and in encouraging user-generated content. In short, Veoh wants to be a high-class YouTube but also a more viable site for cross-platform distribution. Can it accomplish this goal?
