Another Video Metasearch Player: PureVideo & Other Video Search Resources
One of the great things about the web is that in many cases, there is always an alternative. That's good for users. Today, our friend and search guru Tara Calishain introduces PureVideo.com. It's a nicely organized site that aggregates content from over 35 content producers and is worthy of your attention.
However, metasearch of open web video content is not new. In fact, we've been writing about one service, Vancouver's SearchforVideo for nearly a year. We have used it to quickly find content that might have taken hours to find going site by site. SFV also has deals with mainstream video producers like Discovery Networks. Additionally, if you're an RSS junkie, SearchforVideo will also impress. Lots and lots of "pre-built feeds" along with the ability to create your own feed for any query, which is also a feature found at PureVideo.
Also, if you're into video podcasts, SearchforVideo offers a growing browsable directory of them. Finally, SFV also offers (for those of you who like to see what others are searching) a real-time "lens" of both the latest content viewed and the last videos to hit the database.
Finally, remember both of these services utilize the text surrounding the clip or the metadata encapsulated with it. So, results can be far from perfect.
Of course, services like TVEyes.com (both fee and free*), Critical Mention, and ShadowTV.com allow you to keyword search every word spoken using closed captioning from both mainstream TV networks and local stations. FedNet does the same type of thing for the spoken word in the U.S. Congress.
If you want to experience what might be the next "big" thing, take a look at our post about Nexidia. They finally have a public demo using video news content from WXIA in Atlanta. Differences. Unlike using metadata, closed captioning, or speech to text, Nexidia quickly breaks the spoken word down into about 40 phonetic sounds or phonemes. This post has more. Very cool.
Bottom Line: The more the merrier.
* The free version of TVEyes is found on the homepage of the site. It allows you to search open web video from mainstream news sources like MSNBC, Fox News, and Reuters. Search for your terms and then go directly to the point in the video where the terms are spoken. Unlike the fee-based version, the free version does not provide a mechanically generated text transcript.
Postscript: Blinkx Video should also not be overlooked as a meta type video search tool. The new version has a homepage that's nirvana for video junkies, is fully searchable, and offers an advanced search page that you don't find elsewhere. Sources like Revver, MySpace, and YouTube are included as well as more mainstream sources like CNN, Reuters and Bloomberg. Also worth noting that in some cases, Blinkx does offer the user the chance to search each word spoken during a program. This depends on the content source.
Postscript 2: Like we said, the more the merrier. ClipBlast is another meta type of video search tool that also allows you to see new content as it enters the database.
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