America Online Announces Comprehensive New Video Search

HostReview.com
Tuesday, July 5, 2005; 04:29 PM

America Online, Inc. (www.aol.com) announced new online video initiatives that will make it easy to find, explore and experience videos on the Web. Building on its popular video search service, AOL has launched a new, best-in-class Video Search product available through the AOL(r) service, AOLSearch.com, and on AOL.com(r), including the new Web portal available in beta.

The new AOL(r) Video Search will deliver the most comprehensive repository of high-quality video content online in key categories from entertainment to news. Its database draws from the industry-leading AOL(r) Video on-demand archive of more than 15,000 licensed and originally produced video assets, including from broadcast television; more than 1.5 million video assets available on the Internet indexed through Singingfish(tm), the Web's premier video and audio search engine; and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from top video streaming sites.

AOL is also previewing today an enhanced version of the AOL(r) Video Player that integrates search and programming and supports major file formats to deliver inline playback for most videos through a single, consistent experience.

In addition to its integration with AOL's new Video Search, this Video Player will also provide a unified platform for video programming across the AOL(r) Network of Web brands, including the AOL.com portal and the AOL(r) Instant Messenger(tm) and Netscape(r) services.

"On-demand video is rapidly emerging as a mainstream behavior on the Web, and we want AOL to be the first place users go for online video," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of AOL Media Networks.

AOL's comprehensive video on the Web strategy will also offer more options for marketers to reach their key audiences online using video advertising and through the new AOL Video Player.

Leader in Live and On-Demand Video Entertainment Programming

AOL is one of the largest streamers of video today and is continuously expanding the scope of its licensing relationships to broaden the selection in key categories across music, movies, television, news, sports and more.

As the exclusive online partner for Live 8, AOL will also provide exclusive access to the historic concert performances on-demand for six weeks following the event. Fans can access the archived performances directly through AOL Music (www.aolmusic.com) as well as via the new AOL Video Search.

As part of its focus on on-demand video, the new AOL.com Web portal will soon launch an innovative Video Hub that will serve as a central location for music, news, sports and entertainment video programming. This new initiative will be integrated with both the new AOL Video Search and Video Player.

"Most of the top-gaining queries on any search engine are entertainment-related - people interested in music, movies and sports," continued Conroy.

New AOL Video Search Reflects Best Technology and Extends Standards

Video search differs from text search and requires the ability to match queries against often imperfect metadata descriptions of assets that are manually created by the content owner.

AOL also leverages expertise from leading providers of video processing technology and services. Onstream Media Corp. (NASDAQ: ONSM) provides AOL with content aggregation, indexing, and metadata capture hosted services as well as technology that enables speech-to-text transcription and multiple thumbnail extraction to enhance the searchability of video content.

ChoiceStream uses an understanding of video characteristics that drive consumer preferences and matches the search results to each individual's interests and tastes to create a relevant personal search experience. In addition, AOL has a relationship with Lightningcast, a leader in publisher-focused streaming advertising solutions, to enable video advertising solutions on the AOL Network.