Microsoft Acquires ‘VideoSurf’ (Video Content Discovery Company )
November 22, 2011 No CommentsMicrosoft has taken another step today in increasing the amount of features and technoloy that is built into Xbox Live. Microsoft has just announced the purchase of VideoSurf, a video content discovery company that has technology that works almost like Shazam but for video. VideoSurf currently has mobile apps for TV and Movie discovery and now Microsoft has purchased them for the main purpose of expanding Xbox Live. Also, a no brainer is that we should see the app coming to Windows Phone in the near future.
VideoSurf’s video discovery mobile application lets users discover, search and identify TV episodes, movies, music videos and video clips by doing a visual and audio search using their smartphone, or by typing a query directly into the app.
Users can discover videos by simply pointing their phones at a television or computer screen to capture a few seconds of what they are watching. The VideoSurf mobile application quickly identifies the episode and celebrities, provides more information about what was identified and suggests other videos to watch. .
Press Release:
REDMOND, Wash., and SAN MATEO, Calif. — Nov. 22, 2011 —Microsoft Corp. has announced the acquisition of California-based video discovery technology company VideoSurf Inc.
Founded in 2006, VideoSurf offers a back-end computer vision technology that “sees” frames inside videos to make discovering content fast, easy and accurate. Over time, Microsoft will integrate this technology across its entertainment platform to augment the Xbox 360 ecosystem and evolve search and discovery of entertainment content on Xbox LIVE.
“VideoSurf’s content analytics technology will enhance the search and discovery of entertainment content across our platform,” said Alex Garden, director of Xbox LIVE for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “This holiday we will launch voice search across our entertainment partners on Xbox LIVE. Over time, as we integrate VideoSurf’s technology into our system, we are excited about the potential to have content tagged in real time to increase the speed and relevance of the search results.”
“Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division is at the leading edge of connected entertainment,” said Lior Delgo, CEO and co-founder of VideoSurf. “We are incredibly excited to be working together on our mutual passion for creating amazing consumer experiences and reinventing how consumers search, discover and enjoy content on their televisions.”
In the coming months, Microsoft will bring nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers to Xbox LIVE, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC in the U.K.; Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and Mediaset in Italy. This acquisition will also make it easier for world-class video partners to take full advantage of advanced features such as voice search enabled by Kinect for Xbox 360. With Kinect, users will be able to easily search and discover content across multiple entertainment providers within Xbox LIVE and then interact with and enjoy content in extraordinary ways using voice search powered by Bing on the Xbox 360.
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