blinkx video search adds RSS and podcasting

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 20 Jul 2005 at 12:47

Audio and video search startup blinkx has added new strings to its bow: RSS and podcasting.

The SmartFeed facility can be used by any RSS reader. Rather than listing everything that's indexed, users first run a search. It is that search that can be subsequently plugged into the reader to update you when any new material that matches your search terms becomes available. Searches can be refined by selecting which channels you want to receive content from, and a safe mode prevents anything of a salacious nature finding its way in.

Given that blinkx indexes video and audio, you will need to have various multimedia plug-ins, such as RealPlayer, to support the different content formats delivered.

SmartFeed can also be used in the real sense of RSS - real simple syndication - meaning you can pull the search-based content onto your own website, and allow your users to run Blinkx searches from there.

The San Francisco-based company has also added support for video blogs and podcasts - the practice of posting multimedia content clips to blogs which are then sent automatically for synchronisation with devices such as iPods.

For blinkx this initially takes the form of two new channels: UK Podcast and Video Blog.

'The Internet has evolved into a vast media network, with more and more multimedia content becoming available every day,' said Suranga Chandratillake, founder of blinkx. 'Much of the most current and compelling content on the Internet is in multimedia format - take breaking news, for example. blinkx's unique automatic transcription technology and SmartFeed service help users navigate the increasing and diverse range of rich media that's available to them.'

More information is available at the blinkx.tv website.