HD Video Developer Reaches Out to Marketers and Media Firms
A newcomer brings a player capable of streaming high definition video on the Web.
A newcomer brings a player capable of streaming high definition video on the Web.
Just months after the first high-definition banner ads appeared on the Web, a high definition-capable video player will be released today by a company called Vusion.
A white label player, Vusion looks to partner with media companies, marketers, and other publishers to provide its player and technology. Its first announced partner as it comes out of stealth mode is Island Def Jam Music Group. Clips available on Island’s site include music videos from artists Kanye West, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey.
Vusion expects to name additional clients in the coming weeks. Interested parties include movie studios, sports production companies, religious interest groups, and video games associations. Vusion is also in talks with ad agencies to discuss sponsorship deals. “The only market there today for actual HD on the Internet is sponsorship stuff, when somebody wants to sponsor an HD channel,” said Grover Righter, VP of marketing at Vusion.
The shortage of high definition video content on the Web means a matching paucity of ad inventory. “We’re already talking to ad agencies about the ability to deliver HD ads,” Righter said. “What we’re focusing on is the delivery of HD content.”
The player is integrated with multiple ad servers, which Vusion helps partners implement. In many cases, ads can appear in the letterbox area — the black bars above and below the image — of the screen when the stream is expanded to full screen. With the emergence of “widescreen” formats on both PC and Mac, including Windows Vista, letterboxing could be short lived for video playback.
The platform could also be used by a brand or marketer for a video heavy brand experience.
While in stealth mode, Vusion operated under the name Jittr Networks. Via the downloadable plug-in this technology is available to about 95 percent of Internet users, and is capable of streaming video with with picture quality up to 720p (define), which offers a native resolution of 720 vertical scan lines. About 80 percent of Internet users can receive DVD-quality streams.