VideoSurf: Search for web videos, sort by actors, genre, etc

Filed under: Internet, Video, Web services, Beta, Search, web 2.0

VideoSurf: Search for web videos, sort by actors, genre, etc

by Brad Linder Sep 12th 2008

VideoSurf is a new search engine for web video. But unlike most video search engines, which let you find the video you're looking for and then leave you on your own, VideoSurf can point you to specific content inside a video.

For example, say you're searching for Battlestar Galactica episodes. You just type the name of the show into VideoSurf and it will pull up a list of episodes and clips from online video sites like YouTube, Hulu, and DailyMotion. But what if you only want to see episodes featuring Lucy Lawless? At the top of search results page you'll see a number of boxes with actors from the show. Select the one you want, and VideoSurf will filter your results and only display videos featuring that actor. What's more, when you hit play, you'll see a timeline at the top of the next page letting you know the moment when that actor appears.

VideoSurf's facial recognition service isn't perfect. I did detect one or two instances where the wrong person came up in a thumbnail. But it's pretty darn good.

You can also filter search results by video source, or category (for example, TV, movies, news, or entertainment).

VideoSurf is in private beta. But you can signup on the company's web site to request an invitation.

Tags: demo08, online-video, search, videosurf, web-video

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