SnapStream Brings The “Power Of Search” To Television Programming

Imagine TiVo on steroids combined with a search engine like Google. It exists today, but for the enterprise market. That product is called SnapStream TV and it allows thousands of hours of programming to be recorded – up to 10 shows simultaneously – and then, using closed caption transcripts, brings keyword search and related capabilities to any content element in that recorded programming. (There’s a somewhat less powerful consumer version of the device, called Beyond TV, available as well.)

All of that content can be accessed and searched via a PC/browser over a network.

Video alerts can be set up for brands, individuals or phrases, as they can be with conventional online alerts. In addition, any recorded programming can be searched in the same way the Internet can be searched, using keyword strings. The device returns any or all programming that contains a match. Users can go directly to the part of the program that features the relevant content snippet and watch it.

One can save those clips and email them to others. The catch is the “index” in this case is all programming that the organization or individuals within it have designated for recording. SnapStream CEO Rakesh Agrawal said that SnapStream TV enterprise can record more than 10,000 hours of programming. And archives could ultimately be transferred to corporate servers and become permanently searchable on a corporate site or intranet.

Agrawal said that they’ve even integrated SnapStream enterprise with the Google Search Appliance (for those that have it). Consequently, you get a different version of “universal search” in the enterprise, blending intranet and web search results with TV content from SnapStream. There’s also iTunes and iPod integration.

Here’s a video demo from the site.

SnapStream enterprise is a powerful and impressive technology that points the way to the eventual blending and integration of a broad array of television content with the traditional Internet — online or on TV.