Microsoft Corp. has acquired video discovery technology company VideoSurf Inc. Microsoft said it will integrate VideoSurf’s technology across its entertainment platform, in particular to enhance the search and discovery of entertainment content on Xbox Live. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
VideoSurf’s technology “sees” frames inside videos and interprets them to make discovering content fast, easy and accurate. It can be implemented as a back-end service, as it currently offers on its website, and also operates as a stand-alone mobile service.
“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,” said Alex Garden, director of Xbox Live for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. This acquisition will also make it easier for its extensive network of video partners to take advantage of advanced features such as voice search enabled by Kinect for Xbox 360, he added.
Microsoft is in the process of bringing dozens of global 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.; Telefonica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and Mediaset in Italy.
“Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division is at the leading edge of connected entertainment,” said Lior Delgo, chief executive officer 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.”
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