Finding specific online videos from TV networks and independent producers can often be a daunting challenge. Some TV shows are on Hulu, some can only be found as paid downloads on iTunes or Amazon and some are only available for streaming on the network’s and producer’s own sites.
Clicker wants to change this by making it easier to find shows from TV networks, music videos, and web videos from across the Internet. Clicker is currently in private beta and only available in the US. The company gave us 1000 invites for our readers. Read on to find out how you can get yours.
Clicker aggregates over 300,000 episodes from over 1,200 networks, as well as 50,000 music videos and thousands of movies.
Features and User Interface
There are, of course, already numerous video search engines like blinkx or Truveo. Few of these make it as easy as Clicker to find the videos you are looking for, however. With auto-completed searches, a smart categorization system and well designed search results page, finding the right video on Clicker is a snap.
Whenever possible, Clicker uses video embeds to play videos right on its own page, though if a show can’t be embedded, Clicker will point to other sources. It’s important to point out that while most of these videos are available for free, Clicker also indexes shows that are only available for paid downloads and streams on services like iTunes or Amazon. Clicker also indexes shows from Netflix – though you need to be a Netflix subscriber to stream these.
A very useful feature on Clicker is that users can subscribe to shows and build up a personal library of shows and playlists. Every episode page gives users the option to add this episode to the playlist or to subscribe to the complete series. Clicker also keeps a record of all the shows a user has watched already.
All of these features are nice and useful, but the area where Clicker really shines is in how it presents the search results and how easy it is to browse the site and discover shows.
Taming the Wild West of Online Video
With its focus on indexing high-quality videos and making it easy to find them, Clicker manages to stand out from its competition. Earlier this week, Clicker added Blake Krikorian, the founder of Sling Media to its board of directors, whose experience in this market will definitely be a boon for the company.
As Clicker’s CEO Jim Lanzone told us earlier today, online video is still going through its Wild West phase. Thanks to services like Clicker, it’s now getting a lot easier to find and play online videos without having to search through dozens of sites.
Invites
Clicker gave us 1000 invites. Simply click here, sign up, and you are ready to go.
