Hulu adds search to embeddable video player, almost gets it right
Since Hulu launched in private beta not so long ago I always felt their video search engine product was a step above everyone else’s. Hulu’s video player and user experience was one of the best within the online video space, which is crowded with amateurish efforts. Yesterday Hulu took another step towards creating a true global video content destination by focusing on content discovery within their embeddable player…and they almost hit it out of the park.
As you can see from the screenshots below the Hulu embeddable player now has a search box in the upper right hand corner. I am a huge fan of content discovery and was very happy to see this. The search box within the embeddable player allows a user to search for a video and have the search results come up in the player - when clicked, the video will play within the same embed. If within the search results the video is not on Hulu, when clicked it will take you to the website that contains the video.
However, here is the opportunity they missed out on. When you are done watching the video why does the search box go away (see screenshot)? Yes, as YouTube does, they offer related video’s but why not offer the same search functionality you get when you are watching the video? Doesn’t it make more sense to have a search box once a user is done watching one video so they can discover more? Would love to understand the reasoning behind this decision.
However, I still believe that Hulu’s embeddable player is better then most offerings when it comes to content discovery. YouTube lacks the search box and just offers the standard recommended / related videos at the end of the clip. For me having a search box within the embed makes much more sense since people are primarily embedding quick clips - adding search would allowed them to quickly find related (or unrelated videos).
While I am on the topic of embeddable video players, CBS launched this week their new player which has the embed functionality. Check out the live example of their embeddable player at the bottom of this post. IT IS HUGE. I would love to know what the CBS Digital team was thinking when they made it. Who wants to embed a video that size? Would it even fit within most blog templates or even within MySpace? A better option would have been to offer various sizes of the embed - let the user decide.
On top of the embed size CBS, like Hulu, monetizes the video through advertisements. CBS runs ads spots at various time points within the video (Hulu has a pre-roll). I am all for monetization but back to my previous point who is going to embed this into their website? The purpose of giving fans / users the embeddable option should be to drive brand awareness and / or to drive traffic back to the main site. Why do YouTube videos go viral (besides the content)? Because they are easy to embed and get right to what people want to watch - which then drives people back to YouTube.com for further content discovery. On top of all of that, once a video plays CBS’s video embed has no additional content discovery, not even the standard recommendations - I am assuming this will be fixed in the near future as this is a first release.
For your viewing pleasure, below are live examples of YouTube’s, Hulu’s and CBS’s embeddable players. Outside of the pure UI of the video wrapper which one would you want to embed into your website / blog?
- Youtube adds new features to their embeddable video player
- Hulu continues to show online video websites how to do it
- Hulu gives users the choice when it comes to advertisments
- TheWB.com relaunches as an online video destination
- Video SEO Guide and Best Practices
