Amazing new Feed Tabs are here!
Our new feature – Custom Feed Tabs – are a flexible way to get videos flowing into your WorldTV Editor from other places – which you can then organize, copy to your library, and publish or distribute in different ways.
With this feature, you can add tabs to your Editor for things like YouTube searches, YouTube playlists, YouTube API queries, other WorldTV channels, and Media RSS feeds!
Read MoreWorldTV responds to increased demand
Over the past month, and particularly since our popular Web Mode release a week ago, we have seen substantially higher strain on our servers. This has resulted in a poorer than normal service for our users.
We have already made a series of improvements, and in this post we delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes world of WorldTV’s technical architecture, and how we intend to improve things even further.
Read MoreCreate amazing video websites with the all new Web Mode
We first launched Web Mode last year, and it has proven to be one of our most popular features.
The improvements we are introducing today take us a huge step forward in terms of the video publishing capabilities we now offer.
Video publishing has never been this easy, and the combination of our award winning, video library and content management system, along with a powerful, easy-to-use video site publishing system, is a joy to use.
And the best part… every single new feature is 100% free!
Read MoreHow to Build your own Web Video Collection easily using WorldTV
We’ve all come across great videos we like on YouTube, Vimeo etc. Wouldn’t it be great if you could keep a personal collection of those web videos, so you could retrieve them anytime you want?
WorldTV’s centralised library system for web videos along with its (lesser known) bookmarklet feature is simply perfect for this task. It’s quick, easy… and best of all it’s free!
Here’s how to do it…
- Create a channel (account) on WorldTV, and choose a name like ‘Nickys Video Collection’
- (Optional) Add videos automatically during the sign up process from a YouTube account, Vimeo account or by simply using keywords
- Once the channel is set up, and you are in the WorldTV Editor (the main screen), go to the Promote->Bookmarklets tab.
- Choose the ‘Add to Library’ option and follow the simple instructions to add a bookmark to Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer
- (Recommended) Use your browser’s bookmark features to move the bookmark to your browser toolbar so it’s readily accessible with a single click
- Now as you surf YouTube or Vimeo and other video sites you can click on the bookmark you created to instantly add the video to your personal video library
- Use WorldTV’s many other tools to embed, share or build a playlist of the web videos you collect and archive!
Good luck!
Read MoreWorldTV 1.0 Update is Here!
Our update to v1.0 began on May 1st and is now complete! Due to the huge size of the update we have been updating different parts of the site every few days.
Today we finished the update with the biggest new feature of all – our brand new WorldTV PRO Store, which is now live within the Editor. With the new store you can add over 30 new features to your channel.
The Editor also has a new look and feel – our exciting and very slick v1.0 theme. If you’d prefer to keep the old look and feel you can do so under Channel Settings -> Editor.
We hope you enjoy the all new WorldTV. It’s taken us over 4 years to get to this point and we’re looking forward to all your comments and feedback. The latest info and discussion about the updates is happening over on Facebook. Come by and join in!
UPDATE: Techcrunch just published this article about the release.
Read MoreWorldTV comes out of Beta next week
It’s taken us 4 years and almost half-a-million lines of computer code, but we’re now very close to the major milestone of our v1.0 release. If all goes to plan, a new WorldTV will be released to the world in just over a week’s time.
In this text we delve under the hood of WorldTV’s plans for this release, give you a sneak peak into the exciting new features coming your way, and answer the question on everyone’s lips… Just what the heck does ‘beta’ mean anyway?
So what’s in store for v1.0 – the “Toronto” release?
A La Carte Features
Perhaps the most striking new feature will be a revolutionary new way of offering a web application. We’ve always had an issue with how software often comes with loads of features you don’t actually use (think Microsoft Word). So why can’t you hide or disable the features you don’t want?
It’s this idea that has driven us to develop arguably the most flexible, innovative and customizable web application ever made. Starting with a basic set of features, an additional 30 features will be available ‘a la carte’. You’ll be able to selectively enable features as your needs require. Don’t want a feature? Get rid of it. Bronze, Silver and Gold packages are soooo last decade.
Free Model
Since the very beginning WorldTV has been provided as a free service. This made sense as we were still developing the product. This will not change after our v1.0 release. WorldTV will continue to provide a free basic version of the service, although with less features than we currently offer. Existing channels will get to keep all the features they currently have.
What does this mean for me?
If you already have channels on WorldTV, nothing will change. You will have all the features you currently have, and the option to get new features if you wish. Some of the new features are free, and are described in detail below…
New User Homepages (‘Web Mode’)
Stunning new user homepages will be introduced for all users with this release! This has been our most requested feature and every channel will have its own professionally designed set of web pages showing all the videos on your channel. This is in addition to the current ‘TV Mode’ page.
Every video in your playlist will have its own web page (similar to YouTube or Vimeo), meaning you can easily share individual videos on Facebook, Twitter or by email, and have your users come to a page that looks professional.
User homepages will include ratings, a list of the most popular videos in your channel, and more. For a modest fee you’ll be able to add your own Google Adsense advertising on your pages, Google Analytics, and even host them on your own domain name.
With WorldTV and the new Web Mode feature, you will be able to create an entire video website, monetize it, monitor it, and manage the content super easily through the WorldTV Editor.
Live Video
Our new Live Tab will make it a cinch to add live video feeds to your WorldTV channel from Ustream, Qik and additional live sources in the coming weeks. You can switch between multiple live sources on the fly, and switch back and forth between ‘live mode’ and ‘playlist mode’ whenever you want. For those who tested our beta version of this feature, you’ll be pleased to see the love we’ve given it with this release. A freshly redesigned interface and more robust operation means anyone can mix and match live video with playlist videos – just like a real TV channel!
New Look and Feel
To reflect our more ‘grown up’ approach, we’ll be introducing a more professional look and feel throughout the site. Our much loved current design has been with us since the very beginning, and while it will be genuinely sad to see it go, we think the new design will attract more professional users, which ultimately means more resources to plough into more features for everybody.
Twitter Improvements
We’re overhauling our Twitter tab to make it work much better. Combined with the new Web Mode pages, WorldTV will make a superb social video sharing platform that can be monetized easily through Google Adsense.
Search the Library
You asked for it – we’re giving it to you! A new instant search box within the video library will make searching through your videos a breeze. Super fast and accurate, you’ll be able to rapidly drill down to any video with instant results… Faster than Google. (seriously!)
Icon-only Navigation Bar (PRO feature)
By popular request, we’re finally offering the ability to have an icon based navigation panel on WorldTV channels. This will replace the existing navigation panel in TV Mode for those who prefer this style.
Widgets for webpages (PRO feature)
Do you have your own website? Our new Widgets tab will offer a brand new wizard for creating fully customizable horizontal and vertical video widgets showing your most popular videos, playlist videos or random videos. Perfect for promoting your channel on your own site, and elsewhere on the web.
Customize the EPG (PRO feature)
With this feature you’ll be able to choose which channels appear in the right hand side of your channel’s EPG in TV Mode. In this way you can create your very own TV network – either by using multiple channels, or by linking to other WorldTV channels your viewers might like. This is another feature widely requested by users.
These are just some of the new features coming your way. There’ll be other refinements and improvements throughout the service and possibly a few surprises too.
A v1.0 release is a milestone for any software application and it means that the developers feel the software is finally ready for serious use. While WorldTV will probably never be finished in our eyes… come next week, we think we’ll be at a point where we can finally say we’re providing our users a ‘high quality, comprehensive and genuinely useful’ product.
Our planned release date for v1.0 is May 1st. Unexpected issues may delay this slightly. Follow our Twitter account for the latest info.
Read MoreAlternative Royal Wedding Broadcast
This Friday is of course the Royal Wedding, in case somehow you’ve missed this news.
Here at WorldTV we’ll be providing an exclusive alternative to the traditional coverage in the form of an innovative live webcast, brought to you in conjunction with Comedy Plaza.
You’ll get to see the Royal Wedding, live, but with a twist. Providing the commentary will be some of the UK’s finest comedians, in a grand ad-libbed experiment.
So if you get bored of the regular coverage, switch over to worldtv.com/live for a light-hearted alternative.
See our Facebook event page for more details.
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