Brightcove, the Web video distribution platform used by media companies including Dow Jones, Warner Music, and the New York Times, is getting a massive makeover. Most people won’t see it, but its customers will. A new version of the Web-based software that they use to upload, manage, and distribute their videos is rolling out soon. It will be called Brightcove 3. (For more background, read the preview of the Brightcove 3 beta we wrote last june, and our interview with Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire in August).
Back in June, we noted:
The new publishing model centers around Brightcove’s first server-side API, which allows publishers to deeply integrate video meta data into their display pages. Publishers can choose to highlight related videos in ways that make the most sense for their content (perhaps by organizing them into lists that can be browsed by topics or names). They can also display descriptions, and choose URLs, that optimize SEO. As far as monetization is concerned, in-page advertisements can be synchronized with in-video ads to make for more effective impressions.
. . . Brightcove 3 has been blessed with a new user interface that doesn’t require publishers to skip around between tabs to address different parts of the setup process. An iTunes-looking control panel takes advantage of drag-n-drop and batch editing capabilities, which should streamline the addition and editing of videos.
Yesterday, we received the leaked screenshots below, and paired them with the corresponding current sections of the Web software. As far as we know, they’ve never been seen before outside the private beta. Judging by the screenshots, Brightcove 3 is much more visual, intuitive, and offers Web video publishers a ton more options than before. Click on each screenshot for a larger image.
Here is the new start page (top) versus the current dashboard (bottom):
Brightcove lets customers customize their video players. Here is the new video player styling editor (top) versus the current one (bottom):
Here is the new title editor (top) versus the current one (bottom). Notice how the ability to add tags and pick video stills and thumbnails is put right up front:
The advertising options are also being expanded. Brightcove 3 (top) looks like it will have options for different ad policies and ad types (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) per player. Currently (bottom), users can pick “advertising” or “no advertising”:
And, I think this might be new, Brightcove 3 will create “multiple renditions” of each video in different standards (VP6 and H.264) and different bit rates (360, 512, 900, and 1,500 kbps), depending, presumably, on the viewer’s bandwidth and software:
