VideoTap, the Noida startup that wants to change the way video is delivered, consumed and sold

Simply put, VideoTap gives publishers the ability to add a layer of interactivity on top of their content which is much richer than the annotated videos we see now.

Venkatraman says their technology makes it real easy for content owners to upload their content on to VideoTap servers and enable the interactive layer, which will improve the time spend on their videos as well as the discoverability of additional content.

“Video is still influenced by broadcast. In fact, what we see now was designed for a particular experience which was one-way and passive. YouTube has range, but it is still linear,” explains Venkatraman. In contrast to the static video files which are now streamed on demand, he says, VideoTap uses dynamic files that can be modified in realtime.

VideoTap gives publishers the ability to add a layer of interactivity on top of their content which is much richer than the annotated videos we see now.

One of the scenarios with Videotap is the ability to chapter content by since or with even more precision. Once this is done, the user can click to see just that bit and then be exposed to content with the same or similar context. And such a playlist will be updated real time as more videos use the same tag or topic.

Savvy Dilip, Co-Founder & COO, says the ecosystem offers great value to advertisers too as ads can now be more interactive and explanatory. In education, this technology can be used to make videos that engage the children with a never-before-seen level of interactivity.

VideoTap, largely funded by the founders and has some Angel investment, is now in the process of closing a Pre-Series A funding round.

Pilot publishers are testing the concept and familiarising themselves with the Design Room dashboard, said Venkatraman.

But what is the acceptance among publishers who are already invested with their own video players and ads? Venkatraman says publishers should continue with what they are doing and look at this as delta viewership.

“If this is on their website it will coexist with whatever they are doing,” he says, adding that there is a positive response from publishers, pilot publishers are testing the concept and familiarising themselves with the Design Room dashboard. In fact, pilot customers like Skillzpot, KarmaYog, Apex Labs and Screw Driver are already using the platform.

Even as VideoTap tries to firm up its partners, the company is working towards making the platform artificial intelligence as well as facial and voice recognition-enabled as there is the option of an automated end to end platform solution for video.