Brid.tv Launches, Free HTML5 Enterprise Video Player

Coming out of Belgrade, Serbia, Brid Video announced the launch of Brid.tv, which it describes as a free enterprise HTML5 video player with a Flash fallback. While the service looks attractive, the initial release leaves some questions unanswered.

Brid.tv features include video management, analytics powered by Google, support for Google IMA (interactive media ads) HTML5 SDK and Ad Rules, and the option of using one of six skins or having Brid.tv designers create a custom one for free. Videos are hosted and served by Amazon CloudFront CDN. The player includes support for top social networks and major ad formats (including VAST and VPAID). The company adds that automatic site map creation, a WordPress plug-in, and real-time analytics (also powered by Google) are coming soon.

Along with the player, Brid,tv is heavily pushing Veeps, a plugin that lets Brid.tv viewers chat and videoconference while watching a video together. Brid.tv says Veeps doesn't require major infrastructure, is lightweight, and uses both client-based and peer-to-peer connections.

The Brid.tv website and the launch announcement are both light on details, but the company blog reveals how the site plans to make money. One out of every three ads shown on a Brid.tv player will come from Brid Video. Customers that don't serve ads won't need to pay anything, the company says.  

How much video content can companies store for free? Is this simple ad model enough to keep Brid.tv afloat? Anyone looking for answers can start with the sign up box.