Vzaar
Encyclopedia
vzaar is an online video for commerce site which launched in 2007. The site supports video streaming, embedding
, sharing and video storage. Originally targeted at eBay
sellers, the service now provides online video services to other commercial operations.
, was founded in April 2007 by former eBay employees, providing video for eBay users. The service went live in September 2007.
Vzaar’s framework is built in Ruby on Rails
and is powered by a MySQL
Database. The site runs on the Amazon Web Services
platform. The company does not do its own encoding and uses a third party to encode videos to H264 MP4. Users can also select Flash Video as an option. The site supports various video and audio formats and a range of the video features.
Vzaar initially ran a freemium
model for users with restricted access to certain features. Vzaar has moved away from this freemium model and towards a more business-oriented model with a fully featured, but bandwidth restricted, trial package for users to test the service. Whilst Vzaar retains a restricted free package, it is no longer promoted and is only accessible by downgrading or letting the trial service expire.
In 2008 at the eBay Developer's Conference Vzaar were awarded the Runner's Up award for Best Design.
In August 2009, eBay announced the launch of their Selling Manager Application storefront. Vzaar were announced as one of the launch applications which means their video service can now be accessed direct from within the My eBay environment.
had invested in vzaar and become a shareholder. Whilst in London for the release of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone acted in (but did not direct) a promotional video for vzaar.
Embedding
In mathematics, an embedding is one instance of some mathematical structure contained within another instance, such as a group that is a subgroup....
, sharing and video storage. Originally targeted at eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
sellers, the service now provides online video services to other commercial operations.
History
The company, based in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, was founded in April 2007 by former eBay employees, providing video for eBay users. The service went live in September 2007.
Service
Vzaar was originally founded to provide an online video hosting service to ecommerce merchant eBay. By 2008, Vzaar was offering its services to a wider range of businesses, but does not host entertainment videos; the service is focused on serving commercial video only.Vzaar’s framework is built in Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails
Ruby on Rails, often shortened to Rails or RoR, is an open source web application framework for the Ruby programming language.-History:...
and is powered by a MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
Database. The site runs on the Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services is a collection of remote computing services that together make up a cloud computing platform, offered over the Internet by Amazon.com...
platform. The company does not do its own encoding and uses a third party to encode videos to H264 MP4. Users can also select Flash Video as an option. The site supports various video and audio formats and a range of the video features.
Vzaar initially ran a freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
model for users with restricted access to certain features. Vzaar has moved away from this freemium model and towards a more business-oriented model with a fully featured, but bandwidth restricted, trial package for users to test the service. Whilst Vzaar retains a restricted free package, it is no longer promoted and is only accessible by downgrading or letting the trial service expire.
eBay Integration
Vzaar uses the eBay API to allow sellers to add videos directly to their listings. Once registered, the process is reported to take only two clicks to embed a video in an auction listing.In 2008 at the eBay Developer's Conference Vzaar were awarded the Runner's Up award for Best Design.
In August 2009, eBay announced the launch of their Selling Manager Application storefront. Vzaar were announced as one of the launch applications which means their video service can now be accessed direct from within the My eBay environment.
Notable Investor
On the 23rd of November it was announced that Oliver StoneOliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
had invested in vzaar and become a shareholder. Whilst in London for the release of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone acted in (but did not direct) a promotional video for vzaar.
See also
- Comparison of video servicesComparison of video servicesThe following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable video hosting services. Please see the individual products' articles for further information...
- List of video sharing websites
- Video hosting serviceVideo hosting serviceA video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...