New Internet Video Delivery Platform Bridges the Gap between Professionally Produced Content and the User-Generated World

November 1, 2007; 06:17 AM

NEW YORK & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Addressing the clutter, low quality and technical limitations generally associated with web video, mDialog, a Toronto/New York City-based start-up, announced the launch of a new video delivery platform which will provide high resolution image and sound as well as advanced social networking capabilities, enabling users to share video or monetize proprietary content through modular pay-per-download and subscription revenue models.

“In the crowded web video environment, mDialog is different,” said founder Greg Philpott. “First, believing video should be a first-class citizen on the Internet, we offer a state-of-the-art web video platform that enables both professional filmmakers and amateurs to upload and share high quality video online. Second, with advanced social networking functions and an innovative pay structure, we have created an online community that truly connects professional independent filmmakers with their audiences, as well as enables everyone in the user-generated world to post, play and upload video like a pro using mLoader, our groundbreaking, easy-to-use software.”

To guarantee the above, mDialog licensed video encoding technology from Apple, and has gone on to become one of the first in the web video field to adopt the more advanced h.264 standard. As a result, mDialog’s video sharing service is completely compatible with Apple products including the iPod touch, the iPod classic, the iPod Nano, the iPhone and Apple TV. mDialog users, then, can not only enjoy a great degree of device independence – watching their content anywhere they please, from their high definition television sets to their iPhones – but also eliminate the problems of incompatibility that currently plague many competing web video services.

“Switching to mDialog’s platform is the equivalent of getting upgraded from coach to first class,” said Philpott. “This is the ultimate upgrade that the web video world has been waiting for, allowing both professionals and amateurs to post, distribute and share high quality content.”

“It’s Not Video, It’s Life” ™ Content Campaign Kicks off this Fall

To showcase the platform’s abilities, mDialog announced the launching of three main content networks: Arts, Life and Planet. Within these main categories, mDialog’s superchannels will focus on specific niche areas that do not always receive the platform they deserve. Among those superchannels launching this fall are food, family, and environment.

In addition, in stark contrast to existing web video platforms, mDialog will not limit the length of videos uploaded to its channels, allowing users to showcase more serious, lengthy work.

“mDialog isn’t just about video, it’s about life,” said Philpott. “We look forward to amateurs and pros coming together, taking advantage of our platform and making videos about the things they feel most passionate about. We want to give our users the space to explore those issues that matter most to us as humans, and yet have been largely neglected by the discombobulated web video market.”

As part of “It’s Not Video, It’s Life” campaign, mDialog will be announcing shortly a series of in-person and virtual events for specific communities to create, share, exchange and judge content. There will be ample opportunities for all contributors to rate the most popular clips and create a constructive, supportive and thriving community online.

The company also announced that mDialog has received $3 million in initial funding from Toronto’s Arthur and Sonia Labatt, who have known Philpott professionally for many years. “Greg and his team are a smart and resourceful group of entrepreneurs who have a keen sense of what the market is asking for in Web video,” said Labatt. “While YouTube has received the bulk of attention for good reason, going forward we anticipate that mDialog will be one of the players that develops a loyal following by offering ease of use and quality content not currently readily available on the Web.”

mDialog was founded by Philpott, a veteran entrepreneur and business process management expert who has consulted for such diverse companies as CB Richard Ellis, nurun inc., Alliance Atlantis, and TVOntario. He has extensive experience in the television industry, and advised a myriad of media and technology companies, helping them maximize their impact in the consumer marketplace. mDialog’s Vice President for Content Development and Acquisition is Byron Speight, an acclaimed new media expert and filmmaker who has produced work for PBS, Comedy Central and the Bravo Channel. A pioneer in streaming video content over the Internet, Speight has served as a technical consultant to networks such as MTV and the Sundance Channel before joining Philpott at mDialog.

“mDialog is all about moving from user-generated video to quality-generated video,” said Philpott. “At first, video had to be made easy enough for everybody to join in. Now that this is the case, it’s only natural that these content creators would demand a high quality experience, and we’re here to provide just that.”