Azureus Opens Vuze Online Video Platform To Independent Producers

Azureus, the company behind the popular BitTorrent client of the same name, has today unveiled that their hi-def online video service known as Vuze will open up to independent video and film producers.

The main difference between Vuze and some of the existing competition (Joost, Babelgum, VeohTV) is that this one is based on the BitTorrent protocol, which can be bad news or good news because download speeds depend on how many users are sharing and downloading the content that you wish to view… the more, the better (in most cases).

With Vuze users are presented with near-DVD and HD quality videos, which can be searched through. The primary target for content now seems to be independent video producers who are looking for a no-cost way to reach a wider audience. With the Vuze Open Entertainment Platform, producers have the ability to choose between free or ad-supported streaming and downloads, rental or download-to-own, and whether to implement Windows Media DRM or not.

There have already been existing licensing deals with some major networks, such as A&E, BBC, and Showtime, with most of this being paying content which users can rent or purchase.

Back in June, Steve O'Hear at Last100 forecasted this news by mentioning that "upcoming version[s] of the software will enable all content creators to set their own prices, select a business model (rental, to-own or ad supported), manage territories, and choose whether to use DRM or not."

In other Vuze news, Azureus also announced that the platform has now reached 10 million unique downloads. Previously it was announced that Vuze has amassed 7 million users within its first 6 months on the web.

Vuze defintely has the potential to become much more popular, given the fact that it is probably the only video service that is offering to show video content from independent producers at no cost. I believe that if Vuze can attract a large enough following of producers who provide content, their fans will follow and become Vuze viewers.