As we’ve reported over the past few days, a number of online video sites are jumping on the HTML5 bandwagon so that their content can be viewed on the iPad (which doesn’t support Adobe’s Flash). However, some online video sites have not adjusted their video content to be iPad friendly (a.k.a these sites are still using Flash). Clicker, a comprehensive search engine for TV content on the web, is launching a special version of its site for the iPad that will only surface videos from the web that will be able to stream on the device.
Clicker, which made its debut at TechCrunch50 last fall, makes it easy to search through the vast amounts of video content available online. Clicker’s index includes over 600,000 full length TV episodes spanning 10,000 shows. The service also allows users to search through premium content including Netflix’s Instant Streaming movies and Amazon Video on Demand (though you have to pay to watch them). Additionally, the site indexes music videos, and has started teaming up with schools to index their lectures and other original content. Clicker doesn’t actually host any of this content — instead, it provides deep links that point you directly to whichever episode you want to watch.
So when iPad users access Clicker’s site on their device, they will be redirected to a specially formatted version of Clicker that has indexed all of the sites and videos on the web that are able to be viewed on the iPad. Clicker’s iPad-friendly site will index HTML5, Quicktime, and H.264 formatted videos. For now, programs available for download via the iTunes store aren’t in the Clicker catalog but should be added within the next few weeks. And as more content becomes available on the iPad, Clicker’s universal search technology will index it and make it available for the iPad-specific site. At launch, the site will only be able to be accessed by iPad devices.
In the blog post announcing the new site, Clicker says they will be launching a fill-fledged iPad app fairly soon. The site will surely be useful for iPad users to find the TV content on the web that works for the device. Of course, iPad users can also access TV content from a host of iPad apps from TV networks and others that are available for download. Clicker, which officially launched to the public in November, just raised an $11 million Series B funding round led by JAFCO Ventures, with existing investors Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures also participating.