Viddy Updates iOS App To Add Custom Cover Art, Faster Uploads, And Local Language Support

Mobile video sharing service Viddy has been busy adding new features to its iOS app, which will now provide more customization options for content that users upload. Along with the latest app update, Viddy has also rolled out a new web experience that makes more of the mobile features available to users who don’t have the app installed.

Viddy version 1.7, which goes live in the app store Tuesday, will let users designate Instagram-like cover art for their videos. The app will suggest a few still images from each video to use as thumbnails, or users can select to upload their own images from the iPhone’s photo library. Once an image is chosen, users can then add one of 16 different custom effects to the thumbnail.

That’s not the only bit of customization the new app allows for: The Viddy update also adds new production packs that will enable “Viddyographers” to mix and match different effects when creating videos to be uploaded. It also lets users choose from a selection of new licensed music to add soundtracks to their videos.

Behind the scenes, the startup has been working on improving the video rendering time, and now uploads will happen twice as fast, thanks to an improved post-processing workflow.

Viddy is also making the app more accessible to an increasingly international user base: It has 30 million users worldwide and will now make the app available in local languages to those who speak English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Thai, Filipino, and Portuguese, with more languages coming soon.

Not all of Viddy’s updates were made on the mobile side of things. Understanding that its users are driving a ton of traffic to its web site, thanks to sharing through Facebook Open Graph and other social networks, it’s added features to Viddy.com.

Now users can comment, share and like shared videos, without having to use the mobile app. All they have to do is login via the website, and they’ll have access to many of the same features that iPhone users can take advantage of. When signed in, users will also be able to browse through a mosaic of videos, through an HTML5 experience that is optimized for viewing on the iPad.

In the race to become the “Instagram of Video,” Viddy has been aggressively trying to sign up new users, with the help of its Facebook Open Graph integration, as well as by signing up celebs like Justin Bieber. It recently raised a $30 million Series B round from NEA, Goldman Sachs, Khosla Ventures, and Battery Ventures, which comes on top of a $6 million round it closed just a few months ago.