mDialog bows new video monetization platform

The service leverages technology developed by mDialog that lets filmmakers and photographers create password-protected private online networks, similar to corporate VPNs, to showcase their work to selected audiences.

By adding a monetization module, the new service will let filmmakers commercialize their private networks using the business model of their choice.

“It will support pretty much any model, including pay-what-you-can, the Radiohead model” mDialog founder Greg Philpott told Content Agenda in an interview. “It can be subscription, or pay-per-view, or sponsor-supported, whatever the filmmaker wants to do.”

The content owner and mDialog then split the revenue 60/40.

“We have a deal with Amazon Web Services that lets us do content distribution very efficiently, and we can pass that cost-saving on to the filmmaker,” Philpott added.

More information is available in the press release here.

The company unveiled the new service at Macworld in San Francisco, where it also made several other announcements, including three new original programming deals:

• Tagline is a new, mockumentary series about life inside the advertising industry produced by the Jane Dorian Company.
• Cooking to get Lucky is a series on cooking to impress a potential mate hosted by Eden Riegel of “All My Children.”
• Psyched is a series on sports psychology hosted by TV commentator Dr. Paul Schienberg.

The company recently added a survey engine to its platform that allows viewers to respond to questions about  the programming, provide feedback or particpate in shaping the narrative. More information on the programming deals is available in the press release here.Founded in 2005 by Philpott, a TV-industry veteran, mDialog developed a desktop application that lets users encode and publisher video content directly from a PC. Content is encoded in h.264, using Apple’s QuickTime encoder.

At Macworld, the company unveiled an updated version of the application that lets user optimize the encodings for different Apple devices, including the Mac, the iPhone, the various iPod configurations and Apple TV.

“Because it’s h.264, you can easily do a high-definition version for Apple TV and it will look great,” Philpott said.