Microsoft announced today that it is consolidating MSN Video into Bing Video.
Bing Video will offer MSN"s array of videos, and videos from sites such as Hulu, ABC, Youtube and more than 300 content providers. The old video.msn.com portal will now forward directly to Bing Video. In a company blog posting, a Microsoft spokesperson detailed Bing video:
"Today, we are announcing a new version of Bing Videos that brings together the rich editorial content and programming of MSN Video with the web-wide breadth and great search capabilities of Bing, to deliver a new online video destination that offers a comprehensive and faster video experience. Bing Videos simplifies finding and watching the widest selection of premium and general video from around the Web. You can browse through a rich selection of videos that are chosen editorially and algorithmically throughout the site. When searching for video, features like smart-motion thumbnails make it simple to find the exact video you"re looking for."
Microsoft has also added a "dim the lights" mode (pictured below) to the Bing Video player. The feature simply darkens the page around the video to ensure the focus is on the video. Bing Video is part of a number of changes for MSN and Bing to refresh the look of the search and content sites. Last week company officials unveiled a new-look MSN.com home page.