Now that the Internet has become "beefy" enough to support the delivery of "serious" video content - that is, content that is at a high enough frame rate and resolution to actually look good - there are an increasing number of Web video service companies competing in the enterprise business market.

I just took a look at what I think is one of the best services in this niche: The FeedRoom, which provides white-label video and video blog feeds along with RSS feeds and podcasting to many large companies including major media outlets.

The FeedRoom’s roster of clients is impressive (including Intel, ESPN, GM, Playboy, and Business Week) and a feather in The FeedRoom’s cap was providing video of the Beijing Olympics for the European Union (less the U.K.) when they delivered 11 million streams over the event’s six days (the average viewing time was just over 38 minutes per user!).

The FeedRoom has actually been in the online video software business for almost 10 years (founded in 1999) but its original focus was purely bespoke. What its new platform, FeedRoom 4.0 Enterprise Video Platform (EVP), does is to introduce self-service for clients so they can assemble their own content and player framework with optional customization by FeedRoom.

The FeedRoom 4.0 EVP consists of FeedRoom ContentCore and FeedRoom Studio. FeedRoom ContentCore is the content repository that also provides a Web services API for extension or integration with existing service and storage systems as well as reporting and analytics. On the front end is FeedRoom Studio which uses a Web interface built in Adobe Flex to provide a publishers dashboard with role-based multiple user access.

FeedRoom Studio is supported by The FeedRoom’s Really Simple Upload (RSU), a customizable upload and transcoding environment with a Web services API, PlayerBuilder for designing, deploying and managing video players, and FeedRoom Access which provides 508-compliant interfaces to ensure accessibility standards compliance with the Federal Rehabilitation Act.

Interestingly The FeedRoom has just announced that it has acquired ClearStory Systems, a leading digital asset management company, and plans to integrate the company’s ActiveMedia 7.5 with FeedRoom 4.0 EVP adding workflow management, cataloging, archiving, and review and approval processes.

Typical pricing for The FeedRoom’s services starts at around $18,000 per annum while one-of projects cost roughly $25,000.

Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, columnist and blogger.