What — you don’t like all those horrible viral videos? If the answer is no, then check out Hyper, a new, free iPad daily zine featuring what a crew of filmmakers, writers, journalists and artists consider to be the best online videos available on the internet machine.
Hyper employs this squad of experts to evaluate hundreds of hours of video each week and choose only the best for a daily roundup spanning tech, culture, style and more. All videos are chosen from the most recent uploads on the internet and emphasize freshness over schlock.
Today’s launch edition contains selections like, How to Ride Bitch like a Man (how to look tough as the male passenger of a motorcycle driver), Leftovers Can Feed the World and Male Model Office Workout.
Tap the video, and it automatically plays. Running your finger over the screen fast forwards or rewinds it. Tapping a playing video stops it and offers on-screen options like going back to the home page, viewing another selection, learning more about the video, or sharing it via Twitter, iMessage, email, Facebook, Airplay or other Apple service.
Video sources for today’s edition include The Atlantic, The Guardian, Outside Television and The New York Times, among other recognizable names. But it also includes Eater, MIC and i-D. There’s definitely variety.
The ‘More About This Video’ gives Hyper’s two-line review — we know they like the video because it’s there — but this goes into more detail about why it’s there. The panel also contains references to other pertinent or historical information and ways to connect or subscribe to the filmmaker.
Videos range from one minute to 20 minutes, and depending on available bandwidth, video playback will automatically switch resolutions on the fly. Depending on where the video actually lives (YouTube, Vimeo), you get the same resolution choices that the filmmaker offers.
You cannot view videos vertically and text springs onto the screen when you stop a video at any point. So, you might have more trouble taking a screenshot of a scene, compared to YouTube or Vimeo.
I don’t watch a lot of online video because I don’t have time to waste. But I found myself liking Hyper’s selections for their high production values, humor and informative (though occasionally strange) content. That’s the whole idea behind Hyper, which launched today with a $1.1 million seed round led by Advancit Capital. Hyper watchs and disposes of the junk so you don’t have to.
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