BlackBerry have released an update to the BBM Channels Web Portal which brings the ability for channel managers to capture and create a 3 second video.
BBM Channels lets customers chat with other BBM users about topics that interest them. Customers can join channels about a range of topics from products, hobbies and sports to entertainment, fashion, cars and more.
Channels can be created by brands, businesses and BBM customers alike and are a great way to communicate directly and immediately with people who share common interests in the broader BBM community.
By posting to their channel, channel owners immediately reach their subscribers with a message that can spark discussions.
“Scheduled chat hours” allow BBM customers to have live chats with the channel owner – a great way to engage directly with their favorite channels one on one.
Originally announced almost a year ago and referred to as a “Gif Creator”, it disappeared from many portals but a new Video Icon has appeared to the right of the Picture Icon, which allows you to create an extremely short video.
Experimenting with it tonight, the captured video seems to have a 2 or 3 second time limit.
No sound is captured and no video can be uploaded.
The capture feature automatically detected the camera on my laptop and used that.  There were no options made available and the interface  is very minimal.
Due to the current lack of features and capture time limits, it is highly feasible that this is BlackBerry testing out the feature before increasing the time limit and improving the features.
Similar to a lot of BBM Channels improvements, it is only available via the Web Portal and does not appear to be available in the app.
You can see an example of the video captured on our Rapid Meta Channel at C00040F5B.
