YouTube Unveils New Features for Embeddable Video.

YouTube's released a set of new features that make the embeddable video product a more complete one.

Here's what they've just rolled out, via the YouTube Blog:

* High-quality start images (thumbnails) – Before you press play on embedded YouTube videos, the thumbnails for the video will be presented in high-quality. We're pleased with the results – let us know if you agree.

* Search in embeddable player – At the close of an embedded video, along with the usual recommended videos and URLs, a search box will appear. Not only will you be able search from within the embedded player, you will be able to watch videos through the same window. That's right, you can search all of YouTube from the comfort of your favorite blog, news, or humor page.

* Integrated video annotations – Annotations enable video producers to incorporate text information into their videos, create choose your own adventure-style stories or add links to any YouTube video. People watching videos through the embedded player can now join the fun.

* Integrated closed captions – Back in August we started allowing video creators to add captions to their videos. Closed Captions are now available in embedded videos like this one:

These are important updates, as they enhance the functionality of one of the aspects of YouTube that are responsible for a huge amount of views, the embeddable player. The more functionality afforded to the portable nature of content, the more engagement audiences can have with it -- and the more reasons they will have to share it.