If you remember, Tumblr had recently announced a GIF search engine which was decently well received by users. To strengthen this feature and to allow users to discover and share GIFs, the blogging platform has announced an extension to that searching feature, the Tumblr TV.
Tumblr TV combines searching and viewing of GIFs. Not only that, it provides you with a full-screen mode to enjoy your animated pictures. Additionally, it adds a media player like interface with controls like like play, pause, forward and backward.
This service, unlike most others offered by Tumblr, can be used by both logged-in users as well as those who do not have a Tumblr account.
You can get to Tumblr TV by logging on to tumblr.com/tv, which takes you to a screen with an overview of all the currently trending GIFs. Another way to reach Tumblr TV is by kicking off a search for a particular GIF and then clicking on the new ‘TV’ button which will be available above the search results.
You also get tags with each GIF so that you can browse through other related posts.
GIFs are a core feature of Tumblr, and we are always thinking of different ways to surface and present the popular medium,
says Bill Eager, Tumblr Product Engineer.
There is an endless amount of incredible GIF content on Tumblr that deserves more visibility, and we wanted to create a way to beautifully and easily deliver GIFs directly to our users without any interference. Tumblr TV also allows creators to reach a new audience and engage their existing audience in an entirely new way. It’s another great discovery tool that evokes curiosity and makes it fun to get lost on Tumblr.
The GIFs available on this service are the existing GIFs already present in Tumblr as the blogging website has not yet chosen to integrate with a third-party GIF search engine like Giphy.
The service, is perhap Tumblr’s attempt for encouraging users to use its new services and notch up some user base, which hasn’t seen much of a rise lately. As for the gIF search service, it has been positively critiqued by the masses as of now. Additionally, Tumblr says that they will soon launch a mobile version for this service which is currently only available for desktop.
