The video source for HotVideo can reside in disks, CD-ROMs, server files or from a web server over the Internet. When a video is played, HotVideo synchronizes data that resides in different files. Since the information is stored separately, the video itself never changes. What appears is an indicator that highlights a hot link location. A green indicator means there is no link. When the indicator turns red, it means there is a hot link. Hot Video is not intrusive; the user can either connect to another location, or continue to view the video.
HotVideo includes a highly flexible authoring tool that enables users to customize the look of their hot links and even the way the interface works. For example, a color or highlighting change can be set up so that it is revealed on demand by the user by clicking on the right mouse button. Another way to customize may even require that the user find the hot link, a feature which could be used in applications such as games.