Soapbox on MSN Video is a new service from Microsoft via its MSN portal. It is similar to YouTube in that it is an internet video-sharing service. As of December 17, 2006, it is an invitation-only beta. In February of 2007 it entered public beta. In March it closed to new users to implement copyright protections. However, members who registered before the closure are still able to use the service.Soapbox uses an interface heavily dependent on JavaScript and AJAX. The original codename for the project was Warhol and was consequently named by an intern during the 2007 summer.
Soapbox on MSN Video differs from other video sites as it offers features such as RSS and you do not need to open a new window to continue using the site and browsing videos when uploading one of your own.The current version of the Soapbox beta is in U.S. English and service & upload instructions are also in English. However, there are plans for this to be widened in the future. Videos are shown at 400 x 300 pixels by default, but can be expanded to full screen. Soapbox plays videos in the Microsoft Windows Media Player for Internet Explorer users and the Macromedia Flash Player for users who don’t have Internet Explorer. Soapbox is compatible with Windows Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.