The free service, from start-up Blinkx TV, is already and offers content from the BBC, Sky, ITN and American channels including ABC and NBC.
There are more than 42,000 hours of searchable video and audio on the archive.
However, users will have to pay to see clips when they originate from subscription sites such as CNN.
Although press reports have trumpeted the service as ad-free, a Blink TV spokeswoman said that the company planned to sell advertising in the next couple of years.
Ads would be served to users before the clip they request is shown to them.
The technology constantly records TV pictures direct from broadcasters, and is even able to automatically update content, so if a user sets up a themed search, the service will automatically send the user all future content that fits that search.
Blinkx co-founder Suranga Chandratillake said: "Rich media, like video, is the next step in the evolution of search from web to desktop to living room. Using our smart, contextual search, Blinkx TV links users to relevant clips anywhere in the video stream, delivering video content straight from the television to the consumer's PC."
Blinkx claims its search technology, which it has also applied to the desktop and internet, is more powerful than keyword-based search, because it is able to extract the main ideas contained within any document or video.
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