Online how-to video sites are all the rage these days. The latest to join the fray is Howcast Media, which officially launched its web site on Wednesday and announced an $8 million first round of funding led by Tudor Investment Corporation.

This follows WonderHowTo.com’s late-January announcement of a first round of funding led by General Catalyst Partners. Both startups join a gaggle of others hoping that the ever-popular how-to concept will translate well into exploding world of online video.

5min, for example, bills itself as a “live videopedia” with user-generated how-to videos that should be no longer than five minutes, and Videojug claims to have the world’s most comprehensive library of free, factual content online.

Howcast wants to bridge the user-generated and professional studio worlds of video while generating revenue through advertising. Users can suggest topics and create and edit their own videos, and the startup hopes “emerging filmmakers” will take advantage of its Howcast Directors Program in which participants share in ad revenue.

The video site also has its own professional studio which has produced tutorials across 25 topic categories ranging from how to get a passport to how to make sushi.

But arguably the ace up Howcast’s sleeve is its video player, which according to chief executive Jason Liebman is tailored to how-to content. The main points of each tutorial are listed to the side of the player, and users can zoom in on parts of the video that are of interest, like the hands of a sushi chef.

Mr. Liebman said his goal is to distribute the content through as many sources as possible. So far the startup is off to a good start, announcing distribution agreements with Myspace, YouTube, Verizon FiOS TV, Joost, and Apple’s iTunes.

Howcast was founded by veterans of Google and YouTube and has offices in New York and San Francisco.