The VC investment market hasn’t quite dried up yet—at least, that’s what two prominent investors agreed during an online video funding debate at IPTV World Forum on Thursday. Simon Cornwell, from Amadeus Capital Partners, and CEO of Ariadne Capital Julie Meyer both saw rays of light for technology and content companies seeking investment…

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Meyer, who founded First Tuesday and has backed and advised many new media start-ups, said there are still massive opportunities for smaller companies and start-ups to enter the IPTV and web TV market: “The companies that are doing well have become part of the existing ecosystem and that’s often easier for the start-up than the bigger company. To be able to do that directly from your own bank account is a huge advantage,” said Meyer, also a new Dragon’s Den judge. Her advice to start-ups: think globally and don’t restrict business models geographically—she cited Skype as a good a example, a company she advised early on.

Cornwell, whose company has backed Lastminute.com, mydeco and Plastic Logic, told me in an interview: “We are actively looking for investments at the moment. There are lots of good opportunities around at the moment. We are very picky, but if you are patient and you take a long-term view it’s a good environment for investing.” And, while Cornwell is more interested in clean-tech internet companies and fixed-line telecom businesses, he sees no reason not to invest in advertising-supported business models, despite the slowdown in online ads. “At the moment, the advertising industry is clearly in a horrible cyclical downturn, but in the long term there will be a demand for advertising and the online model will emerge as a better model than TV eventually. It may seem counter-intuitive to invest in ad-supported business models but it’s a very important area and in the long term I have no worries about the advertising industry.”