Unrestricted multi-format live streaming with the dicas2020

German MPEG-4 video coding expert dicas will add a new product to the successful dicas2000 hardware series at the beginning of next week. The dicas2020 is a multi-format encoder that enables broadcasters, content providers and satellite operators to deliver one input channel of video and audio simultaneously to various end-user applications such as set-top boxes, PCs, broadcast-quality decoders, handheld devices and Flash Players.

"The dicas2020 convinces with enormous flexibility" says Klaas Schuur, CTO at dicas. "It's a single 1RU encoder, but it creates a user-defined number of output formats for different clients." For each output format users can continuously adjust bit rates (from 40 kbps to 6 Mbps) and chose between various video (MPEG-4, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, H.263) and audio codecs (AAC, AMR), transport protocols (MPEG-2 transport stream, RTP and RTMP for Flash) as well as resolutions (from QCIF to full D1, PAL and NTSC, interlaced and progressive displays). The dicas2020 supports for Adobe's Flash format as well as 3GPP for streaming to mobile devices

Microsoft Releases Silverlight 2

Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Silverlight 2, one of the industry's most comprehensive and powerful solutions for the creation and delivery of applications and media experiences through a Web browser. Silverlight 2 delivers a wide range of new features and tools that enable designers and developers to better collaborate while creating more accessible, more discoverable and more secure user experiences.

"We launched Silverlight just over a year ago, and already one in four consumers worldwide has access to a computer with Silverlight already installed," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft. "Silverlight represents a radical improvement in the way developers and designers build applications on the Web. This release will further accelerate our efforts to make Silverlight, Visual Studio and Microsoft Expression Studio the preeminent solutions for the creation and delivery of media and rich Internet application experiences.

Highlights of new Silverlight 2 features include the following:

.NET Framework support with a rich base class library. This is a compatible subset of the full .NET Framework.

Powerful built-in controls. These include DataGrid, ListBox, Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar controls and more.

Advanced skinning and templating support. This makes it easy to customize the look and feel of an application.

Deep zoom. This enables unparalleled interactivity and navigation of ultrahigh resolution imagery.

Comprehensive networking support. Out-of-the-box support allows calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS and standard HTTP services, enabling users to create applications that easily integrate with existing back-end systems.

Expanded .NET Framework language support. Unlike other runtimes, Silverlight 2 supports a variety of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby, making it easier for developers already familiar with one of these languages to repurpose their existing skill sets.

Advanced content protection. This now includes Silverlight DRM, powered by PlayReady, offering robust content protection for connected Silverlight experiences.

Improved server scalability and expanded advertiser support. This includes new streaming and progressive download capabilities, superior search engine optimization techniques, and next-generation in-stream advertising support.

Vibrant partner ecosystem. Visual Studio Industry Partners such as ComponentOne LLC, Infragistics Inc. and Telerik Inc. are providing products that further enhance developer capabilities when creating Silverlight applications using Visual Studio.

Cross-platform and cross-browser support. This includes support for Mac, Windows and Linux in Firefox, Safari and Windows Internet Explorer.

TouchStream Named Most Innovative Product

Digital Rapids, a leading developer of solutions for bringing television, video and movie content to the Internet and the latest generation of viewing devices -- announced that the company's new TouchStream video and audio streaming appliance was honored with the Most Innovative Product award at the Broadcast India exhibition in Mumbai last month. The award is the fourth for TouchStream since its unveiling in September.

The annual Broadcast India exhibition and conference welcomes over 22,000 visitors from India and abroad. It covers broadcast, film, audio, radio, IPTV, mobile TV and its related fields, and offers attendees the opportunity to explore the latest state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

"We're excited that TouchStream has again been honored for its innovative approach to meeting the market's need for high-quality, easy to use and versatile live streaming solutions," said Wesley Thiessen, Product Manager, Digital Rapids Corporation. "TouchStream truly is a ground-breaking product, and we're proud of the industry acclaim that it has garnered in the short time since its introduction."

TouchStream delivers Digital Rapids' renowned live streaming quality and reliability in a fully self-contained, easy-to-deploy appliance. Leveraging the most intuitive of human interfaces -- touch -- TouchStream appliances offer unparalleled ease of use. Streamlined software controls are accessed through a touch-screen interface with integrated live video monitoring and VU meters for audio validation, eliminating the need for laptops, keyboards, mice and separate monitors.

TouchStream appliances will be available through Digital Rapids and the extensive worldwide network of authorized resellers and systems integrators. For more information about Digital Rapids, visit www.digital-rapids.com.

BlackArrow Unveils New Tools to Manage Ad Placement with On-Demand Video

BlackArrow, the independent provider of multiplatform advertising systems for viewer-controlled video, today announced BlackArrow AdMaps, a sophisticated toolset that enables content providers and distributors to easily define and manage ad avails in and around video content. The AdMap suite extends BlackArrow's advertising system by introducing tools to manage ad-placement opportunities for programming delivered over broadband and SCTE 130-5 compliant video on demand (VOD) environments. AdMaps provide a time-saving workflow to create new advertising inventory, integrate new ad formats easily and updates ad-sales models quickly all without requiring changes to the existing infrastructure or media player code.

The new suite consists of the AdMap Builder tool to create and manage AdMaps, AdMap Server to deliver the right AdMap for the viewer and, for broadband deployments, a software development kit (SDK) to render AdMaps in common broadband players.

The lack of tools to easily define and manage rules for ad-placement opportunities in and around video is proving to be a major bottleneck for ad-supported business models, said Chris Hock, senior vice president, product management at BlackArrow. With ad strategies undergoing rapid-fire change, programmers and distributors are wanting to experiment safely in a way that maximizes revenues, without jeopardizing innovation or user experience. BlackArrow's AdMaps suite addresses this need head-on with practical conventions for creating new ad avails and managing ad-insertion opportunities for viewer-controlled video platforms.

AdMap Builder is a rich Internet application (RIA) that enables users to create an unlimited combination of permissible ad types, durations and other insertion rules. All user-defined ad-insertion points are displayed graphically to help clients visualize and package ad inventory effectively across multiple video platforms.

AdMap Server selects from among multiple AdMaps to return the best fit based on viewer data as well as targeting criteria such as audience demographics, content genre and playout environment before fulfilling each request with the most relevant ad, or series of ads, as defined by the AdMap. AdMap Server conforms to SCTE 130-5 standards for a placement opportunity information service (POIS) in VOD environments, enabling rapid deployment and product interoperability with other SCTE-130 compliant vendors. For broadband distribution, AdMaps are stored as standard SMIL files, which can be read easily by leading media players from Adobe, Move Networks and other providers using the enhanced BlackArrow Player Framework.

Flix Publisher Provides Simple Encoding Via a Web Browser

On2 Technologies provides a video compression tool called Flix Publisher for simple browser-based encoding via a web browser. Flix Publisher a is a fully customizable SDK for creating browser-based encoding and publishing solutions that allow users to encode live or file-based VP6-E and VP6-S FLV video directly on a web pages.

Using a transparent plug-in install through the browser, video is encoded on the user's desktop and uploaded to a site directly with simple drag and drop, or 'plug and stream' operation on the user's browser. The user doesn't need a large encoding infrastructure, and the user does not need to install an application or know anything about video encoding to publish to your website.

Flix Publisher contains powerful software APIs for customized web site integration; control video resolution, data rate, 1-pass/2-pass VP6 encoding, framerate, and more, and is used by leading user-generated content and "lifecasting" sites. Enterprises and media companies also use Flix Publisher for internal communications and video production work-flows.

Also, Flix Publisher has been integrated with Akamai's authentication system to allow users to set up a video website quickly and effortlessly.

Content and Technology Merge at the 2009 International CES

Cutting-edge content developments in the broadcast and entertainment industry will merge with the latest distribution platforms at the 2009 International CES, the global event for digital entertainment. Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2009 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, will return to Las Vegas, January 8-11, 2009.

NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies, will debut an interactive and multi-faceted show floor exhibition at CES, highlighting the wide range of digital programming produced by its television, cable and motion picture properties. In addition, as CES' "Official Broadcast Partner," select NBC Universal broadcast and cable entities will broadcast live from the CES exhibition floor.

"The collaboration between the technology, content and broadcast industries grows stronger each year as new platforms are introduced, providing consumers with greater access to information and entertainment," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "With major content exhibitors, including NBC Universal's dynamic exhibition and live broadcasts, and dozens of conference sessions featuring high level industry executives and the latest industry trends, the 2009 International CES is a must attend event for everyone in the content community."

"We are thrilled to return for a second time as the exclusive broadcast partner at the International CES," said George Kliavkoff Chief Digital Officer, NBC Universal. "Our consumers demand access to our content anytime, anyplace and on the platform of their choice -- be it a laptop, mobile phone, portable media player or yes,... a television. And it's our job to give it to them. What better way to drive that message home than having a major presence right in the heart of all the action at CES surrounded by the latest in technology and the companies that help bring that rich experience to consumers."

Almost 9,000 executives from the broadcast and entertainment industries attended the 2008 CES to meet with manufacturers and experience the latest trends in digital entertainment technology.

New at the 2009 International CES will be the Global Media Awards, a program jointly produced by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and CEA, focusing on technology and content programming. The awards program is slated for day one of the 2009 CES, Thursday, January 8, at The Venetian.

Additionally, the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards will take place for the third year at CES, honoring achievements in two areas: Science & Technology for Television and Advanced Media Technology. Honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, January 7.

The 2009 International CES will feature more than 200 conference sessions, focused on key industry trends and markets. A variety of sessions focused specifically on content and digital entertainment will take place on Wednesday, January 7, 2009, and will include Billboard's Digital Music Live, P2P Media Summit, CES Mobile Entertainment, CES Game Power and the CES Reinventing Advertising Conference.

The 2009 International CES will feature more than 2,700 exhibitors introducing the latest consumer technology products throughout 30 product categories including digital entertainment, high-performance audio, digital imaging, electronic gaming and more.

Digital Fountain Customer InfoWorld 100 Winner

Digital Fountain, Inc., a leading provider of advanced standardized solutions for digital media delivery, today announced that one of their IPTV customers, Tele2, has been named a 2008 InfoWorld 100 winner for their deployment of Digital Fountain's ToughStream solution on their network. The InfoWorld 100 Awards identifies and promotes emerging technology segments that add unique value for the organizations that implement them, as well as the vendors that provide those solutions.

Digital Fountain's ToughStream is a software solution that eliminates video and audio degradation caused by packet loss, latency or out-of-order delivery. These effects are normal and prevalent conditions on all IP networks because IP is, by design, a "best effort" delivery protocol. Because it is a software-based solution, ToughStream is highly configurable, and easy to deploy on any IPTV network. An extraordinarily scalable solution, ToughStream has negligible hardware requirements while providing high QoE including fast channel change times.

"Tele2 is leading the way with creative and innovative ways to improve their next generation network's performance in order to lower operating costs and enhance their customer experience," said Charlie Oppenheimer, CEO of Digital Fountain. "We are pleased that Tele2's IPTV network has received the 2008 InfoWorld 100 award, and we are proud that our ToughStream solution was recognized as a key component of their network's ability to successfully deliver the very best IPTV service to their subscribers."

RipCode Announces Availability of On-Demand Transcoding Tool

RipCode today announced the availability of on-demand video transcoding for the holiday season's must have video-enabled phones including the Apple iPhone, T-Mobile G1, RIM BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm all of which are now available in stores.

The coupling of On-Demand Transcoding -- a game-changing video delivery technology pioneered by RipCode with the Apple iPhone, T-Mobile G1, RIM BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm is an industry first. On-Demand Transcoding enables content owners and operators to quickly and cost-effectively scale multi-media delivery by transcoding video content only when requested, while at the same time progressively downloading or streaming to end user devices. An appliance-based, infrastructure solution, RipCode extends video delivery across multiple channels, without requiring specialized handset applications or video players, and without the need to pre-transcode content for each device.

"As the holiday buying season kicks off next week, these are the phones making people's wish lists," said Brendon Mills, RipCode CEO. "As these popular video-enabled devices increasingly penetrate the market, content aggregators and operators will offer solutions that leverage the devices' video attributes and larger screen real estate to extend content and brand value to mobile customers."

An inherent feature of RipCode's On-Demand Transcoding technology is the ability to support ad insertion and integration with ad networks through an open API, enabling operators to monetize the delivery of on-demand video content. Additionally, RipCode's Client Detection Application which accurately identifies the characteristics of a variety of Internet-enabled devices and handsets -- lets operators seamlessly optimize video delivery or image re-sizing for the mobile market.

Creating High Quality Windows Media Files for Archiving on a Mac

If you need to create high quality Windows Media files on the Mac and you have Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD on your workstation, the process is very easy. This tutorial will show you some tricks for getting exceptional quality. This tutorial shows the process using QuickTime Pro and a DV/DVCPro video file.

Step 1. - Open a QuickTime DV/DVCPro or DV/DVCPro50 video file and choose Export from the File pull-down menu. (If you are using Final Cut Pro to export your Windows Media video file choose Export from the File Pull-down and select Using QuickTime Conversion)



Step 2. - Name your file and Choose Movie to Windows Media from the pop-up menu in the Save Exported File As dialog window.

Step 3. - Click the Options button



Step. 4 - When the dialog window opens Select the Video Tab and choose Windows Media Standard for your CODEC and One pass, variable bit rate (VBR). Set your Quality setting to 75. For frame rate select Current for the size and Current for the frame rate. When using the 1-pass VBR method the Bit Rate and Peak bit rate are disabled and ignored during encoding. Everything becomes quality based. The nice element about using the 1-pass VBR Quality feature is that it will guarantee that you get very good quality on your encoding because your are determining the quality setting to use. In this case a Quality setting of 75 works well.



Step. 5 - Click the Advanced button in the Video tab. Now, the Advanced section is the key to getting great quality using Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD. I want to point out two items in this section which are the Coding Method Complexity and the Input Type which is your field order. The Complexity determines how fast your video will be encoded. The best quality is achieved by using Offline Slow. For this tutorial you can use the Offline Normal Complexity setting which will provide great quality and not take as long as encoding with Offline Slow. If you want a faster encode and don't mind trading a little quality to achieve this use the Live Fast Complexity setting. For the Input type select the field order of your video. I know that the field order for my DV/DVCPro source is lower field so I have selected Interlace - Lower Field First for the Input Type. For Output Type select Progressive. For the other settings you can use 5 seconds for Key Frame Every, 5 seconds for Buffer Delay and 0 for B-frame distance and Main for your Profile.




Step 6. - Click the Audio Tab and select WMA Standard for your CODEC and under Coding Method use One Pass, constant bit rate (CBR) and 64 kbps, 44.1 kHz Stereo for your audio .

Step 7. - Click the Content Tab, Add your metadata and click OK. Save your file and you're done. Your file will now start encoding.

Flix Publisher Provides Simple Encoding Via a Web Browser

On2 Technologies provides a video compression tool called Flix Publisher for simple browser-based encoding via a web browser. Flix Publisher a is a fully customizable SDK for creating browser-based encoding and publishing solutions that allow users to encode live or file-based VP6-E and VP6-S FLV video directly on a web pages.

Using a transparent plug-in install through the browser, video is encoded on the user's desktop and uploaded to a site directly with simple drag and drop, or 'plug and stream' operation on the user's browser. The user doesn't need a large encoding infrastructure, and the user does not need to install an application or know anything about video encoding to publish to your website.

Flix Publisher contains powerful software APIs for customized web site integration; control video resolution, data rate, 1-pass/2-pass VP6 encoding, framerate, and more, and is used by leading user-generated content and "lifecasting" sites. Enterprises and media companies also use Flix Publisher for internal communications and video production work-flows.

Also, Flix Publisher has been integrated with Akamai's authentication system to allow users to set up a video website quickly and effortlessly.

Go Stream SURF Superior Tool for Live Webcasting

If you are serious about taking your webcasts to the next level or simply wanting to launch live streaming for your organization, you should know that Viewcast's Go Stream SURF is a superior tool for Live Webcasting. The portable live encoder comes from the manufacturers of the Osprey capture cards which have been the de facto standard for many building live encoders in the streaming space. Enter the Go Stream SURF live encoder, which is portable and user friendly with an easy to use push button interface and common audio and video inputs for ease of use. The Go Stream SURF, which can be accessed via the internet for set-up and use, has three buttons on the front panel that can be programmed for live encoding to specific datarates. You can program three different encoding datarates and have them all performing live streaming and the same time. The live streaming solution is qualified and very heavy duty.

So, if you need to do small or large webcasts on a regular basis in the field or in a set environment, you'll find a lot of benefit in using the Go Stream SURF. Viewcast's encoder can be used for streaming to many of the popular streaming servers such as: Adobe's Flash Streaming Server, Wowza Media Server Pro (for Flash Streaming), Windows Media Streaming Server, and Real Networks' Helix Universal Server.

If you purchase a Go Stream SURF and need assistance with set-up you can contact Derrick for Go Streaming SURF Consulting and he can walk you through the set-up and assist you in implementing your live encoder on-line. This can also be done in your production environment on-site. Call Derrick Freeman at 407-477-5837 for more details on your consulting needs.

Digital Rapids Appoints Barry Fairhurst as Vice President of Sales

Digital Rapids -- a leading developer of solutions for bringing television, video and movie content to the Internet and the latest generation of viewing devices -- today announced the appointment of Barry Fairhurst as Vice President of Sales.

Based in Digital Rapids' Markham, Ontario head office, Fairhurst will be responsible for the development, implementation and management of sales strategies and processes in support of the company's continuing strong growth and broad customer base. Fairhurst joins Digital Rapids following 13 years at Avid Canada, having managed Avid's direct and indirect sales and customer support operations.

"Digital Rapids and our solutions have earned tremendous critical and customer acclaim as leading our industry. As we continue to grow, it's essential that our sales organization and processes evolve to best address the opportunities available in the market and be responsive to our customers' dynamic needs," said Brick Eksten, President of Digital Rapids Corporation. "Barry's leadership abilities and extensive experience in all facets of sales management will be critical assets as we realize our full sales potential and enter our next phases of growth, while his background in the media and entertainment market will enable him to quickly relate to our customers' requirements and help them fulfill their objectives. We're excited to have him join our team."

"It is with great pleasure that I join a company so committed to its customers, partners and technology, and I welcome my role in taking Digital Rapids to the next level," said Fairhurst.

Digital Rapids' solutions enable organizations to transform their video and audio content into the formats required for viewing on multiple platforms and devices including the web; IPTV; mobile phones; personal media players and more. Digital Rapids solutions have been adopted by thousands of worldwide customers of all types and sizes, from leading broadcast networks, motion picture studios, telecommunications companies, online content distributors and post production facilities to corporations, government agencies, schools and churches.

Media Console Makes Life Simple for Streaming

For all those individuals in media organizations, public affairs and media departments that need to start migrating video to the web, there is an amazing tool to help you out. Internap's Media Console is amazing and makes life simple for streaming. Their tool takes the hard work out of authoring your streaming videos for the web. The only item that you have to focus on is encoding your videos. The Media Console comes as part of the package for using the Internap Content Delivery Network (CDN) to host your streaming content.

There is a nice user interface that allows you to upload your videos (you can also FTP video to the content delivery network as well). The Media Console includes pre-made Flash Media player templates, generated embed and object tags, support for live and on-demand streaming, live streaming statistics and many other features. If you are serious about moving forward with streaming content on-line, you owe it to yourself to give Internap's CDN and Media Console a try.

MTV Networks Ramps Up Live Streaming with Inlet Tool Spinnaker

Inlet Technologies, a leading provider of advanced encoding solutions for new media, announced today that MTV Networks, a division of Viacom will use the Spinnaker 7000 live streaming appliance to stream online events, such as episodic "After Shows," bonus footage and tent poles. In the past, MTVN has utilized Spinnaker for the Flash live stream of "The Hills After Show."

"Having a solid live streaming solution as part of its arsenal is important for any media company today" said Manny Parisi, of MTV Networks. "With its excellent pre-filtering abilities, easy to use Web UI and useful scheduling features, Spinnaker provides MTVN with the ability to send out great looking Flash Live Streams to its Web sites in an extremely reliable manner with tons of flexibility."

"We are proud to support MTVN's new media strategy in general and its live streaming initiative in particular," said Neal Page, Inlet Technologies CEO. "No organization is more in tune with the needs and wants of the new generation of consumers than MTVN."

On2 Extends Relationship with Skype in New Strategic Agreement

On2 Technologies, a leader in video compression solutions, today announced that it has signed a new agreement with Skype, the world's leading online communications company, to extend Skype's relationship licensing On2's video codec technology.

Millions of people every day use Skype software to communicate with others through free voice and video calls. On2's technology provides encoding, scaling, pre-processing and post-processing of video on Skype. On2 supported the launch of video on Skype in 2005 with the integration of the On2 VP7 codec with Skype 2.0 for Windows. Since that time, Skype launched High Quality Video in October 2007, calling on the On2 codec, allowing users with as little as 0.5mbps available bandwidth to enjoy full screen video calls at VGA resolution. The On2 codec is also used in the recently announced Asus AiGuru SV1 Skype Certified Videophone. The new agreement is intended to pave the way for the On2 codec to migrate along with the Skype service to a diverse array of new devices such as the AiGuru SV1 videophone.

"On2 and Skype hold the same vision for video communications and through our close cooperation we have overcome the barriers keeping video calling out of reach for many," said Matt Frost, Interim CEO and Chief Operating Officer of On2 Technologies. "In the future, you can expect to see even better video quality requiring even less bandwidth, and this will help to make video calling even more commonplace."

The superior compression performance of the On2 codec makes High Quality Skype video calls possible even over data rate connections as low as 300kbps. Among the numerous quality-enhancing innovations in On2 video codecs is Golden Frames, which enables a sharp background image to be maintained with minimal data when the subject in the foreground is continually moving. This feature is also extremely beneficial for packet-loss recovery. On2 video codecs also require far less CPU power for full duplex live video than other compression formats, enabling Skype users with older and less powerful PC systems to enjoy high quality video calls, and allowing stand-alone devices like the AiGuru SV1 videophone to be produced cost effectively, using less expensive processor technology.

"Bringing a great video calling experience to the average consumer is one of Skype's key priorities, and we see On2 as a key partner in helping us deliver this," said Manrique Brenes, Skype's Director of Business Development and Product Management for Consumer Electronics. "Using On2's codecs along with extensive software development and optimization work by engineering teams at Skype, we are able to help consumers overcome bandwidth constraints and deliver best-in-class free video calling for consumers."

BlackArrow to Enable Ad Revenue and Within Adobe Media Player

BlackArrow, the independent provider of multiplatform ad-management systems for viewer-controlled video, today announced the addition of Adobe Media Player to its expanding list of distribution platforms. BlackArrow provides video content publishers using Adobe Media Player with a centralized system for defining ad avails and managing targeted campaigns against their programming. BlackArrow's seamless advertising workflow enables content providers to broaden their syndication, while optimizing revenues from ad-supported video programming.

BlackArrow gives video networks a syndication edge by delivering advertising directly into Adobe Media Player programming, as well as other Web properties and even platforms such as dynamic video on demand (VOD). To simplify advertising operations, the BlackArrow system dynamically generates enhanced media RSS feeds that incorporate targeted ads formatted specifically for playback within Adobe Media Player. Leveraging Adobe Flash technology, Adobe Media Player supports downloaded and streamed media that scales to full-screen HD resolution.

"When it comes to user experience, Adobe has set the standard with its ubiquitous Adobe Flash platform -- and has done it again with the Adobe Media Player," said Chris Hock, senior vice president, product management at BlackArrow. "As an Adobe advertising partner, we are committed to enabling a sophisticated, engaging advertising experience for viewers -- whether they watch their favorite content inside the browser, or outside the browser with the Adobe Media Player -- while introducing new revenue opportunities for content and media publishers."

"From the outset, we've built Adobe Media Player to provide a rich, engaging consumer viewing experience, and help content providers build an advertising business around their valuable video assets," said Sumner Paine, product manager for Adobe Media Player at Adobe. "As consumers increasingly control their own viewing experience, BlackArrow makes it easier for content providers to both manage ad campaigns and incorporate Adobe Media Player into their overall video syndication strategy."

Built from the ground up for video, the BlackArrow multiplatform advertising system enables content providers to solve the challenges associated with reaching today's fragmented audiences who increasingly view video programming outside of traditional linear airtimes. The BlackArrow system works across any combination of ad types, ad-sales models, affiliate and syndication strategies, enabling its customers to more effectively generate revenue from ad-supported video content.

Wowza Media Server Pro Subscription Edition Available

Wowza Media Systems, a software company solely focused on media servers, announced the availability of Wowza Media Server Pro Subscription Edition, featuring friction-free monthly subscription licensing for its industrial-strength media server that makes it both painless and irresistibly cost-effective for any CDN, streaming service or hosting provider to offer lucrative Flash media streaming services to their customers.

Wowza Media Server Pro, recently declared the #1 media server choice by the readers of Streaming Media Magazine, now counts more than 14,000 global licensees worldwide, including a rapidly growing number of service providers such as T-Systems (Deutsche Telecom), Interoute, Avacast, SimpleCDN, StreamUK, Nacamar, Advection.NET, StreamZilla, and more.

Wowza Media Server Pro Subscription Edition offers service providers the most full-featured version of Wowza Pro and a risk-free, flexible model for managing their licensing costs according to their customers' streaming demands.

Key Benefits:

* No upfront financial commitment
* No long-term contracts
* No minimum number of server instances
* No per-GB fees -- just low fixed per-server monthly fee that declines in volume
* No cost for future software upgrades
* Flexible capacity and cost management -- add/delete servers as needed and only
pay for servers used

In a recent daily briefing, Jim Davis, Senior Analyst, Tier1 Research, wrote that Wowza's subscription model "is going to help streaming service providers and hosting companies by enabling them to keep a lid on capital expenditures." He added, "They can pass these cost savings on, enabling them to compete for customers that might not otherwise bother to buy CDN services."

Phil Koblence, VP, Operations, New York Internet, a quality leader in Data Center services, echoed that sentiment, "We chose Wowza Pro Subscription Edition because it enabled us to increase our capacity in nearly real time and offer clients the ability to host their streaming solutions without a large initial licensing fee. Additionally, this new model allows us to benefit from Wowza's superb software and efficiently roll it into our existing hosting offerings."

ViewCast Streaming Encoder Ideal Solution for Delivering PEG Programs

In the Wisconsin city of West Allis, a Niagara streaming media encoder is playing a central role in expanding the audience for public, educational, and government access (PEG) television programming. A product of ViewCast Corporation, a leading global provider of streaming hardware and software, the Niagara encoder has enabled the city to port its government access programs to AT&T's U-verse residential IPTV service, recently launched in the greater Milwaukee area.

"Thanks to ViewCast, we're able to bring our government access programs to an even broader audience via leading-edge IPTV, said Jerry Musial, video and cable coordinator for the City of West Allis. "The Niagara system was extremely easy to adopt, and its budget-conscious pricing played a big role in our choice. As a non-technical person, I really appreciated the excellent support and assistance we received from ViewCast, which enabled us to get up and running quickly and smoothly."

Musial also serves on the board of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), an association that represents the communications needs and interests of local governments and their advisors.

A city of 60,000 in Milwaukee County, and the site of the Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis offers a wide range of government access programming to its citizens. The programs are locally produced as well as supplied by state and federal agencies, and include information about state and city services, community events, and coverage of city council meetings. The ViewCast Niagara system encodes the video for transport over a T1 network to the U-verse system, which began serving the West Allis viewing area in February.

All Niagara encoders have AT&T's U-verse PEG streaming specifications programmed as a menu item, and ViewCast is one of only four providers noted in U-verse's PEG encoder information collateral. This makes ViewCast an ideal solution for municipalities that are seeking to deliver PEG content over this new, rapidly growing IPTV platform.

ViewCast President and Chief Executive Dave Stoner said: "Niagara encoders are playing a central role in expanding the audience for PEG television programming. Mr. Musial's involvement in NATOA is a testament to West Allis' leadership in the area of municipal communications, as is the city's commitment to embracing advanced new media technologies such as IPTV. We are pleased that we were able to meet West Allis' needs and look forward to continuing our successful partnership."

"Moreover, we see continuing and rising adoption of video streaming for sports and entertainment applications, as well as public access, as evidence of the growing trend toward using the Internet as a major channel for streaming all varieties of programs, information, and other content," Stoner added.

56.com Switches to On2 Video

On2 Technologies announced today that 56.com, China's leading video sharing web site, is to standardize on On2 Flix Engine as its server-side transcoding and publishing platform for all web video uploads. In a move to dramatically reduce bandwidth costs and increase video quality, 56.com will switch to On2 VP6-based Flash video to encode and publish an average of 50,000 new video streams each day. 56.com serves video to over 35 million people each month.

56.com reviewed many encoding solutions as well as other formats for Flash video. On2 Flix Engine proved the most robust and reliable through rigorous testing and provided the broad input format support needed. The decision to choose On2 VP6 as the codec for Adobe Flash video was based on many factors including encode speed, compression metrics, features, playback performance, market acceptance and licensing terms.

"We recognized that On2 VP6 and H.264 main profile are comparable in video quality, when we compared to H.264 baseline profile to On2 VP6, VP6 was consistently better, in some cases needing almost 40% less data." says Mr. Tan Yi, Technology Officer at 56.com "This is significant as we reach out to China's mobile users as there is no support for main profile H.264 in mobile phones currently. To provide the best possible quality for the web and mobile in H.264 would mean maintaining two encode files. With On2 VP6 we only need one."

Tan Yi continues: "Furthermore, On2 VP6 also provides skip-free playback on less powerful PC's, which means we can reach a much wider audience with high-quality content. It is also faster to encode, so we will need fewer servers to maintain the same volume of content."

"We are pleased that 56.com has chosen On2 VP6 video for Flash, and feel this is yet more evidence of a market trend in China towards adoption of On2 Video," said John Fargis, VP of Asia Sales at On2 Technologies "With our technology we are able to provide 56.com customers the superior quality they deserve and expect, while also saving 56.com up to 40% on their bandwidth costs."

Broadcom Chips Bring 1080p DivX Video to Digital TVs

DivX, Inc., a digital media company, announced the high-definition (HD) DivX Certification of three new digital television (DTV) system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip solutions from Broadcom Corporation.

The BCM3548, BCM3549 and BCM3556 are Broadcom's latest highly integrated single-chip DTV SoC solutions that allow TV manufacturers to offer their customers a variety of next-generation features and support including the benefit of seamlessly integrating DivX technology for full high-definition digital video at the 1080p profile.

"DivX has proven to be a major influencer in bridging the gap between digital video on the PC and consumer electronics," said Dave DiOro, Broadcom's Vice President and General Manager, Digital Television. "With the increasing demand for devices that support DivX such as digital televisions, we are pleased to continue working with DivX in developing solutions that deliver the seamless integration of high-definition video."

Digital televisions based on the latest Broadcom DTV designs give consumers the ability to play back DivX HD digital video across a variety of mediums. Video may be streamed over a wired or wireless home network or enjoyed via a range of USB connected devices, such as flash drives, portable media players (PMPs), and external hard drives.

DivX technology significantly compresses digital video without sacrificing premium visual quality and DivX Certification ensures this video can be experienced across a variety of consumer electronics devices including Blu-ray players, mobile phones, in-car media players, set-top boxes, and personal media players. This improved compression makes it easier to move and share high-quality content between devices, making the entertainment experience more enjoyable for consumers. By supporting HD DivX, the BCM3548, BCM3549 and BCM3556 products will play an important role in bringing these technology benefits to the market.

"These new chips from Broadcom provide digital television manufacturers with a premium solution for high-definition digital video," said Patrice Lagrange, Senior Vice President, Products, DivX, Inc. "We are delighted to work with Broadcom and believe these chips highlight our increasing significance within an important product category."

These DTV SoC solutions feature an advanced multi-format decoder, network connectivity, a 3D graphical user interface and unique 3D color management. The BCM3556 DTV SoC also adds compatibility for worldwide standards including digital video broadcast (DVB)-based platforms to address European and Asian markets while the BCM3548 and BCM3549 target the U.S. market.

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure interoperability, security and visual quality. DivX Certified products enable consumers to create, play, and share high-quality video content across a range of devices and platforms.

AOL Adopts Brightcove Platform for Online Video

Brightcove Inc. and AOL announced AOL will adopt Brightcove for online video content management, publishing and video playback throughout the AOL Network. This partnership will combine AOL's video content offerings with Brightcove's market-leading online video platform. Beginning in early 2009, AOL Programming and AOL Video, http://video.aol.com, programming partners will use Brightcove to deliver video to the millions of people who visit AOL sites each day. Brightcove's integration with AOL's global advertising platform, Platform-A, will also expand opportunities for content partners to monetize video with online advertising.

"Implementing Brightcove as the video platform across the AOL Network will help us deliver a richer experience for users and more powerful publishing tools to the editors and programmers who are engaging millions of people every day on sites like AOL Video, AOL Music, Moviefone, Asylum, Lemondrop and Engadget," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. "Working with Brightcove will accelerate AOL's ability to bring new consumer product features and advertising capabilities to market. The partnership with Brightcove is a strong complement to AOL's strategic focus on making it easier for users to find the videos they are looking for through our network of online video properties, the AOL Video portal and video search services like Truveo.com."

Brightcove recently announced a new version of their service, Brightcove 3, which includes an enterprise edition to address the specific needs of aggregators, portals, carriers and operators. AOL Video is the first major portal to take advantage of Brightcove 3.

"AOL's adoption of Brightcove signals a shift in the market where even the largest online video publishers are using online video platforms to help drive quality, while also reducing costs," said Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer, Brightcove. "This partnership allows AOL to shift attention away from platform software development and focus instead on core competencies such as aggregating content, creating compelling user experiences, and selling advertising. Rather than building out capabilities on their own, features like Brightcove 3's new player framework can be easily tapped to improve AOL's online video initiatives."

Today's announcement extends the relationship between the two companies, which began in 2006 when AOL became a minority stakeholder in Brightcove.

Microsoft and Akamai Innovate on Consumer Video Experiences Using Silverlight

Microsoft Corp., the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions, and Akamai Technologies Inc., the leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, announced plans to enable high-definition (HD) quality experiences on PCs. Akamai will release a beta version of a new service, powered by Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Silverlight, to deliver rich Internet applications via the world's largest HTTP edge network.

Microsoft is introducing new Web server technology, called Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7.0) Smooth Streaming, that gives consumers instant start-up times and no buffering by adapting the quality of the video stream in real time based upon changing connectivity speed. This enables companies to boost brand awareness and advertising revenues by extending average viewing times. They can also benefit from unprecedented network scalability using distributed HTTP-based Web servers.

"Smooth Streaming is an evolution of proven Silverlight technology that has powered global online events," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Division at Microsoft. "Our objective has always been to provide a platform that enables next-generation media experiences on the Web. Together with Akamai, we will take that a step further by offering a consistently superior adaptive streaming experience on a global scale."

Akamai will be building upon this innovative technology with a new service, Akamai AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Microsoft Silverlight, which will be deployed across the company's globally distributed network to bring a solution with HD scale to media companies worldwide. The service is expected to be available to select Akamai customers in a beta release in early 2009. Akamai AdaptiveEdge Streaming for Silverlight will leverage IIS Smooth Streaming, which offers a simple-to-manage approach for adaptive streaming, and will be an upcoming feature of IIS7 Media Pack. IIS7 Media Pack brings media-specific features such as bit-rate throttling and playlists to Web servers. This powerful solution is enhanced by the compelling experiences and rich interactive applications enabled by the Silverlight player.

"We've seen firsthand the growing demand for HD online content among our customer base," said Tim Napoleon, chief strategist, Digital Media at Akamai. "In a broadcast model, typically the experience is consistent across 100 percent of the viewing audience. The challenge is that capabilities in the online world vary greatly for each user. Adaptive streaming allows the video to adjust to the audience, maximizing each user's experience. We believe that this technology, combined with an open video player solution that embraces existing development and ad standards, will allow us to offer the scale and reach needed to grow the business of online video."

"Users expect TV-quality video when they go online; anything less just doesn't make the grade anymore," said Will Richmond, broadband video analyst and editor/publisher of VideoNuze. "Especially in the HD era, premium video providers are recognizing that quality is king and as a result are accelerating their shift to more robust delivery infrastructure. And the payoffs are clear: higher-quality video drives longer viewing sessions, greater engagement and improved monetization opportunities."

arenafootball2 and Network Foundation Technologies Renew Partnership

The arenafootball2 League (af2) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) are pleased to announce the renewal of their partnership for the 2009 season that will once again bring the action of af2 football into the homes of fans worldwide. The FREE-for-View online network called "af2TV" will showcase every game of the league's 10th anniversary season live over the Internet beginning in March.

af2TV, powered by NFT's patented online broadcasting technology, was developed and successfully implemented in 2008. NFT's unique set-up is the Internet's most efficient and successful method available for broadcasting live events. The technology makes it possible for af2 games to reach unlimited audiences in geographically diverse areas of the globe. In the inaugural season of af2TV, close to 250,000 online viewers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 40 nations from five different continents logged in to view af2 games throughout the 2008 season.

"We (af2) are very pleased to be extending our partnership with NFT," af2 President Jerry Kurz said. "Based on our overwhelming viewership numbers and positive fan feedback, the premiere season of af2TV was a tremendous success. This free network has allowed us to expose our high-quality brand of football to an audience far greater than we ever thought possible under our previous Pay-Per-View model."

With the increased demand from online viewers, NFT will continue to improve its technology for the 2009 season by rolling out a whole new version of the af2TV player with all-new features to enhance the viewing experience.

"This new version of af2TV will support a bit rate twice as high as was used last season, and as a result picture quality will be substantially improved over last season especially in full-screen mode. NFT is also in the process of adding an all new Video-On-Demand feature to enable fans to rewatch games from earlier in the season," said Dr. Mike O'Neal, Founder and Chief Scientist of NFT.

In addition to providing home and away game coverage for 450+ broadcasts, NFT also co-sponsored a highly successful midseason sweepstakes that awarded loyal online fans with a number of prizes which included autographed footballs and helmets. The "Click, Connect & View Your Way to ArenaCup9" sweepstakes also awarded an exclusive VIP trip to ArenaCup to two lucky contestants at the end of the season.

RipCode Announces Latest Version of its Flagship Offering

RipCode, an innovator of Internet and mobile video infrastructure solutions, announced the availability of the RipCode V5 Video Transcode and Transrate Appliance, the latest addition to the company's family of new media conversion solutions. Continuing RipCode's commitment to high performance video delivery, the RipCode V5 doubles the video processing horsepower of the company's flagship appliance, the RipCode V4. Designed for processing large volumes of video files concurrently while ensuring video quality and integrity, RipCode V5 is suitable for delivering either video on-demand or live video content from a single appliance. This capability provides RipCode's customers with the flexibility to address multiple markets from one, scalable platform.

According to Vidya Nath, senior digital media analyst with Frost & Sullivan, transcoding is a critical component of the video delivery value chain. "With so many demands for extending video to new channels, there is a significant need for robust, scalable and efficient solutions like RipCode," she said. "RipCode offers a complete transcoding package that helps overcome the complexities of getting video into the right format for the right device."

The new RipCode V5 sets the standard for raw transcoding performance. Engineered for managing large amounts of simultaneous transcode or transrate transactions, the RipCode V5 performance capability is critical in the deployment of RipCode's unique On-Demand Transcoding methodology where "on-the-fly" transcoding replaces traditional batch transcoding. When coupled with RipCode's existing On-Demand Signaling Server, the RipCode V5 transforms an operator's network into a transparent peer-point for video to any screen.

Also announced is the availability of RipCode's Client Detection Application, which accurately identifies the characteristics of a variety of Internet-enabled devices and handsets that are particularly important for optimizing video delivery or image re-sizing for the mobile market. RipCode's Client Detection Application helps content owners and syndicators create an improved end-user mobile video experience. The solution also maximizes advertiser value by recognizing device attributes, including resolution, bit rate, frame rate, codec, geo-location and carrier identification pinpoints. The result provides the intelligence needed to transcode and deliver device optimized video and banner ads in compliance with the Mobile Marketing Association's (MMA) specifications. The RipCode Client Detection Application is available as a complement to RipCode's On-Demand Transcoding solution or as a standalone application to augment a company's existing image or video transcoding technology.

According to Brendon Mills, RipCode CEO, RipCode's long-term strategy is about creating video content ubiquity across all IP end-points. "But beyond just moving files from one format to another with industry-leading performance, we're also dedicated to providing an overall Internet and mobile video delivery solution that adds value through applications like our Client Detection technology. We want to improve the end-user experience and increase our customers' revenue opportunities for direct-to -consumer video services."

Columbia Journalism School to Enhance Election-Night Webcast with Streambox

Streambox announced that the Columbia University Journalism School is expanding its presidential election night coverage on November 4 to include a live streaming component in addition to its radio coverage. To help facilitate the live video webcast, a number of Streambox ACT-L3 Software Encoders will be deployed to student journalists on location. The Streambox solution will provide an easy-to-use and reliable means for students to gather live reports to supplement the upcoming election webcast as well as content for New Media and TV Broadcast during the course of the academic year.

The student journalists -- all graduate students - will be involved in producing Columbia's Election Website, designed to provide hands-on experience in all newsgathering and news production disciplines including print, radio/TV broadcast, and new media/web production. Armed with up to four laptops running the Streambox ACT-L3 Software Encoder, students will be able to capture and encode live video from field locations and transport it over low-bandwidth IP connections to the Journalism School's TV control room, where it will be output to a Flash server and streamed to the Election Website. Early testing of the Streambox system using 3G WiFi express cards has yielded transmission speeds as high as 800 Kbps.

"The Streambox solution helps our students gain a broader learning experience by letting them work hands-on with the kinds of systems they'll be using in the real world," said Craig Hettich, manager of broadcast technology for the Columbia University Journalism School. "By providing an affordable and easy-to-use solution for acquiring video from the field and getting it back to the studio for broadcast, Streambox is enhancing our ability to teach cutting edge news reporting. The beauty of the system is that it enables smaller news outlets to do large-scale productions and stream them to the web with the same ease as large news organizations."

In addition to streaming live video to the Election Website, the Columbia Journalism School will use the Streambox solution to incorporate live remote coverage into its spring "Nightly News" broadcasting course. "The ability to include live newsgathering and reporting in this course will give it a whole new dimension," said Hettich.

He added, "For this ambitious project, and the kind of newsgathering our students are doing, Streambox is the only game in town. It's a big plus that the software-based encoder runs on standard-off-the-shelf laptops without the need for any hardware other than a Streambox decoder and possibly video management systems back at the studio. Also, the solution delivers broadcast video from the moment you plug it in."

"The Columbia Journalism School's commitment to give its students authentic real-life experience by using best-of-class teaching tools is one more example of why the school has such a stellar reputation," said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO at Streambox. "We're pleased that Columbia has selected Streambox's IP-centric newsgathering platform to play a key role in that effort."

Digital Rapids' TouchStream Grabs Awards

Digital Rapids -- a leading developer of solutions for bringing television, video and movie content to the next generation of viewing devices -- announced that the company's new TouchStream video and audio streaming appliance has won three prestigious industry awards following its unveiling at the IBC Conference and Exhibition in September.

TouchStream was honored with a Broadcast Engineering IBC 2008 Pick Hit Award; TV Technology Europe Magazine's Superior Technology (STAR) Award; and a TVBEurope 'Best of IBC2008' Editor's Pick award.

"We're thrilled that the innovative benefits of TouchStream have been recognized with these three highly respected awards," said Wesley Thiessen, Product Manager, Digital Rapids Corporation. "These accolades are testament to TouchStream's breakthrough combination of quality, usability and transportability, which is ideal for meeting the ever-increasing demand for flexible live streaming solutions. Coming right on the heels of our IBC Innovation Award win with NBC Universal, they also further reinforce Digital Rapids' position as the leader in ingest, encoding and streaming solutions."

TouchStream appliances deliver Digital Rapids' renowned live streaming quality and reliability as a fully self-contained, easy-to-deploy appliance. Leveraging the most intuitive of human interfaces -- touch -- TouchStream appliances offer unparalleled ease of use. Streamlined software controls are accessed through a touch-screen interface with integrated live video monitoring and VU meters for audio validation, eliminating the need for laptops, keyboards, mice and separate monitors.

The Broadcast Engineering Pick Hit awards are the industry's longest-running new product technology awards, with a 24-year history. The judges are readers of Broadcast Engineering World Edition magazine and working professionals in the broadcast, post and network and satellite industries who remain anonymous throughout the judging process to protect the integrity of the awards. Winning products are judged to have a positive impact on the intended user's everyday work, and to offer substantial improvement over previous technology at a price within the reach of the intended users.

The TV Technology Europe STAR Award (Superior Technology Award Recipient) is designed to celebrate and showcase the preeminent technological innovations available to the broadcast industry. TV Technology Europe's editor reviewed a variety of products, examined the technical applications and their overall contribution to the industry, and then chose 25 winners. STAR awards are given to products that help a user save money or accomplish a task in an easier way.

The 'Best of IBC2008' Editor's Pick awards are chosen by the combined editorial teams behind TVBEurope magazine and the official show publication, The IBC Daily. The editors searched IBC for the most innovative new products that demonstrated the potential to make or save money for end users -- not just clever technology for technology's sake.

TouchStream appliances will be available through Digital Rapids and our their worldwide network of authorized resellers and systems integrators.

Warner Bros. Licenses Content for DivX Devices

DivX, Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment announced an agreement that will enable online retailers to offer Warner Bros. titles in the high-quality DivX standard definition format in October 2008 and high definition format in September 2009 for playback on DivX Certified consumer electronics devices.

The wide-ranging agreement covers all titles available for digital distribution in the Warner Bros. catalogue including current and back-catalogue major motion pictures and television programs. All titles offered in the DivX format are compatible with a variety of DivX Certified devices from major consumer electronics brands, including DVD players, Blu-ray devices, gaming consoles and more. The agreement allows retailers who sign additional agreements with DivX and Warner Bros. to offer Warner titles in the DivX digital media format.

"Using the DivX secure format is in keeping with our overall digital distribution strategy," said Jim Wuthrich, Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "The visual quality, security and widespread interoperability of the DivX format offers an excellent means for consumers to enjoy Warner Bros.' content whenever and wherever they desire."

"Warner Bros. offers an extremely compelling catalogue of premium, high-quality content enjoyed by consumers all over the world," said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. "We're very excited to work together to offer consumers premium content on any DivX device, from the PC to the living room and on the go."

For more information about DivX, visit www.divx.com. To learn more about Warner Bros. Entertainment visit www.warnerbros.com.

Streaming and Compression Consulting Services

Available Services:

• Go Stream SURF Set-up and Training
  
• QuickTime Streaming Server Set-up
  
• Windows Media Streaming Server Set-up
  
• Wowza Media Server Pro Set-up (For Flash Streaming)
  
• FTP Server Set-up
  
• Video Encoding to Windows Media, QuickTime, Real Media, MPEG-4, Flash, and H.264 formats
  
• Web Authoring of Streaming Content
  
• Video Portal Set-up
  
• Streaming Tools Set-up and Training
  
• Set-up of In-house Streaming Operation
  
• Set-up of Video and Audio Encoding Workstations
  
• Live Streaming Channels Set-up
  
• 24/7 On-demand Channels Set-up
  
• Evaluation of Compression Tools
  
• Creation of Streaming Statistics Reports
  
• Video and Audio Podcasting Set-up
  
• Compression Tools Recommendations for Encoding on Mac and PC Platforms
  
• Assistance with RFPs for Streaming

Call Video Streaming and Compression Specialist Derrick Freeman at 407.477.5837 for more information about consulting on the above items. You can also contact him by E-mail at derrick217@gmail.com

Wowza Surpasses 10,000 Global Licensees

Wowza Media Systems, an emerging leader in streaming media server software, announced that their award-winning Wowza Media Server Pro has surpassed the 10,000 global licensees mark in just 18 months since its launch. The key to Wowza's success: its unmatched combination of performance, innovation, price and support.

Among its 10,000+ licensees, Wowza counts such well-known brands as Sun Microsystems, Macy's, Astral Media, RAI and Mogulus, and numerous service providers, including Interoute, Nacamar and T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, the business customer brand of telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom.

"We are truly amazed," said David Stubenvoll, CEO & Co-Founder, Wowza Media Systems. "In even our most optimistic projections we never predicted that our product acceptance rate would be so rapid. Nor did we foresee such a broad and deep affection for what we have done."

Record of Innovation

Launched in February 2007, Wowza Media Server Pro has revolutionized online media by introducing unique capabilities, as well as radically changing the economics of Flash streaming. With Wowza, live and on-demand video and audio, video recording and interactive Flash streaming, is now a reality for a broad range of customers.

Following its strong market entry, Wowza has boosted its competitive edge by continuous innovation with such exclusive features as support for live H.264/HE-AAC RTSP/RTP and MPEG-TS encoders and SHOUTcast-to-Flash streaming for live Web radio broadcasts.

In particular, service providers find Wowza Media Server Pro innovative server software very appealing:

"Wowza became our choice not only because its Wowza Pro server is an outstanding product, but also because Wowza provides exceptional support," commented Oliver Stache, Technology & Innovation Manager, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH. "Wowza's customer focus and the innovative capabilities of its Flash server enable us to build very scalable streaming infrastructure that addresses the diverse needs of our customers."

"Wowza is the only flexible Flash solution that scales to our requirements," added Steinar Torsvik, FastHost, Norway's largest hosting company, while Stef van der Ziel, CEO of StreamZilla, a leading European CDN, was more analytical: "In our research for alternatives to the overly expensive Adobe FMS, we found that Wowza offered better performance and stability at a much better price point. Since then, we have expanded our market position dramatically. In the past six months, we delivered over a billion streams to a global audience, all due, in large part, to our relationship with Wowza."

Derrick Freeman's Articles

Here's a list of articles written by Video Streaming and Compression Specialist, Derrick Freeman:


Studio Monthly Magazine

Create Linked Flash Videos, for Streaming and Download, with Sorenson Squeeze

Pre-process for Compression with Squared 5 MPEG Streamclip

Other video streaming and compression articles, tutorials and write-ups can be found at GeniusDV.com

On2 Technologies Announces New HD Hardware Encoder IP

On2 Technologies, the leader in video compression solutions, announced the availability of the Hantro 7280 encoder Register Transfer Level (RTL) design. Supporting MPEG-4, H.263 and H.264 video, along with 16MP JPEG, the encoder is targeted for chipsets intended for devices with very low-power requirements such as: portable video cameras, mobile phones, remote security cameras, laptops and webcams. With a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 at 30 fps, the Hantro 7280 introduces a new level of performance and functionality.

Following the Hantro 6280, which was licensed by more than 15 leading chip manufacturers, the encoder brings further speed improvements to achieve resolutions up to 1280x1024 at 30 fps. Easily encoding full 720p H.264 at 30 fps in only 180 MHz clock frequency, the 7280 brings ultra-high performance to 65 nm and 90 nm low-power chipsets. Placing a CPU load of less than 1MHz, the Hantro 7280 allows even an entry level ARM9-based chipset to encode real-time HD H.264 video with plenty of headroom to spare. The new encoder also incorporates proprietary image stabilization technology which reduces the effects of camera shake prior to encoding resulting in higher quality video with better compression.

Optimized for rapid integration with ARM, MIPS and other embedded CPU and DSP cores, the Hantro 7280 marries high performance with ultra low-power and efficient silicon utilization. Silicon area can be further optimized for unique applications by selecting only the formats and screen resolutions required with area reduced to as small as 0.19 square millimeters per 139,000 gates. Additional area savings can be gained in a full codec solution by sharing internal memories with the Hantro 8190 multi-format decoder.

"For portable devices, battery-life is a critical success factor and manufacturers seek to optimize in every aspect." says Eero Kaikkonen, Chief Marketing Officer at On2. "The 7280 requires only 12 mW to encode VGA H.264 in real-time. Although in practice it is not possible, theoretically an ARM 11 would require as much as 500mW to achieve the same performance."

The Hantro 7280 is available now for licensing from On2. The product comes complete with RTL source code for VHDL or Verilog, an RTL test bench and test data, ANSI C driver source code and complete technical documentation.

New Streambox Solution for File-based Video Over IP

Streambox Inc. announced the release of its innovative solution for file-based video management and acquisition. The solution, which is part of Streambox's platform for video over IP, comprises three products, each serving unique roles in the broadcast work flow. The Streambox Store and Forward Client, the Streambox Store and Forward Server, and the Streambox Media Station work together to provide greater control and management of field-generated video as it is edited and uploaded to the broadcast studio for multi-format play-out. The solution enables control room operators to better manage hundreds of video files as these are uploaded to the Store and Forward Server by field reporters or citizen reporters for on-demand or scheduled play-out via an easy-to-use web interface. The integrated web interface provides metadata information such as reporter name, file name, and location as well as a thumbnail clip preview of video file uploads and a list of active connections. The control room operator is also able to search video uploads based on metadata. The solution simplifies and streamlines the broadcast work flow from video file upload to video management and play-out.

The file-based solution is well-suited for a variety of applications such as IP-based newsgathering, streaming to the Web, and live and on-demand webcasting. The solution supports play-out of raw ACT-L3 files, QuickTime-wrapped ACT-L3 files, and other standard video formats.

The Store and Forward Client enables users such as field reporters and citizen reporters to upload video files to the Store and Forward Server. Field reporters will typically upload video via UDP while citizen reporters will use HTTP for file upload. After the video file has been edited using any QuickTime-compatible NLE application, field reporters connect to the Store and Forward Server and log in to the web application. Reporters are able to optimize UDP uploads by selecting a pre-defined connection profile. Following user authentication, the Server immediately enables reporters to begin video file upload. If the network connection is lost during upload, the Store and Forward Client automatically resumes the file upload once the network connection is reestablished.

The Store and Forward Server enables broadcasters to better manage and monitor field-edited files as they are uploaded by e.g. field reporters, remote bureaus, and citizen reporters. Capable of receiving hundreds of simultaneous video file uploads from multiple users, the Server maintains a complete list of active connections established through the Store and Forward Client software. The Server's web interface facilitates a thumbnail clip preview of video file uploads. It also provides searchable metadata information such as reporter name, file name, location, and date and time stamps. The Server can be customized to provide rule-based transcoding and scripting for multi-format play-out through the Media Station.

The Streambox Media Station supplies direct output for both live and file-based SDI and composite video. It works in concert with the Store and Forward Server to provide superior control and prioritization for the video play-out schedule. Once the producers or editors have selected the desired video files or clips, the operator creates playlists and schedules those lists for playout through the Media Station's web-based interface. The Media Station can be switched to decoder mode for live play-out.

"Streambox's versatile platform for file-based video over IP enables broadcasters and other users to enhance their video management capabilities from beginning to end while gaining superior control of the video play-out process," said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. "We believe this flexible solution will simplify broadcast operations and help our customers distribute high quality video for broadcast and broadband faster and more efficiently than ever before."

Orban Announces Opticodec 1010 Version 3

Circuit Research Labs, Inc., parent company of CRL Systems, Inc. dba Orban/CRL, announced that Orban PC Products, the leading supplier of MP4/AAC & HE-AAC enterprise audio streaming and file encoders, introduced Version 3 of its 1010 Opticodec-PC Streaming Encoder. Version 3 fully supports the Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), the protocol that Adobe Flash Media Server 3 uses to stream data, audio and video live over the Internet, as well as ICY SHOUTcast, Icecast2, and standards-based RTSP/RTP MPEG-4/3GPP protocols.

"With Adobe Flash Media Server now streaming the full MP4 family of codecs including AAC and HE-AAC (aacPlus), we're able to deliver the highest quality consumer audio over the Internet via the Adobe Flash Player to the widest possible audience," said Greg Ogonowski, Vice President of New Product Development for Orban/CRL. "The Adobe Flash Player is installed on over 98% of all Internet-connected desktops, including Mac and Linux platforms.

With support for Flash Media Server 3, Opticodec-PC now supports every major streaming server platform except Windows Media Server, so Opticodec-PC can stream to more players than any other modern codec." These players include Winamp, Windows Media Player with the Orban AAC/HE-AAC Plugin, Adobe Flash Player, Apple QuickTime, Real Networks RealPlayer, VLC, and many hardware devices, such as Roku SoundBridge and Terratec Noxon2.

When developing Version 3, Orban worked closely with Adobe to help ensure full, reliable support of the RTMP protocol. Orban, in conjunction with major CDN's, already has clients lined up to take advantage of the new support for RTMP and the ubiquity of the Adobe Flash Player.

"We are pleased that Orban has added RTMP support to stream audio via Adobe Flash Media Server," said Laurel Reitman, senior product manager for Flash Media Solutions at Adobe. "With Orban's powerful encoders and the ubiquity of Adobe Flash technology, including Adobe Flash Player, broadcasters can inform and entertain audiences by delivering professional-quality audio over the Internet."

dicas to develop H.264 HD encoder for Cell B.E.

dicas, the German MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 specialist, has just started to develop an HD encoder for Cell processor platforms in collaboration with IBM. The objective of the technological co-operation is to bring together one of the most powerful video codecs, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, with one of the most powerful currently available microprocessors, the Cell B.E. chip, for professional broadcast applications.

Initially designed by Sony, Toshiba and IBM for the extreme processing demands of the PlayStation3, the Cell chip has rapidly gained in importance for a large number of further graphic-intensive applications. "Its revolutionary architecture makes the Cell chip a great deal for video encoding" says Philipp Kraetzer, managing director at dicas. Due to eight independent processing cores the Cell is claimed to be more than 10 times faster than any current PC processor. "It's a very interesting challenge to divide the H.264 encoding algorithms across the Cell's processing cores", Kraetzer continues

"Utilizing the Cell's mighty processing power makes broadcast-quality HD encoding and even 1080p in real-time possible" says Klaas Schuur, co-founder of dicas. "dicas has gained considerable expertise in porting the H.264 codec to various platforms. The combination of Cell and H.264 is a convincing answer to the requirements of broadcasters and IPTV content providers in the age of HDTV."

The launch of the HD encoder for Cell is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009.

SEB Group Selects Akamai to Improve Performance

Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, announced that France-based SEB, a global leader in manufacturing small household appliances, has selected the company to help accelerate the performance of its corporate website designed for Internet users in South Korea. Some of the well-known brands produced by SEB include: Krups, Rowenta, Tefal and Lagostina.

The SEB Group selected Akamai to solve the latency issues the company was experiencing with its South Korea corporate website. SEB realized that in order to support its multi-brand portfolio and sales in Asia, it needed to improve the performance of its South Korean-based website in terms of speed and reliability. In 2008, the company asked Akamai to provide a solution to solve these latency issues.

"Identifying the challenges that SEB faced when trying to get their website in South Korea to perform to a desired standard, Akamai and its global network were well-suited to provide SEB a solution for enhancing the performance, scalability, and accessibility of their origin website without burdening their existing infrastructure," said Henri d'Oriola, regional sales manager at Akamai. "Within four months after leveraging Akamai's services, SEB found the response times for its website in South Korea had improved by 60 percent -- result which helped to bolster their global brand in Asia."

"We are delighted that the Akamai solutions are able to help us effectively address our website performance issues," said Bruno Cailleux, the SEB Group's Internet project manager. "Akamai allows us to avoid network outages, which we identified as a frequent issue in South Korea, and helps us scale up the range and performance of our corporate websites in the Asia region. Akamai has enabled us to boost our website's service quality and ensure fast access to content in a country (South Korea), where Internet access speed has been a high-priority concern for us."

RealNetworks Files Suit Against Hollywood Studios

Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks and its subsidiary, RealNetworks Home Entertainment, Inc., issued the following statement:

"In response to threats made by the major movie studios, RealNetworks this morning plans to file an action for a declaratory judgment against DVD Copy Control Association, Inc., Disney Enterprises, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., NBC Universal, Inc., Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., and Viacom, Inc., in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit asks the court to rule that RealNetworks Home Entertainment, Inc.'s RealDVD software, made available to consumers today at www.realdvd.com, fully complies with the DVD Copy Control Association's license agreement.

"RealDVD allows consumers to securely store, manage and play their DVDs on their computers. It does not enable users to distribute copies of their DVDs. RealDVD not only maintains the DVD's native CSS encryption intact, it also adds another layer of digital rights management encryption that effectively locks the DVD copy to the owner's computer to ensure that the content can not be improperly copied or shared. RealDVD provides consumers with a great solution for the playback and management of their DVD collections while adding security that is more robust than CSS.

"RealNetworks took this legal action to protect consumers' ability to exercise their fair-use rights for their purchased DVDs. The DVD CCA, which represents numerous parties including all of the major studios, previously sued another company over the same issues. The trial court ruled against the DVD CCA and allowed the distribution of a product similar to RealDVD. (See DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Kaleidescape, Inc., Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 1-04-CV031829, available online at http://www.kaleidescape.com/company/pr/PR-20070329-DVDCCA.php. Having lost the case once, the major studios are now trying to get a different result by going to a different court.

"We are disappointed that the movie industry is following in the footsteps of the music industry and trying to shut down advances in technology rather than embracing changes that provide consumers with more value and flexibility for their purchases."

"For nearly 15 years RealNetworks has created innovative products that are fully legal, great for consumers, and respectful of the legitimate interests of content creators and rights holders. RealDVD follows in that tradition. We expect to successfully defend our right to make RealDVD available to consumers and consumers' rights to use it."