Posted by Derrick on March 11, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression | 
Digital Rapids — the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and web content to wider audiences – unveiled the new StreamZHD Live ABR encoder, the industry’s highest-performance Adaptive Bit Rate streaming system. The latest model in the StreamZ Live family, StreamZHD Live ABR encodes and streams live HD and SD content at unparalleled quality for delivery through the latest generation of adaptive streaming technologies.
StreamZHD Live ABR supports the Dynamic Streaming capabilities of Adobe® Flash Media Server®; adaptive HTTP streaming to Apple® iPhone® mobile devices, and Microsoft® Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming to Microsoft® Silverlight® powered viewing experiences. StreamZHD Live ABR is also easily extensible to support additional adaptive delivery technologies, such as Adobe’s upcoming HTTP Dynamic Streaming (announced as Project Zeri).
Adaptive bit rate streaming enables higher-quality viewing experiences with television-like continuity and reliability on the Web and mobile devices. StreamZHD Live ABR creates multiple output streams at varying bit rates and resolutions from the input source. As the content is delivered to each viewer, the chosen adaptive delivery technology automatically switches between these streams to deliver the best possible quality based on the viewer’s current network and local system conditions. The results are consistent, uninterrupted viewing experiences up to HD quality even under dramatically changing network connectivity and playback conditions.
Building on Digital Rapids’ long-standing ability to output multiple formats, resolutions and bit rates simultaneously in real time, StreamZHD Live ABR provides superior encoding performance for adaptive delivery. Combinations of up to seven HD and SD streams can be output simultaneously in real time from a single StreamZHD Live ABR unit. StreamZHD Live ABR can output streams up to full 1920×1080 at 30fps in the H.264 compression format — including simultaneous 1080p and 720p outputs — and up to 720p with VC-1 compression. Multiple StreamZHD Live ABR systems can be synchronized to encode the same source for adaptive streaming applications requiring a greater number of simultaneous streams. A single StreamZHD Live ABR unit can also create outputs for multiple platforms — such as the Web and iPhone — concurrently.
Adaptive bit rate technologies also minimize the initial viewing delay typical with earlier streaming methods, providing fast start-up times approaching the immediacy of traditional television. The historical approach of content providers offering streams in two or three tiered bit rates for the viewer to select between — often with poor results under changing conditions or if viewers over-estimate their capabilities — is also no longer necessary. Viewers simply start viewing from a single engagement point, with the adaptive technologies managing the bit rate dynamically.
StreamZHD Live ABR combines all of these benefits with the proven advantages of Digital Rapids’ StreamZ Live encoder family, forming the ideal adaptive streaming platform. Advanced video pre-processing features including motion adaptive de-interlacing with pixel-level analysis and video noise reduction deliver superior visual quality with the most efficient use of bandwidth in the compressed result. Video adjustments and graphic overlay enable refinement of incoming sources and the addition of branding to output streams. Multiple StreamZHD Live ABR encoders can be combined with the scalable Digital Rapids Broadcast Manager software for enterprise-class management, automation, scheduling, multi-channel monitoring and failover.
“Our live encoding and streaming solutions have long been regarded as the quality leaders, but even with the best encoding quality, the viewing experience can be constrained by delivery challenges such as varying network bandwidth. StreamZHD Live ABR combines our superior quality and robust, enterprise-class features with advanced delivery mechanisms to significantly improve the viewer experience,” said Darren Gallipeau, Product Manager at Digital Rapids. “Higher quality and consistent reliability lead to longer viewer engagement times, which in turn offer greater monetization opportunities to content owners. Meanwhile, the exceptional performance of StreamZHD Live ABR lowers the cost of encoding for adaptive streaming by producing all of the outputs within a single unit.”
The new StreamZHD Live ABR model is now shipping. Full adaptive streaming capabilities are also available in Digital Rapids’ versatile StreamZHD multi-format, live and on-demand studio encoders.
StreamZHD Live ABR and other Digital Rapids solutions will be showcased in booth number SL6010 at the 2010 NAB Show, April 12-15 in Las Vegas. For more information about Digital Rapids, please visit http://www.digital-rapids.com/.
Posted by Derrick on February 14, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Inlet Technologies, the leader in innovative solutions for digital media preparation, announced that AEG Digital Media has selected Inlet’s Spinnaker technology to power high-quality streaming of premium media and entertainment events from around the world.
Inlet’s Spinnaker family of live streaming solutions delivers broadcast-quality streams over the Internet to multiple screens and devices. With its built-in support for adaptive streaming protocols, Spinnaker generates high-quality streams that enhance online viewing of live action. Spinnaker creates a more interactive and personal online video experience for consumers, backed by exceptional video quality with DVR-like capabilities, multiple camera angles, embedded captions and URLs, and no stuttering, buffering, or other interruptions.
With Spinnaker as a critical element of their technology infrastructure, AEG Digital Media has already facilitated and managed some of the largest online live events of the previous year, including: 2010 People’s Choice Awards; the first Hollywood Bowl show broadcast live on the Internet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic
“¡Bienvenido Gustavo!” concert; Farm Aid 2009; Cirque Du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte’s
One Drop Foundation Poetic Social Mission event, featuring a live stream from the International Space Station; MTV Latin VMAs; and Alicia Keys’ recent full-length concert on Google’s YouTube live music channel.
“The level of quality produced with Inlet’s Spinnaker supporting our technology backbone has helped accelerate our discussions with major broadcasters and premium content sites interested in replicating the same success and quality we’ve achieved with other events,” said John Petrocelli, vice president of business development and sales, AEG Digital Media.
“Our success working with AEG Digital Media provides a great opportunity to expand our expertise specifically in the entertainment-related market,” said Michael Barros, senior vice president of worldwide sales for Inlet Technologies. “The experts at AEG have been perfecting their digital processes for almost ten years now. The ease with which they were able to seamlessly integrate Spinnaker into their workflow is a testament to how simple and functional the product is to work with.”
With plans to deploy Spinnaker units to stream from the red carpet and behind the scenes at upcoming award shows and other events such as the
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference, as well as streaming content to other devices such as the Apple
® iPhone™ and iPod
® Touch
®, AEG Digital Media is well-positioned to deliver the highest quality content the industry has seen in ten years of live streaming. “We look forward to continue working with Inlet to bring premium media and entertainment events to the global market while ensuring the best quality of experience for viewers,” said Petrocelli.
Posted by Derrick on November 19, 2009 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Inlet Technologies, the leader in innovative solutions for digital media preparation, announced that Universal Sports has selected its Spinnaker and Armad solutions to power UniversalSports.com’s live and on-demand coverage of world-class sports.
Universal Sports serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic and lifestyle sports programming, offering more than 1,000 live events and 7,000 hours of annual original event programming. UniversalSports.com delivers more than 100,000 hours of programming content with dedicated, sport-specific “channels,” including Skiing, Rowing, Swimming, and Cycling, to give fans a centralized, convenient, consistent place to go for event video, video highlights, breaking news, and features. Universal Sports is following a growing trend in the sports industry by complementing traditional broadcasts with unprecedented online access.
“We’re dedicated to delivering our fans and viewers at UniversalSports.com the highest quality video presentation of our world-class sporting events,” said Carlos Silva, president and COO of Universal Sports. “Increasingly, fans are turning to the web to view their favorite sports, competitions and events. Our partners at Inlet Technologies allow us to deliver the online sports-viewing experience that brings our viewers back for more.”
“Inlet’s Spinnaker and Armada solutions, along with Microsoft Smooth Streaming, will offer UniversalSports.com viewers the highest quality video and more personalized viewing options,” said John Bishop, senior vice president of strategy and business development, Inlet Technologies. “Following the recent Vancouver Winter Games announcement, we are excited and proud of this collaboration with UniversalSports.com, which further solidifies Inlet’s role as a strategic partner of NBC Sports, and as a leader in online sports video.”
Inlet’s Spinnaker family of encoding solutions is especially well-suited for live sports as it provides broadcast-quality streams over the Internet to multiple devices and screens. With its built-in support for adaptive streaming protocols, including iPhone streaming and Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Spinnaker delivers exceptional quality that enhances online viewing of live sports action. Spinnaker’s patent pending stream synchronization capability makes it ideal for adaptive bitrate delivery.
Inlet is also redefining the process of building and scaling a video-on-demand operation. Automation and software intelligence are the keys to building scale and quality while minimizing costs. Inlet’s Armada is a revolutionary workflow management system that automates the entire file preparation process and adds encoding intelligence, not just simple node management.
Posted by Derrick on August 18, 2009 under Video Streaming and Compression |
HSN (hsn.com), the leading interactive lifestyle network and retail destination, announces the launch of a dynamic new application (“app”) for the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® touch®. The 45 million subscribers to the devices who download the HSN Shop App now have the ability to view HSN programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the US. The launch creates the e-commerce industry’s first live-video “3-screen experience,” enabling consumers to browse and shop the network’s 35,000-plus array of products from home or on the go.
All the engaging highlights that HSN and hsn.com users enjoy are packed into the clever app, available for download at both the iTunes App Store and hsn.com. Live, ‘round-the-clock HSN TV (along with a library of original videos), the HSN Today’s Special, Items Recently Aired, and the many hosts, featured designers and their tens of thousands of products are among the familiar and favorite hallmarks of HSN programming that will be available through the mobile experience. Additionally, the HSN Shop App brings with it a set of new features, including the interactive shake2shop, which, with a simple shake of the device, generates random product recommendations as well as deals and promotions targeted at HSN’s mobile customers.
“Our customer is fashionable and discerning, and thrives on information, ideas and discovery,” says HSNi CEO, Mindy Grossman. “HSN strives to be the true multichannel experience, and this new iPhone app now allows our customer to take HSN with her, anytime, anywhere, and be that reliable, ‘on-the-go’ resource for lifestyle information she craves.”
The HSN Shop App also makes for a seamless transactional experience, allowing the user to call HSN directly or use the device’s browser to purchase an item. Items can also be saved for later purchase, or emailed to a friend.
While the HSN Shop App is supremely navigable and user-friendly,hsn.com will soon feature a tutorial that walks all new users through the app’s various fundamentals and features. To insure the optimal experience, the app will also evolve based on customer feedback.
“HSN truly leads the way in total convergence of its media technologies,” says Brian Bradley, EVP/ GM, HSN Online & Advanced Services. “The loyalty of our customer base has been predicated in large part on a unique ability to engage them in all aspects of their lives, and the addition of a mobile ‘third screen’ opens up an entirely new dimension for interaction.”
Inlet Technologies’ SpinnakerTM live streaming appliance provides the encoding backbone for the HSN Shop App’s streaming video. Spinnaker fully supports Apple’s HTTP adaptive streaming, which reduces buffering and other interruptions to create an exceptional viewing experience and diminish latency, helping HSN customers move through the purchasing process quickly. Inlet, the leader in advanced encoding solutions for new media, has been a HSN web streaming partner since 2008.
At launch, the HSN Shop App will be marketed via on-air promos run throughout HSN TV programming. Other promotional efforts will follow.
The HSN Shop App arrives amidst HSN’s ongoing multichannel convergence effort, which includes expansion of its Shop-by-Remote service and complete transition to high-definition (HD) format.
Tags: adaptive streaming, encoding, HTTP, Inlet Technologies, iPod touch, Live Streaming, Phone, solutions, Spinnaker, streaming, Video
Posted by Derrick on July 31, 2009 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Inlet Technologies, the leading provider of live streaming and on-demand solutions for digital media, announced that the company is one of the first encoding technology providers to publicly demonstrate and support live streaming to the Apple iPhone. Inlet was the first to showcase iPhone streaming at Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference last month in San Francisco.
Using iPhone OS 3.0 and the latest release of Inlet’s Spinnaker live streaming solution, real-time streaming of live sports, news or other events can now reach an iPhone. Additionally, capabilities similar to Apple’s Stream Segmenter will be built directly into Spinnaker, simplifying the customer’s workflow and eliminating additional hardware from the system. The level of interoperability provided by Spinnaker allows content creators to stream live to the iPhone in popular formats including H.264 video and HE-AAC audio. These new advances enable any broadcaster, sports league or entertainment provider to deliver live content to the iPhone with a minimum of effort.
“We are proud to add this to a long list of industry ‘firsts’ from Inlet. By supporting live streaming to Apple’s iPhone, Inlet is once again at the forefront of the digital media revolution. The iPhone is clearly a pervasive consumer device, offering compelling opportunities to reach viewers.” said John Bishop, senior vice president of strategy and business development, Inlet Technologies. “This also reflects our continued commitment to helping companies increase the reach of their content, in any format to any screen, through intelligent media infrastructure solutions.”
Inlet’s Spinnaker family of live streaming appliances delivers stunning picture quality (in HD or SD), allowing content creators to offer viewers a “living room” experience over the Web. Spinnaker supports all of the major formats, including H.264, VC-1, Silverlight and Flash VP6, and allows content creators to stream multiple formats simultaneously from one source. Spinnaker is ideal for live sports, as it can create real-time highlights without the need for additional file preparation. Users can switch between multiple games or multiple camera angles during a single event. URLs or captions, such as scores and statistics, can also be inserted directly into the live stream. Spinnaker also offers calendar-based scheduling (ideal for recurring events), 24/7 reliability, and is designed to be used remotely, in fleets, or locally.
In addition to support for streaming to Apple’s iPhone, Spinnaker also includes support for other adaptive streaming protocols, including Microsoft Smooth Streaming and Adobe Dynamic Streaming. Other updates include multi-encoder synchronization and numerous audio enhancements.
