Posted by Derrick on August 5, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression | 
Sorenson Media announced that the Sorenson Spark Software Developers Kit (SDK) has been licensed by Marvell Technology to incorporate the Sorenson Spark decoder in Marvell products. Sorenson Spark will be included in the company’s platform solutions designed to scale with set-top boxes, media players, e-readers, netbooks, smart phones, high-performance tablets and other advanced mobile devices.
Sorenson Spark is the industry’s most ubiquitous video codec and was the first codec used in Macromedia Flash, now Adobe Flash. The decoder exclusively enables the playback of hundreds of millions of videos on the Internet, including those on YouTube, the single largest online video destination today. The Sorenson Spark SDK allows developers to integrate the Sorenson Spark decoder into a wide array of programmable chipsets and semiconductors. The kit is designed to provide Sorenson Spark decoding on any platform, including custom silicon.
Marvell is a leading fabless semiconductor company with expertise in microprocessor architecture. Marvell’s multiple platforms included networked Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, media players, mobile and wireless, and high volume storage solutions. These are used to power the complete value chain of mobile and wireless devices.
“Marvell is a technology leader, driving highly efficient and scalable platform solutions for consumers worldwide,” said Douglas Cebik, director of business development of Sorenson Media. “Now, the company’s high performance mobile platforms will be able to play Internet video using the industry’s most common codec and consumers will enjoy more complete access to the full world of online video.”
Tags: Adobe Flash, codec, flash, media, media players, Mobile Devices & Technology, online, online video, sdk, smart phones, Sorenson, Sorenson Media, Sorenson Spark decoder, Video, video codec, videos on the Internet
Posted by Derrick on August 1, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
The 2010 NFL High School Player Development (HSPD) 7-on-7 National Tournament was held in Tampa, Florida on July 10th and 11th. The HSPD aims to develop productive members of society, helping high school students improve both their fundamental football skills and life skills. Network Foundation Technologies, LLC (‘NiFTy’) and Cisco Systems, Inc. partnered together to provide live online broadcast coverage of the tournament.
Jerry Horowitz, NFL Director Youth Tackle Football, stated, “NiFTyTV along with Cisco Systems have provided a great opportunity for our National 7-on-7 Tournament participants to relive their experience through its On-Demand features. It is also a great way for family and friends in all the participant’s respective cities to be able to see the tournament games both live and On-Demand.”
Top high school players from across the nation, representing twenty-two NFL teams, competed over the course of two-days. First day competition was used to determine bracket seeding. A double-elimination tournament was held on the second day, ending with two conference semi finals—the AFC and NFC—and a Super Bowl championship match between the local Florida teams, the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“We were very excited to work with NiftyTV to broadcast the event for the NFL HSPD 7on7 Tournament,” said Daryl Thomas, Regional Director for the HSPD. “NiFTY’s technology and support made it possible for parents, teammates, college scouts and fans to see some of the nation’s top high school football players worldwide; this was truly a historical moment for the HSPD 7on7 Tournament.”
Video On Demand replays of select games from the two-day tournament, including the Conference Finals and Super Bowl, are now available for viewing online. To download the 7-on-7 player, visit www.NiFTyTV.com/7on7 and click on the “Download Now” button.
Posted by Derrick on June 26, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Telestream, a leading provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions, announced that its Episode video encoding software was selected by Banis Software Development, Inc. to provide video and audio transcoding for V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre which was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. Banis selected Episode for integration with its Server DAM digital asset management and distribution system. Initially developed for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, Server DAM is the first system of its kind to offer an uncompressed cloud storage and distribution portal with secure web access to video footage for accredited press. Thousands of registered media from around the world gained access this week to the online video portal which allows them to build pre-game video packages in a variety of formats for the 2010 FIFA World Cup which opens in Cape Town on June 10.
“We selected Episode encoder because of the simplicity of fully integrating it with Server DAM and because of the breadth of formats it provides,” said Ford Sinclair, President at Banis Software Development, creators of the video portal. “Telestream’s Episode was a natural fit for our business needs. The strength of our products is that they function as one system, providing on-demand access 24 hours a day to video footage in any format for any number of users.”
Banis integrated Episode server-based software with Server DAM to enable fully automated, on-demand video transcoding. Initial loading of the clips into the video portal included hours of HD video which needed to be encoded into 5 to 60-second clips. According to Sinclair, Episode was the only system that met all the demands required by his client, including input support for RED camera format. Sinclair adds, “Telestream’s technical support has been amazing.”
The Cape Town media center for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at www.waterfrontmediacentre.co.za provides global access to the video portal which offers local footage, location shots, B-roll, HD highlights and photography. Registered media are given secure access to the portal where they can create a custom menu and specify selection criteria. Video/audio format choices include ProRes 4:2:2 HD, NTSC-SD, PAL-SD, uncompressed video, plus QuickTime .mov and .flv for the web. Additional choices include style shots, locations, venues and keyword searches.
Banis developed Server DAM as a robust video portal with a huge data center backend to support large-scale video needs. A single video clip can simultaneously be accessed by 10,000 users without interruption or loss of speed. According to Sinclair, the system proved itself at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games where less than 5 percent of total resources were used at any given time.
Tags: .FLV, audio, DAM, encoding, Episode Encoder, mov, on-demand video transcoding. Episode, online, quicktime, Server Dam, server-based software, Telestream, transcodes, transcoding, Video, video portal
Posted by Derrick on June 18, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Brightcove, the leading online video platform, announced that The Football Association (FA), England’s governing body for the game of football, has launched a host of new online video offerings for TheFA.com, as well as a dynamic new iPhone app, using the Brightcove platform. The FA is also leveraging Brightcove to support a variety of video initiatives around the official website for England’s World Cup team, including interviews with players and highlights from previous games and tournaments.
“Football in England today has more spectators, participants, revenues and media interest than any other sport,” said Alistair Robertson, Project Lead at The FA. “We have a tremendous amount of fans visiting our website each day to see the latest news and highlights of the England team, The FA cup and our many National Game initiatives, so it is crucial that we are able to provide the highest quality user experience possible. The breadth of features available in the Brightcove platform enables us to achieve this, as well as expand our video initiatives to popular mobile devices like the iPhone.”
With Brightcove, The FA is able to deliver high quality, interactive online video viewing experiences for football fans worldwide. Brightcove’s range of customization features enable The FA to easily and dynamically integrate video throughout the TheFA.com site, which is crucial in increasing search engine optimization around video and deepening user engagement. Brightcove also makes it easy for The FA to significantly expand the audience reach of its video content through advanced social sharing tools for popular sites like Facebook and Twitter and a wide-range of third party distribution capabilities. Brightcove’s “white-list” status by Facebook gives The FA the ability to embed Brightcove players directly into the England team’s wall, as well as on the FATV section of the team’s Facebook page.
The FA also recently introduced a fan-friendly mobile app using the Brightcove iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and Brightcove Mobile Experience solution. The app is designed to enable fans to keep in instant touch with the England team through the latest news from the World Cup camp, including exclusive video highlights of great England games, goals and legendary players.
“Online video presents a unique opportunity for organizations like The FA to increase engagement with fans and dramatically expand their online audience,” said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “We are thrilled to be the online video platform behind The FA’s dynamic new offerings, particularly on the eve of the immense traffic and interest that will be generated from the World Cup this summer.”
To see the Brightcove player in action, go to the official England website at www.TheFA.com/England. The FA plans to roll out additional video programming and capabilities using the Brightcove platform in the near future.
Posted by Derrick on May 17, 2010 under Video Streaming and Compression |
Highwinds, a leader in content delivery and hosted IP services, announced at Streaming Media East the availability of Infinite HD for streaming high-definition video live and on-demand over its content delivery network (CDN). Setting a new standard for delivering HD video to online audiences, Highwinds’ Infinite HD is built on technology that provides the most resilient and consistent HD streams available in the industry today, together with the features necessary to deliver advanced HD viewing experiences.
Infinite HD is the result of Highwinds’ robust, global CDN coupled with the Octoshape Infinite Edge throughput optimization technology. Unlike TCP or chunked HTTP-based protocols, Infinite HD is far less susceptible to latency and packet loss, allowing Infinite HD to have the highest probability of successful HD stream delivery to the last mile. When there is contention in the last mile or in the core, other technologies fail to deliver consistent streams and are forced to rely on bitrate adaption technologies, which require higher overhead and support lower average bitrates than Infinite HD.
Infinite HD customers gain:
▪ True High-Definition Streams of Live and On-Demand Video
▪ Consistent HD Quality Resulting in Longer Viewing Times
▪ Global Reach and Massive Scalability Regardless of Video Origin
▪ Customizable HD Viewing Experiences and Advanced HD Features
▪ Robust, Real-Time Analytics and Reporting on All HD Streams
Though the new Infinite HD platform is making its debut into the market today, Highwinds has a number of customers who are already using the platform and player technology. Infinite HD was first used to deliver last year’s PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, and it continues to power the streaming of major media, entertainment and sporting events, including THE PLAYERS Championship, which was held May 6-10, 2010. In addition to gaining early customer adoption of Infinite HD, Highwinds has also garnered industry support from its ecosystem partners, including Octoshape, whose technology is integral to Infinite HD, and Digital Rapids, who has created encoding profiles specific to Infinite HD to support broadcast-quality streaming.
“As consumer demand for ubiquitous HD video grows, we continue to see increased HD traction from traditional broadcasters and online content owners. However, HD technologies used to deliver HD video today fail to deliver a consistent experience,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of Highwinds. “As such, we launch Infinite HD as a proven streaming innovation after having successfully delivered several high-profile live events with unprecedented quality. Additionally, Highwinds customers who stream video with Infinite HD can experience advanced viewing features including DVR, instant replay, picture-in-picture and live data feed overlays.”
