| |
Digital
Rapids Clears Hurdles Behind Unprecedented Summer Games Streaming
Experiences
Other Topics:
IPTV Encoding Solutions,
IPTV Advanced Video Gateways,
IP Video Infrastructure
Digital Rapids
August 19, 2008
Markham, Ontario -- Technology from Digital Rapids -- a leading
developer of solutions for bringing television, video and movie
content to the latest generation of viewing devices -- is one of the
key enablers of the unprecedented live Internet coverage of the
Summer Games currently being enjoyed by U.S. audiences. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Over 2200 hours of video
will be streamed live on the Internet at NBCOlympics.com, powered by
Digital Rapids' encoding and streaming systems. The unprecedented
scale of NBC Universal's online coverage created new challenges
going far beyond typical streaming scenarios.
In the past, the live streaming of major international events
typically started with the satellite transmission of a single main
feed from the source location to the destination country, where that
single feed would be encoded, streamed, and distributed. The content
of that feed -- the switching between camera angles, viewpoints, and
storylines -- was controlled at the source. In contrast, for the
Summer Games, dozens of simultaneous live event feeds are being
encoded in Beijing and streamed to the U.S. for distribution to web
audiences. In doing so, NBC Universal is putting the control in the
hands of the viewer, letting users watch multiple events
concurrently while interactively switching between streams through a
rich media experience enabled by the cross-platform Microsoft
Silverlight technology.
Bringing this number of streams to audiences at high quality all
starts with Digital Rapids encoding systems, which transform source
video feeds into web-friendly streams. An array of Digital Rapids
DRC-Stream encoding solutions is deployed in Beijing, capable of
ingesting and encoding over 100 live video sources. Each source is
encoded in three combinations of resolution and bit-rate, tripling
the amount of encoding to be performed. The high volume of streams
to be encoded in a fixed number of systems, combined with the
unpredictable and varying visual nature of the content -- from
fast-moving events with extensive camera motion, to close-ups and
wide shots with minimal movement -- created numerous encoding
challenges. Leveraging the inherent advantages of the DRC-Stream
encoding hardware and software alongside custom development working
closely with Microsoft, Digital Rapids is leaping these hurdles to
enable this breakthrough online video experience.
"NBC Universal's coverage of this year's Summer Games is raising the
bar for live event streaming. From the volume of live streams and
the massive amount of on-demand content to the quality of the
end-user experience -- everything about this initiative is changing
how content consumers will look at live event coverage from this
point forward," said Brick Eksten, President of Digital Rapids
Corporation. "Never before have live event viewers had this much
control over what they watch and how they watch it, and we're
ecstatic to be part of this phenomenal effort. The future of online
event coverage is brighter than ever, and we look forward to our
next challenge as multi-platform distribution continues to
revolutionize viewing experiences."
Digital Rapids' DRC-Stream encoding solutions combine powerful
hardware for video and audio capture and pre-processing with the
intuitive Stream software interface, delivering reliable,
high-quality, multi-format media encoding and streaming for
professional applications such as high-end Internet TV and IPTV. The
advanced, hardware-based video processing features enable superior
quality and the most efficient use of bandwidth in the compressed
result.
Beyond the United States, Digital Rapids solutions are playing key
roles in the online coverage of the 2008 Summer Games worldwide,
with leading broadcasters in additional countries including China,
the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand depending on Digital
Rapids encoding, transcoding and streaming systems.
For more information about Digital Rapids, please visit
www.digital-rapids.com.
About Digital Rapids Corporation
Digital Rapids develops market-leading hardware and software
solutions for transforming and delivering media, enabling the
multi-platform experiences that are defining the future of digital
video. Scaling from individual applications to enterprise and global
operations, Digital Rapids systems span the critical points in
today's complex media workflows. Recipient of two prestigious Frost
& Sullivan awards in the World Video Encoders and
Transcoders market, Digital Rapids combines
innovative technology with proven expertise to help our customers
maximize their productivity, quality, and the value of their content
in the evolving digital media market. Digital Rapids Corporation
(www.digital-rapids.com) is headquartered in Ontario, Canada with
offices in the United States, the UK, Australia, Argentina and Hong
Kong. |
|
|
|
