RSSMicrosoft promises Web-based 1080p with 'Smooth Streaming'
By Tim Conneally | Published April 20, 2009, 2:31 PM
Today, Microsoft announced updates to its "Smooth Streaming," which is a set of technologies for IIS and Silverlight designed to allow consistent full-screen high definition streaming.
Among Web servers, Microsoft's IIS enjoys about 33% market share (and slipping slightly) against market leader Apache, according to Netcraft analysis. Smooth Streaming leverages IIS Media Services (formerly known as IIS Media Pack) and Silverlight 3 to provide on-demand high-def media (720p to 1080p), or live adaptive streaming. The technology was first used with the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The technology will be put to use once again for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics on NBCOlympics.com. Utilizing Silverlight 3, streams will be offered both live and on-demand in 720p resolution. Other groups such as HSN, RAI, TV 2, and CTV have announced support for the platform.
The king of streaming Web video, however, continues to be Adobe Flash. In mid-March, CBS Interactive's TV.com beta tested 1080p streams based upon Adobe Flash Media Server 3.5, and YouTube rolled out 720p streams last December.
Silverlight 2, not Silverlight 3. Silverlight 3 has barely been announced, so it couldn't have been used for the last Olypics.
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|Ain't gonna happen if bandwidth caps will be in place. Everyone, but geeks (like me) will be on the minimum plan constantly checking their usage and afraid they'd go over the limit. Others will move back to 384k/786k DSL lines (read: back to 1999). Until DSL providers will figure out how to provide at least 5Mbps over last-mile copper or until fiber will be as widespread as cable, everyone will suffer.
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|Um, you don't really think all content will be subject to a cap do you? Hi, AT&T? NBC here. Let's make a deal.
AT&T will get a portion of the ad revenue, NBC (or whoever) will get uncapped feeds for this or that content.
Seems simple enough once you make it impracticle for subscribers to go off the reservation for high bandwidth content.
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|Or, more likely, as the majority of users get closer to the cap, it will be raised.
The cap is set to "drop off" the highest 1-5% of users. As more folks fall into that category, they will reconsider and recalculate the cap based on the new usage.
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|yep. this is exactly the problem. The ISP's who also happen to be in the cable business, will see to it no one else can push video down to consumers in an affordable manner. For them, business as usual. Goodbye all other streaming services.
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|>Ain't gonna happen if bandwidth caps...
Yup, exactly, IMO.
The proposed caps are a preemptive strike
against just that type of service.
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|(to ghammer) ISPs giving uncapped bandwidth to only particular companies will only invite big lawsuits and trouble (violating net neutrality). Not likely unless Bush-ism returns.
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