Wired | November 19, 2008

One of the things standing in the way of monetizing video content online is the low quality of most web video. But PermissionTV and Move Networks are trying to change that. Today, the two video purveyors announced a partnership to provide high quality video content to a wider variety of online publishers.

Move Networks produces high definition quality video streaming, while PermissionTV interactive video application platform allows publishers to easily upload high quality video.

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Beet.TV | November 19, 2008

Move Networks, the small Utah-based company which has created an impressive high quality, low bandwidth solution to streaming video for ABC, FOX, the and others, will now provide its technology to much smaller publishers through an association with Boston-based PermissionTV.

Move’s streaming technology is not Flash or Microsoft based, it is a technology it calls “adaptive streaming” — a process which breaks up and sends along small packets which are assembed by the user depending on local bandwidth.

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Will target mid-tier media companies, new video players.

Broadcast & Cable | November 19, 2008

Move Networks, which provides adaptive streaming technology for hi-def Web streaming to large television customers such as ABC, ESPN and Fox, has struck a deal with online video platform provider PermissionTV to integrate its technology and resell it to smaller media companies and organizations that are new to the Web video space.

“This gives us a new reach into markets we haven’t served before,” says David Rice, Move’s VP of marketing.

The first customers for their joint Move/Permission solution, which combines Move’s variable compression scheme with Permission’s interactive video application platform, are Fox On Demand and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Fox is using the system to provide high-quality video on local station Websites, while the Met is using it to create a premium subscription-based streaming service that will bring its operas to a broader audience.

The Met already provides HD broadcasts of its performances via satellite to movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada. The Move system will not only provide hi-def Web streaming of Met operas, but will also provide subtitling and will break performances down into segments, allowing an opera buff to jump to a single aria if they so desire.

“There’s clearly a market around world, and Move met their expectations in terms of quality delivery of HD content,” says Matt Kaplan, VP of marketing for PermissionTV. “They also wanted to provide the capabilities of subtitling, which you can’t get when watching live in a theater. When you think about opera, it’s a three-hour event, so they wanted to give people the ability to jump ahead, and be able to mark segments, such as arias, and watch them sequentially back-to-back. That was made possible by the Move technology.”

Broadcast & Cable | November 10, 2008

ESPN360.com gets new video player, social networking features

Sports giant ESPN is launching a revamped version of its broadband network, ESPN360.com , with an improved video player, live statistics and social networking features that let fans chat during live games.

ESPN360.com, which is provided free to broadband subscribers of certain telco and cable affiliates like Verizon, AT&T, Insight Communications, Mediacom and RCN, has already been providing high-quality video coverage of live games with a choice of aspect ratios and window sizes. Like corporate cousin ABC.com, ESPN360.com uses Move Networks’ adaptive streaming technology, which dynamically adjusts the encoding rate of streaming video based on a subscriber’s available bandwidth.

“What we are trying to achieve is TV-quality video delivered on the Internet,” says Damon Phillips, VP of ESPN360.com. “We take real pride to make sure viewers have the best viewing experience possible.”

The delivered bit-rates start at 768 kilobits per second for standard-def video and 2.5 megabits per second for hi-def streaming, but are constantly adjusted based on network traffic. The new ESPN360.com player, which is officially being launched as a beta “2.0″ version today, will maintain those standards while also delivering true full-screen capability for the first time. The new player will have improved fast-forward and rewind controls, including x2, x4, and x8 speeds, and will also offer enhanced “Compact” and “Large” modes that feature collapsible Schedule, Game Info and Scoreboard panels.

There is an enhanced multi-screen “mosaic” mode with five widescreen-capable video screens (a main video window and four thumbnails). Phillips says the current mosaic mode is already popular among college football fans on busy Saturdays. The new ESPN360.com will also include a social networking feature called “ESPN Conversations” that will allow users chat with fans in other parts of the country watching the same game, with more interactive features planned for the future.

Statistics are obviously a huge part of what ESPN does on both its cable networks and Web content, and the new ESPN360.com player will include real-time statistics and scoreboards of other games. For select events such as college football, ESPN360.com will integrate ESPN Gamecast stats that are synchronized to the live video and updated as one watches the game.

ESPN has updated the home page for ESPN360.com with better navigation, added advertising inventory and cleaner placement positions within the service, and will now allow remote access for fans who receive ESPN360.com via their home Internet service. ESPN360.com will also now organize sports into different channels, such as a basketball channel, soccer channel, etc, with schedules and information on current and coming events.

“That’s a great way to cross-promote services, and a big part of our programming strategy,” says Phillips.

Streaming Media | October 15, 2008

Video from the Democratic National Convention—both official and unofficial—made clear that it’s no longer politics as usual.

The 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles was the first national political convention to feature both live and on-demand streaming. What was then one of the first large-scale demonstrations of an exciting new technology is old news today. In 2000, users were restricted to one of three bitrates (28Kbps, 56Kbps, and 128Kbps) delivered in what were then the three major streaming formats (Real, Windows Media, and QuickTime). This time out, users streamed both HD and SD video at bitrates of up to 2Mbps using Microsoft’s new Silverlight 2 player and the Move Networks plug-in. The pristine, full-screen HD video available to those with sufficient bandwidth was an impressive reflection of continuing advances in streaming technology. But other, less visually stunning advances are the ones powering video streaming’s burgeoning impact on the political process.

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IT News Online | October 22, 2008

New services and features for delivering on-demand applications, digital content and enterprise applications across a variety of mobile devices were third-quarter highlights for the AT&T Business Solutions (ABS) unit, AT&T Inc. announced today.

. . . Another third-quarter highlight involved AT&T’s Intelligent Content Distribution(SM) service being certified with Move Networks to deliver Move-enabled video content to companies and their end-users. This allows media and entertainment companies to use the AT&T network to deliver live and on-demand High Definition programming to computers over the Internet in a true television-like experience.

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Market Watch | October 22, 2008

Move Networks, PermissionTV and POP Collaborate to Deliver the Pioneering Met Player Delivering 120 Historic Audio Recordings and 50 Full-Length Opera Videos

Today, the Metropolitan Opera debuts its subscription-based online video experience, making its extensive catalog of historic performances and recent high-definition productions available online. The Met is the first performing arts organization in the world to present such a wide variety of performances in an interactive, high-quality format, available via the Web for Internet or TV viewing. Working with the Met, online video technology innovators Move Networks, PermissionTV and POP developed the Met Player to ensure a superior user experience and deliver unmatched picture and sound quality for the Met’s long-form programming.

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TenduTV | October 17, 2008

Next Wednesday (October 22), the Metropolitan Opera will begin streaming performances online, on a pay per view and subscription basis.

Of course, we love the idea, and wish them nothing but success. We do see their approach as a mixed bag, however.

On the plus side, they’re using the Move Networks player. Regardless of the occasional glitch that will inevitably happen when live streaming an event, we have been undoubtedly impressed with Move’s solutions, and consider their player to be the best on the market. Hands down.

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