Said to be
World's First HDTV Over IP
April 9, 2001 Worlds First HDTV over IP Internet Broadcast Working in Conjunction with NASA and University of Hawaii, 2netFX Technology Sets Major Milestone in Bringing HDTV Broadcasting Capability to Virtually Anyone, Anywhere
NAB Booth #E5545 (Sands eTopia Section) &Mac247; 2netFX, a leading provider of enterprise streaming solutions for intranet and broadband Internet media delivery, has successfully demonstrated the world&Mac226;s first HDTV-content multicast delivery over the Internet. The demonstration, at only 20 Mbps, took place via an Internet2 connection using the company&Mac226;s Thundercast HDTV/IP v3.5 server, located at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and its StreamRider HDTV Player software v3.5&Mac247;including a 2netFX HDTV decoder board&Mac247;set up at NASA&Mac226;s Moffet Airfield in Northern California.
This is a significant breakthrough, commented William Reed, 2netFX vice president of marketing. Simply by using our technology as the mechanisms with either enterprise networking, Internet2, or satellite delivery as the vehicle, anyone, virtually anywhere in the world, can broadcast HDTV content. It&Mac226;s an old adage, but the possibilities that arise out of this occurrence are truly limitless.
ThunderCast HDTV/IP is the first multicast server for high-definition live or prerecorded video streaming from 10 to 50 Mbps over ordinary IP-based networks, including the new Internet2. Engineered into the unit are advanced server features such as remote management and scheduling, data casting, multiple live encoder support, network QoS, group and user management, VOD media management, and support for MPEG-1, 2, 4. Also, it allows playback on a standard PC or set-top appliance, which are displayed on most PC monitors or HDTV sets.
StreamRider Player software lets users view and subscribe to MPEG-1, 2, and 4 broadcasts from multiple servers, interactively select stations, capture and store video locally, adjust video window location and size, and play archived videos from multiple servers. Its unique development tools allow creation of custom applications that select, play, capture, store, and forward video, audio, and data. It is completely optimized for satellite, LAN/WAN, ATM, xDSL, cable, fiber, and Internet2 usage.
2netFX director of product marketing Robert Gilbert, who performed the successful demonstration, remarked, This absolutely offers an alternative means to sending and receiving HDTV content, as it provides the technology for educational institutions, governmental agencies, business entities, or any organization or individual to be a broadcaster of HDTV content. There is no longer any need to wait for over-the-air broadcasters to get their acts together to enjoy the high-quality audio and video offered by high-definition television. Simply use our ThunderCast HDTV/IP technology and broadcast HDTV material to your hearts desire!
In describing the demonstration, Gilbert said he installed the server software in only two minutes time. Then, through the ThunderCastIP administrator, he immediately saw both the configured server as well as the ThunderCast HDTV/IP server in Hawaii.
After entering a password, I was able to fully administer the Hawaii-located ThunderCastIP server and launch the test content, Underwater.mpg, a specially prepared HDTV clip of colorful underwater footage shot in the Caribbean by ASL production company.
Through StreamRider HDTV, the service advertising protocol (SAP) appeared, from which Gilbert connected to the HDTV clip being multicast from Hawaii. He said the stream played flawlessly and he even was able to record the clip. The folks at NASA were impressed with this major milestone, he said.
According to a University of Hawaii researcher, the 2netFX technology provides the type of high-bandwidth, high-resolution imaging that the Internet2 was designed for. 2netFX is the first company to provide the resolution necessary to do medical imaging, as-if-you-were-there video conferencing, and remote high-resolution computer imaging, remarked Brian Chee, associate director of the Advanced Network Computing Laboratory (ANCL) at the university&Mac226;s department of Information and Computer Sciences.
I hope that this test was the first of many, with the eventual goal of electronically circumnavigating the globe with the HDTV signal, Chee said. I expect future tests will have upwards of a dozen receivers in different parts of the globe, all viewing the same multicast stream. Corporate America is just starting to experiment with sourcing/receiving multicast video streams over the Internet. It is the mandate of research labs, such as the one here, to push the envelope with leading technology firms like 2netFX in paving the way for future commercial adoption of new technologies.
Both the 2netFX Thundercast HDTV/IP server and StreamRider HDTV Player software, including the 2netFX HDTV decoder board, will be displayed and demonstrated in booth #E5545 Sands eTopia Section at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show. The show, the world&Mac226;s leading conference and exhibition for the converging electronic media communications industries, will be held in Las Vegas from April 21 ? 26, 2001.
About 2netFX 2netFX is a leading provider of enterprise streaming solutions for intranet and broadband Internet media delivery. Founded in 1996, 2netFX was the first to offer multicast streaming of HDTV over ordinary networks, advanced client player customization and integration, and concept to delivery media streaming consulting, services and solutions. The company was named by Computerworld Magazine as a top Emerging Company to Watch in 2001.
Enterprise streaming solutions from 2netFX deliver MPEG-1, 2, 4, H.263, and HDTV streams from 28Kbps to 50Mbps via satellite, ATM, LAN/WAN, xDSL, cable modem, fiber or Internet2 .
Designed for a variety of applications including business television, distance learning, corporate communications, government, education, and the military, 2netFX products are currently bundled by many leading digital video companies and in use at leading organizations including Sprint, Panasonic, Wal-mart, MCI Worldcom, Hughes Networks, NASA, GlobeCast/France Telecom, Walt Disney Studios, Lucent, Echo Star, and others. 2netFX is headquartered in San Jose, CA, and is available on the Internet at www.2netFX.com.
2netFX Contacts: William Reed 2netFX Vice President, Marketing Ph: (408) 232-1691 breed@2netFX Carol Warren Antarra Communications
Ph: (714) 899-7997 [email protected]
