RealVideo 9 Released, Boasts 30% Bandwidth Savings over RealVideo 8
Reprinted from a RealNetworks press release:
Streaming Media West/Internet World, LOS ANGELES, CA, April 24, 2002 — RealNetworks, Inc., the global leader in Internet media delivery, today released RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround, bringing broadcast quality video to broadband users and a subscription quality video experience to dialup users. RealVideo 9 provides 30% bandwidth savings over RealVideo 8 at all quality levels. Combined with RealAudio Surround, RealVideo 9 delivers home theatre experiences that require a small fraction of the storage space used by DVD. RealAudio Surround enables multi-channel surround sound starting at 44 Kbps and works with millions of receivers already in consumers’ homes. RealNetworks also continued its tradition of standards leadership by submitting components of RealVideo 9 to the Joint Video Team, a joint working group of MPEG and VCEG that will create the next version of MPEG-4.
Combined with the interactive, three-pane environment and instant-on capability of the RealOne Player, as well as RealNetworks’ subscription management, digital rights management, and media delivery software products and services, RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround enable the next generation of revenue-generating audio and video services on the Internet.
QUALITY BREAKTHROUGHS FOR ALL CONSUMERS
RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround together offer consumers at all connection speeds the best Internet media experience available today.
Narrowband: Next-generation advancements in video compression technology for dial-up connection speeds make half-screen video at dial-up bit rates a reality.
Broadband: Consumers can watch VHS quality starting at 160Kbps.
Home Theatre: With near DVD quality video and surround sound audio now possible at 500 Kbps, RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround greatly improve the economics of Internet-movie distribution. Two full-length movies can now be stored on a CD and up to fifteen full-length movies will fit on a DVD. RealVideo 9 also supports all HDTV formats and resolutions at data rates far below traditional HDTV.
A showcase of RealVideo 9 content is available at www.realnetworks.com/info/realvideo.
RAPID ADOPTION OF REALVIDEO 9
Consumers will start enjoying RealVideo 9 at many of their favorite Web sites today. Twenty-two content providers including FoxSports.com, Maverick Records, and New Line Cinema have RealVideo 9 content available for consumers today, with an additional 15 content partners announcing their intent to deploy RealVideo 9 content in the future. Moreover, adoption of RealVideo 9 throughout the industry will be accelerated through RealVideo 9 content offered in RealNetworks industry leading RealOne SuperPass subscription service.
Content providers with content available now include: Animal Channel.org, Arista Nashville, Atlantic Records, BNA Records, Capitol Records, EMI, Fox Home Video, FoxSports.com, InterScope Records, Island Records, Maverick Records, MCA Records, New Line Cinema, RCA Records, Santuary Records, Universal/Motown Records, V2 Records, Verve Music Group, Virgin Records, and Warner Brothers Records.
Additional content providers supporting RealVideo 9 in the future include: ABC News.com, allFOOD.com, Ansaweb S.p.A, BBC, Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), Conhem, Court TV, E-Channels Corporation, Energis, iFilm, Inspace (PaseLatino), PBA, Skanova, Telia, Vidzone, and Warner Bros. Online.
MARKET-LEADING CONTENT CREATION TOOLS SUPPORT REALVIDEO 9
Content creators can start creating RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround content today using a preview release of the RealSystem Producer 9, available from www.realnetworks.com/info/realvideo. Additionally, both AnyStream and Discreet today announced support for RealVideo 9.
Other technology providers supporting RealVideo 9 include: Accordent, Adobe Systems, Akamai, Anystream, Arbitron, AT&T Corporation, Avid Technology, Digital Island, Discreet, Equant, France Telecom, Intel, LearnKey, Loudeye Technologies, MeasureCast, NEC, OPTX International, Pinnacle Systems, Real Broadcast Network, SofTV, Sonic Foundry, Speedera Networks, TechSmith, Viewcast, Williams Communications, and Winnov.
AVAILABILITY
A showcase of RealVideo 9 content is available at www.realnetworks.com/info/realvideo. RealOne Player and RealPlayer 8 (Windows, Mac) support RealVideo 9 today. RealVideo 9 will be available for the RealOne Player for Unix and RealPlayer for PocketPC within 30 days. A preview of the next RealSystem Producer is available at www.realnetworks.com/info/realvideo. The RealSystem Producer preview runs on Windows 95 and above as well as Linux 2.2 and 2.4 kernels.