To ease encoding logjam
-- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/29/2001
One problem that content providers have had in readying video and audio for the Internet has been the need to separately encode streaming files for multiple formats. Grass Valley Group's Aqua Internet Encoder is designed to solve that problem.
Introduced last week at a pre-NAB press event in Nevada City, Calif., the system features "One Pass Encoding" technology, which GVG says allows the system to pre-process, capture, clean and encode an input source in a single real-time pass. It can create versions that can be played in multiple streaming formats at multiple bit rates.
As many as 12 streams combined can be output for Microsoft Windows Media Player, RealNetworks RealPlayer and Apple's Quicktime. Bandwidth can range from 28.8 kb/s to greater than 2 Mb/s.
The 12-rack-unit system will be available by summer at a $20,000 starting price. It is currently being beta-tested by iBeam, Convera, WFAA-TV Dallas and Primedia.
Look for more news from the GVG event in next week's issue.
