PictureTel Streams the web.............................
zdnet.com
PictureTel to unveil eVideo Application Server
By Christa Degnan, PC Week Online
June 25, 1999 4:25 PM ET
PictureTel Corp. (PCTL) plans to announce Monday a new Web-based application server for broadcasting video.
The PictureTel eVideo Application Server is an enterprise version of technology developed by PictureTel subsidiary Starlight Networks Inc. The Windows NT-based system can be used to create, distribute and manage multimedia applications in RealNetwork Inc.'s G2, Microsoft Corp.'s NetShow and Starlight's MPEG-based streaming formats.
The eVideo server synchronizes video, PowerPoint slides and interactive chat for live and on-demand broadcasts to users of Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browsers. It can also provide multiple concurrent streams of live video at different bandwidths for corporate network and remote workers.
"One to many" events can be scheduled, delivered live, recorded, post-processed and played back later, said officials. Presentations can also be replicated among distributed storage servers so media can be shared worldwide at lower network costs.
The eVideo server enables network managers to control network resources such as bandwidth utilization, event scheduling, delivery paths and multilevel security.
The eVideo Application Server is a part of PictureTel's "Visual Collaboration for the Net" strategy of delivering Web-based visual collaboration offerings ranging from real-time videoconferences and streaming video events to archived video content for delayed playback.
PictureTel executives said the new offering complements the Andover, Mass., company's original line of videoconferencing systems, which can be used as content generators for the eVideo server.
eVideo will be offered as a standalone offering, as a service hosted by PictureTel and ASPs, or bundled with PictureTel consulting services.
PictureTel intends to unveil a suite of associated services next week as well.
Pricing for the products and services will be available later this summer.
PictureTel is at www.pictel.com.
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