And the beat goes on.
SEATTLE, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- RealNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK), the
recognized leader in streaming media, today announced support for the W3C's
Proposed Recommendation of Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL;
pronounced "smile"). SMIL enables Web authors to easily create synchronized
multimedia presentations using a wide range of multimedia elements including
voice, music, visual effects, text and graphics. With SMIL, producing
audio-visual content is easy; it does not require learning a programming
language and can be done using a simple text editor.
"The Web has many data formats for various forms of media. Combining them
into a multimedia presentation can create a great impact even at low
bandwidth," said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and Inventor of the World Wide
Web. "SMIL is an excellent example of how to build on the foundation laid
down by XML, and is a fundamental building block in creating compelling,
interoperable multimedia for the Web."
"RealNetworks is pleased to be supporting another successful standards
initiative from the W3C," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO, RealNetworks.
"As the Web continues to evolve into a mass medium, there is increased demand
for richer media experiences. SMIL will help to unlock the flood gates of
rich multimedia because it is both easy to author and creates a new level of
interactivity never before experienced on the Internet."
SMIL was developed by the W3C Synchronized Multimedia (SYMM) Working
Group, a unique mix of experts from the four divergent industries (CD-ROM,
Interactive Television, Web, and audio/video streaming) interested in bringing
synchronized multimedia to the web. Authors of SMIL include both key industry
players such as Digital Equipment Corporation, Lucent/Bell Labs, Microsoft,
Netscape, Philips, RealNetworks and The Productivity Works, and leading
research organizations such as Columbia University, CWI and INRIA.
Powerful features SMIL offers the following key features:
* Easy-to-learn Synchronization Primitives: 90% of the power of SMIL can
be tapped by mastering only two tags, "parallel" and "sequential."
* Temporal Hyperlinking: Offers all the capabilities of hyperlinks in
HTML, and adds capabilities required in time-based presentations.
* Reusability of Media Objects: All components of the multimedia
presentation are referenced via URLs rather than physically embedded
into SMIL file. For example, videos stored in a digital video library
can be reused in many presentations.
* Load Balancing: Different media objects in a presentation can be stored
on different servers -- another benefit of using URLs rather than
physically including media objects within the SMIL document.
* Language Selection: Authors can indicate that an audio track is
available in several languages, thus increasing the potential audience
of the content.
* Bandwidth Selection: Authors can express that a media object such as an
audio track is available in different versions, each having been encoded
for a different transmission bandwidth. This guarantees that
presentations can be played even when only low-bandwidth access is
available.
More information about SMIL and the potential it holds for the Internet
multimedia marketplace can be found at both www.real.com/technology/smil/ and
www.w3.org/AudioVideo. About RealNetworks
Based in Seattle, WA, RealNetworks, Inc. is the recognized leader in
streaming media for the Internet. The company develops and markets software
products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other
consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other
multimedia using the Web. RealNetworks can be found on the World Wide Web at
www.real.com.
NOTE: RealNetworks is a registered trademark of RealNetworks, Inc. All
other companies or products listed herein are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
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