This seems to make an interesting case for Realnetworks, or are they still playing victum to Microsoft?
Intel In Internet Run
From Page One of Electronic News: September 21, 1998 Issue
By Jim DeTar
Palm Springs, Calif.--At the same time that Intel was laying out its roadmap for the forthcoming Merced processor and announcing new industry relationships designed to drive sales of PCs and workstations at the Intel Developer Conference here, the company was touting an accelerated roadmap under which it is working to establish itself as the primary hardware platform for the Internet.
To that end, Intel announced a non-exclusive development agreement with RealNetworks. RealNetworks, a Seattle, Wash.-based developer of streaming media software products for PCs and consumer electronic devices, has licensed and integrated Intel's Streaming Web Video software technology into its RealSystem G2.
In addition, Intel will work with RealNetworks to promote and market the technology to Web media authors.
The companies said Intel Streaming Web Video software is an integral component of RealNetworks' RealVideo G2 media delivery system, which was created to provide production capabilities for creating next-generation streaming video programming. The Intel software technology involved enables playback quality to scale up to the capability of the user's processor, and makes video encoding possible on a PC in real time.
Rob Glaser, CEO of RealNetworks, commented, "We have demonstrated four different Intel-based systems that used to be required separately to deliver each individual coded stream, at the rates of 28 kilobits, 56 kilobits, 80 kilobits, 300 kilobits.
"Now, with one powerful Intel microprocessors system, we can deploy all that function onto one system. What that means is you have a decrease in cost of a factor of three or four based on the collaboration. It's also a difference in convenience."
Pat Gelsinger, Intel VP and GM of the Desktop Products Group, said: "It's an order of 4x improvement to deliver a superior quality video stream over what was present before. It brings the cost of authoring down to where anyone who can buy an Intel workstation can now become a web author."
A large portion of Intel's roadmap revolves around the Internet and Mr. Gelsinger remarked that obviously Intel is a very important element for the Internet.
"In fact we think of ourselves as the foundation for the Internet. We see that because most of the servers of the Internet are built on the Intel platform. So the content which is being streamed is almost entirely hosted on our platforms."
In addition, Intel considers itself to be the content authoring platform of choice because of the increasing sales of Intel-based workstations where the authoring tools, the actual compression, the creation of the media that is eventually delivered on the net is done from the Intel platform. And since most PCs are Intel-based, Intel can lay claim to being the client platform of choice for the Internet.
"And finally, and most importantly, as you would recognize, the Intel client is the client of choice for content being streamed from the Internet to locations where consumers and users see it today. We measure that in hundreds of millions of Intel-based platforms connected to the Internet and our vision is to drive that to billions (of) connected users over the Internet seeing our content." Intel CEO Craig Barrett at the conference reiterated the stated goal of his predecessor Andy Grove to have a billion households with connected PCs around the turn of the century.
Intel's pact with RealNetworks is a continuation of the company's strategy for participation in the exploding Internet market. "We've continued that with work in areas such as Indeo, Intel web-design effects, the Intel Proshare family, Intel TeamStation, Intel Create and Share pack, Intel Videophone, and numerous sets of innovations and investments that continue to drive the Internet and the PC," Mr. Gelsinger said.
When asked whether the combination of Intel's processing power with RealNetworks' Internet streaming video capabilities will provide the "holy grail'' that will finally enable TV-quality video on PCs, RealNetworks' Mr. Glaser responded, "We've taken the long view of this.
"In terms of a single holy grail I think the dramatic answer would be to say 'Yes,' but in terms of the 30 million users out there already using this, I would say... it's like TV. I think this is just another step," on the way to bringing full quality streaming video to PCs, Mr. Glaser said.
"We're approaching 30 frames per second," Mr. Gelsinger noted, "and as we approach that we realize that's not good enough and we've got to blast right past that. What we're announcing today is a non-exclusive agreement with RealNetworks. We have numerous discussions with Microsoft but we're not announcing anything today. The overall thing is bit-rate independent. This is something that is useful for the mainstream Internet connection environment, in the couple of kilobit range."
RealNetworks' RealSystem G2 media delivery system includes a new music Codec designed to provide a higher level of sound quality for dial-up users, and new postfiltering capabilities create smoother video images. The company's new SureStream feature is said to provide a consistent end-user experience across variable Internet connection speeds, and the addition of two new media types, RealText and RealPix, combined with support for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), enables rich multi-stream programming to be delivered over typical modem connections.
RealSystem G2 (beta 2), with Intel Streaming Web Video software, is expected to be available within 30 days. Shipping versions of RealSystem 5.0 and the beta 1 release of RealSystem G2 are available at www.real.com. |
