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Technology Stocks : RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug (Htfd,CT) who wrote (260)	2/23/1998 8:58:00 PM
From: B.D.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5843

The problem with (1) is that as more 'Net users have higher bandwidth, (cable modems, xDSL, etc), a sub-30-second download for an entire audio file, stereo CD quality, becomes possible. At that point, downloading the whole file is as much an "impulse" activity as waiting for the RealPlayer to connect, sync up, buffer, and then play... So I think as increased bandwidth becomes more widespread, the arguments for "streaming" audio weaken. Video-wise, however, higher bandwidth makes the RealPlayer very nice, as long as the video producers encode the content at 15fps or higher, and with a decent image size (e.g., C-SPAN at 100kbps, available from real.com).

To: Doug (Htfd,CT) who wrote (260)	2/24/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: Paul K	Respond to of 5843

Mitch Kapor and Jake Winebaum Keynote RealNetworks Conference on Streaming Media biz.yahoo.com

To: Doug (Htfd,CT) who wrote (260)	2/24/1998 10:13:00 PM
From: Scott C. Lemon	Respond to of 5843

Hello Doug, > What you describe is not streaming media, right? Well ... it can be! It all depends on the bandwidth that you have. If you do the math on 1MB/minute that works out to about 166Kbs which is not huge. (I have a T1 so I'm able to stream this today!) When you play an MP3 you'll see that most recordings require a 128Kbs bit rate. With new technologies like xDSL, etc. coming this is very realistic. > In my opinion, what makes RNWK's technology so appealing, from a > business standpoint, is: > > 1) it is streaming ... totally impulsive ... resides on the Net, > not your harddrive, so it can be delivered, free, upon demand as a > customer service. This promotes its ubiquity. NetRadio.net is an > excellent example. It can even be delivered wirelessly, like radio > and TV, over relatively lowbandwidth mobile connections. I agree with all of these points. And please, know that I am a big fan of RealNetworks and have been using their products for years now! (Since 1995) But all of this is available via MP3 also ... just better quality for the tradeoff of more bandwidth requirements. To me, better examples are imusic.com which at least offers the dual-ISDN for higher quality audio. These RealAudio streams are 80Kbs and offer pretty good quality. But "content is king" ... and the delivery mechanism doesn't really make a difference. I know that RealNetworks is scrambling to create more and more content (which is the right move) but the "Internet underground" is moving quickly with it's standard style of anarchy using MP3 ... ;-) > 2) it is becoming the standard because RNWK is pushing it with big > bucks and creativity and new, practical consumer and business > products and applications ... as Iomega has proven (and VHS before > it) becoming the standard is more important than having the best > technical quality. I agree that RNWK is on the move with content. This is the real value ... even those that followed the success of VHS know full well that VHS won because it had the most content that was in demand ... pornography! > 3) it is so flexible. We see in the last week or two, RNWK is > delivering a flavor that allows one to incorporate streaming audio > into Powerpoint presentations and deliver them using RealVideo via > email or intranet to clients, customers, associates, etc. Yep. But this is dangerous ground. What happens when Microsoft adds streaming technologies for free with PowerPoint? If RNWK has done this, then Microsoft can argue that it is now an obvious valuable feature for the next version. And I'll bet that if Microsoft did this it would not be done with RNWK technology. (Or it would be done with no benefit to RNWK) Content is king. And RNWK is working on this ... > This has > tremendous appeal to business users, and is just one example of the > creativity of the RNWK business team. The Audible link and the > many radios broadcasting live music and talk are other > illustrations. The streaming animation is another that will spur > lots of creative work, I think. Again, I agree completely. The value that RNWK has in these examples are the deals for the content. The technology (i.e. the conduit) used to deliver the content to customers is only a temporary method that will be replace by another and then yet another. But if RNWK can hold onto the content, the producers of radio and other mediums, then they hold onto real value. > MPEG3 is good, I'm sure. But tell me ... what are the commercial > applications being now released to utilize it ... and how do they > compare in market penetration with such things as netradio and > other applications of RealNetworks? Ah, the argument used in the past by people like Bill Gates. I remember him saying something like "The Internet? You have to be kidding, it'll never amount to anything ..." It is often the easiest thing to miss the new opportunity and up and coming trend. I'm sure that record companies questioned the CD-ROM, etc. IMHO if you follow the tech stocks, then you realize that companies like Netscape were founded on the innovation created by "Internet underground" projects. The current market penetration is massive ... just try to go download MP3's from the many FTP servers out on the Internet ... you'll be lucky to get connected! As for commercial applications I am presently looking into this area. I have my own ideas and research, but I'm looking for the first companies to jump on this technology. I'll let you know what I find. > I've not found anyone with a differentiated market stake in > promoting MPEG3, as RNWK has in their technology, and I'd be > interested in your viewpoint about who will pay to develop > applications and clients for it. All of the applications and client exist today ... and they are getting closer and closer to commercial-grade ... The whole idea behind new ideas and developing markets is that to get in at the right time (for the big jumps) you shouldn't be able to find or see what you are looking for. No one saw it with IBM, Apple, HP, Novell, Netscape ... ;-) > Doug Scott C. Lemon