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| Computing: 50 Hot Technologies | |
| January 2000• Vol.8 Issue 1 | |
RealNetworks Delivers The Best Media Site Leads The Way In Streaming Audio & Video Technology |
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[REALNETWORKS]
[RICH]
[GRAY]
 Some companies do what they do so well
that they define their niche. For example, when you think of Web
directories/search engines, you think of Yahoo!. When you think of office
suites, you think of Microsoft. When you think of streaming media, you
think of RealNetworks. You can easily see the success of RealNetworks (http://www.real.com/), which is barely five years old, in some of the numbers surrounding it: It has 74 million registered users for RealPlayer, which is the company’s flagship product. Its RealSystem software delivers content on more than 85% of all Web pages that contain streaming media. RealNetworks’ Web site consistently ranks within the Median Metrix’s (http://www.mediametrix.com/) top 20 in terms of popular/most visited Web sites. (Media Metrix is a company that measures the Internet and digital media.) In addition, it streams out 145,000 hours of live sports, news, and entertainment along with another several hundred thousand hours of on-demand media each week. How did this all come about? Rewind to February 1994 . . .  Progressive
Networks. Rob Glaser, a former vice president of Multimedia and Consumer Systems at Microsoft Corp, founded the precursor to RealNetworks, Progressive Networks, in Seattle in February 1994. At the time of its launch, Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corp., was the lead outside investor. With these heavy hitters pushing the company forward, it wasn’t long before Progressive Networks started to make a big difference in the way that people used the Internet. In April 1995, Progressive Networks introduced RealAudio to the world at the National Association of Broadcasters Conference in Las Vegas. By downloading the free RealAudio Player, Internet users had an easy way to listen to on-demand streamed audio. It was a lot like listening to AM radio—kind of choppy, mono only—and partners were a little light (two, to be exact: ABC and NPR), but it was an innovation. Before this, the Internet was, for the most part, a text-only medium. You could listen to audio and sound clips (as well as view movies), but only if you were willing to download multi-megabyte files (with very slow modems). By August 1995, RealAudio technology went live with the September 5 airing of the Yankees vs. Mariners baseball game. This was a major improvement over simple on-demand services. A year later, RealAudio 3.0 brought stereo sound to anyone with a 28.8 kilobits per second (Kbps) modem. A big year for the company was 1997. In February, it launched RealVideo. Overnight it went from the “Pioneer of Streaming Audio” to the “Pioneer of Streaming Media.” In September, Progressive Networks changed its name to RealNetworks, and two months later, it went public (NASDAQ: “RNWK”). RealNetworks has 536 employees (as of June 30, 1999), and three foreign subsidiaries: French and Japanese subsidiaries, incorporated in November 1996, and a United Kingdom subsidiary, incorporated in February 1997. Streaming Media.
So, what does streaming media do? Since most people still accessing the Internet through a modem, the size of the media they’re trying to pull in is very much an issue. Text and images are generally not a problem, but the sheer size of audio and video files can make them a challenge for most Internet users. Prior to streaming, users had to drop everything and often spend an hour or more (usually more) downloading the whole file so they could play it. RealAudio and RealVideo uses the existing Internet infrastructure to slowly stream the file to a user’s computer, allowing the user to see the video or hear the audio as it comes in, without waiting. This technology is becoming indispensable in a number of areas. Some of the present applications of streaming media include: • Consumer. Internet users are most familiar with this area. It includes live and on-demand entertainment, sports, music, and news. • Sales and marketing. Audio and video clips are an effective way to give consumers a taste of CDs and movies. Streaming is also an effective method of advertising; RealNetworks polls have shown the click-through rate for streamed ads to be five to six times higher than that for traditional banner ads. (A click-through is when an Internet user clicks an advertisement to go to an advertiser’s site or ad.) • Distance learning. The ability to experience multimedia courses online. Streamed technology is a great way to reach a large group of students, resulting in a cheaper, more convenient educational solution. An example of this is Apex (http://apex.netu.com/default.htm), which has been providing online advanced-placement courses to high school students since September 1998. • Corporate communications. Companies such as Boeing (http://www.boeing.com/) are using streaming technology to keep their internal communications on its intranet flowing with executive briefings, meetings and memos, and support. When employees can access on-demand training and seminars at their own pace, and often from the comfort of their own homes, it simplifies employee education and makes it more cost effective. RealSystem G2.
When RealNetworks launched the latest version of its streaming technology on April 28, 1998, it promised that G2 would “propel the next generation of streaming media delivery.” G2 was a complete rebuild of RealSystem, offering many new features. It was the first open, extensible, standards-based system. This allows existing players to handle new media formats when they are created, and it means that G2 implements both Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) and Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL). Both of these are industry standards, allowing authors to easily create various multimedia elements and stream them. The G2 also implemented the new SureStream technology. SureStream allows content creators to create just one file that encodes various audio and bit rates, from 14.4Kbps to one megabit per second (Mbps). SureStream automatically adjusts the data rate so that, whatever your connection or current network congestion, you’ll get the optimum data stream your system can handle. The new Real G2 music codec ( NOTE: Codecs convert data between uncompressed and compressed formats for faster data delivery.) greatly increased the ability of 28.8Kbps modems to receive high-quality audio. Video encoding was also increased five fold over the previous version, RealSystem 5.0. One last addition to note is its two new media types: RealPix and RealText. They allow for the inclusion of static and live images and text in presentations. Products &
Services. When it was first starting out as Progressive Networks, RealNetworks offered three products: RealAudio Player to hear the stream, RealAudio Studio to make the stream, and RealAudio Server to publish the stream. The product line has grown a bit since then, but it has always included the one piece of software that is probably on more Internet-capable computer systems than any other: the RealPlayer.
RealPlayer also supports a wide range of standard client technologies, such as JavaScript and ActiveX, and it contains an optional search box that lets you run standard Internet searches from within the application. The standard RealPlayer is free, or you can shell out $29.99 for the RealPlayer Plus, which gives you additional features such as an equalizer, video controls, and audio analyzers. An auto update feature is included with both. RealJukebox. RealJukebox was RealNetworks’ response to the tremendous growth and popularity of Motion Pictures Experts Group Audio Layer 3 (MP3). With RealJukebox, you can find, play, and store most music formats, including MP3, WAV, RealAudio, Liquid Audio, and AT&T’s a2b Music. This application features the ability to record music from CDs, download song/ artist information from the Internet, and seamlessly integrate with portable players such as the Diamond Rio and RCA LYRA. (NOTE: Like the RealPlayer, a Plus version with enhanced features is available for a small fee.)
RealProducer. Watching other people’s home movies is fun, but wouldn’t you like to put some of your own online? It’s easy with RealProducer. This free solution lets you take existing audio and video files, convert them to RealAudio and RealVideo files, and publish them as streaming-enabled pages to Web sites. Plus and Pro version are also available that greatly extend RealProducer’s capabilities for $149.95 and $499, respectively. RealPresenter. This $39.99 tool lets you add RealAudio and RealVideo to PowerPoint 97 presentations. RealServer. A variety of server solutions—starting with the free, basic server that supports 25 sessions—are available from RealNetworks. Servers are necessary to include RealAudio, RealVideo, and RealFlash in Web sites and to include streaming media applications and solutions on business intranets. RealServer also allow for the personalization of user experience and the inclusion of in-stream advertising and branding to your media. Services that RealNetworks provide include: Real Broadcast Network. Do you have lots of content but no desire to get down into the trenches to stream it out? RealNetworks and MCI have a solution for you: the Real Broadcast Network. So long as you have the content, they’ll pick up the hardware, software, bandwidth, and tech expertise. This is a perfect (although by no means free) solution for those looking to lease rather than buy streaming, and it allows companies and individuals to reach audiences on an as-needed basis. RealNetworks Consulting. RealNetworks Consulting provides a host of services from software development and database integration to content creation, network analysis, and RealSystem technology. Areas covered include the Internet, intranets, and custom solutions. Real Developer Program. Developers and designers who use RealAudio, RealVideo, or RealFlash will find a wealth of development tools, technical information, and marketing help online at the DevZone (http://www.real.com/devzone/index.html). RealPartner.
Being the leader of streaming media on the Internet has given RealNetworks the distinction of having as partners or customers many of the industry’s largest companies. Its key partners include America Online, Intel, Lotus, Microsoft, Netscape, Oracle, and Sun. Key customers? The list is long and diverse, including such companies as 3Com, Amazon.com, Bell Atlantic, CBS, Dow Jones, General Motors, Kaiser Permanente, the National Football League, Shell, the U.S. White House … and on and on. RealNetworks prizes the partnerships it has forged, and gives these companies considerable exposure on its Web site through its RealPartner Program (http://partners.real.com/). Finding a partner among the 500 listed is easy to do: Plug keywords into the search field (or click through to the advanced search section for more options) or browse the Partner Portal to find specific developers, professional services, etc. RealNetworks breaks its partnership program into four sections. As partners get more involved with the program, they “move up,” gaining improved marketing and technical benefits. The four sections are: • Level 1: Introductory Partner. This is the starting point. No fees are required to sign up, and benefits include access to DevZone restricted areas, RealForum support, the RealNews newsletter, and RealStore marketing benefits. • Level 2: Recommended. Membership at this level requires an annual fee of $495. At this level, you must be a provider of streaming media products or services. Additional benefits include discounts on training, unlimited e-mail support, and more. Partners at this level include Diskriter Inc. (Web site design and management) and Inktomi Corp. (high-performance network applications). • Level 3: Highly Recommended. Same as Level 2, with additional requirements including participating in training and using RealAudio on the partner’s site. Additional benefits include even more discounts and possible premium marketing potentials such as speaking opportunities and candidacy for RealNews features. Partners at this level include Allaire (Cold Fusion, Homesite) and Encoding.com (digitizing and encoding services). • Level 4: Highest Recommendation. All the requirements and benefits of Level 3, and more (free seminars and top priority in RealNetworks’ marketing venues, etc.). There are great companies at this level, including Intel and QsoundLabs Inc. (3-D audio sound). Fast
Forward. So, what does the future hold for RealNetworks? As we march toward an inevitable date with broadband, it’s tempting to foresee clouds in the future for RealNetworks. After all, wouldn’t a company that bases its business primarily on the fact the Internet is slow be in serious trouble if that was no longer the case? The simple fact is RealNetworks is more than just a Band-Aid for poor Internet speed. It is at the forefront of a great many efforts to make the Internet a richer multimedia experience, from the creation and playback of audio and video to the delivery and management of MP3s (RealJukebox) and less traditional media types (RealSlideshow). It has defined its niche, and as the Internet infrastructure struggles to vault it into the next millennium, its niche may define the Web.  by Rich Gray
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