Streaming Media - June/July 2008 - (Page 36) it’s all in the delivery as a “cross-browser, cross-platform plugin for delivering the next generation of .NET-based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.” Here are some of the key benefits of developing solutions in the RIA interface with Adobe’s AIR or Microsoft’s Silverlight: • The application does not require internet access to function. • The application has access to the user’s desktop (clipboard, system tray, etc.). • The application has access to a local database. • The application can be written once for both the internet and the desktop. In the above definition, Microsoft has identified many of the characteristics that today’s video playback technology platforms require to be successful. After examining the landscape, I have come up with a list of elements that I believe are essential for any competitive video playback technology platform. While we are in a Web 2.0 world and moving only slowly to a Web 3.0 world, we are nonetheless in a transition period where users can enjoy content whether they are online or offline (e.g., while on an airplane). • Creative design environment—To reduce cost and speed up your time to market, you will want to use a design environment that allows you to quickly transfer your design to a functional online or offline application. • Streaming/server functionality—You want to be able to support HTTP with progressive downloads as well as real-time streaming protocol (RTSP 3GPP). This will allow you to support many devices and get through many firewalls. Adobe supports its proprietary real-time messaging protocol (RTMP), which is more similar to HTTP than RTSP. • Ability to integrate advertising—Web 2.5 will mostly be about advertising, so you will want to use client and server technology that allows you to easily integrate with third-party ad systems from Google, Microsoft, and others. You’ll also want a mechanism that will force users to watch your ads. • Digital rights management (DRM)—Premium content will need some sort of DRM. Many systems can use the technology from Windvine Technologies, Inc., which is being used by Microsoft to secure content streamed to Silverlight players. Windvine “Silverlight is a platform that is richly programmable; it has stunning graphics/UI capabilities and interactivity that rivals that of true desktop applications,” says Andrew Brust, lead author of Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and chief of new technology for consulting firm twentysix New York. Microsoft’s Steve Sklepowich touts Silverlight as a “translator between the design world and the programming world.” Adobe has consciously made an effort to stay out of the business of selling video, says the company’s Ashley Still, who adds that controlling the business model makes content companies “very nervous.” “If HTML is equivalent to going down to the local store to buy a magazine, then AIR [and AMP] is equivalent to having that magazine delivered to your doorstep,” says Deeje Cooley, a senior evangelist for the dynamic media organization at Adobe. advertising and video will dominate the web. I’ll affectionately refer to this transition period as Web 2.5. The following is my list of essential elements for this video technology: • Cross-browser support—In an ad-dominated medium, you don’t want to dictate to the user which browser he or she must have, so it is important to support as many as possible. The key browsers are Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. • Cross-platform support—Again, in an ad-dominated marketplace, you want to maximize your reach, so don’t mandate which operating system the user must be on. • Development environment—You want to be able to write video applications only once for both the internet and the desktop so 36 STREAMING MEDIA June/July 2008 • • • • supports all major operating systems and media formats, including H.264, QuickTime, Real, VC-1, and Windows Media. Ability to track online and offline usage—Again, in an ad-dominated world, you need to be able to trace both online and offline usage. Mobile support—Content companies want to reach users at any time no matter where they are, so having mobile support is as important as (or even more important than) PC support. Support for HD content—Quality will rule the day in a Web 2.5 world. As devices become more powerful and bandwidth to the home increases, users will demand higher resolutions. Lower quality and lower resolutions won’t suffice. Strong ecosystem—Who your friends are will define you in Web
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