Microsoft Silverlight and Smooth Streaming Join Forces - Windows Server 2008 and Smooth Streaming
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According to the Microsoft Silverlight website, the Windows Server 2008 is the next-generation server operating system that will help content providers develop new levels of reliability and scalability, but with lower-cost content delivery. Windows Server will come to represent a significant competitive edge when it comes to delivering streaming media and/or applications cross-platform and cross-device, which is already in use by most major broadcasters around the world.
With Windows Server 2008, Microsoft is targeting Silverlight media with Windows Media Services 2008 for streaming media and the newInternet Information Services (IIS)7.0 Media Services, which is an integrated HTTP-based media delivery platform that offers intelligent progressive download and adaptive streaming.
The IIS Media Services (previously IIS Media Pack) consists of five media-relevant extensions for IIS: Smooth Streaming, which is adaptive streaming of on-demand media for Silverlight;Live Smooth Streaming, which is live adaptive streaming delivery to Silverlight; Advanced Logging, which is rich, real-time client- and server-side logging; Bit Rate Throttling, which is metering the speed at which media is delivered to a player; and lastly, Web Playlists, which securely sequence media content. With these features, companies can now manage and administer one infrastructure that delivers both rich media and other Web content, without requiring dedicated streaming servers.
Essentially, Smooth Streaming is an extension for IIS Media Services that enables adaptive streaming of live and on-demand media to Silverlight clients over HTTP. Smooth Streaming is also the "productization" of technology first used by Microsoft to deliver on-demand video for NBCOlympics.com. According to Microsoft, Smooth Streaming is capable of dynamically detecting and seamlessly switching the video quality of a media file a Silverlight player receives based on local PC conditions. Consumers with high bandwidth connections can experience true HD (720p+) online, while those with lower bandwidth speeds receive the appropriate stream for their connectivity.
At one time or another we've all watched a video online. Whether it was being streamed live or was nothing more than a YouTube video -- it doesn't matter. We've all experienced the frustrating buffering process that can ruin the video-watching experience. Sometimes it happens at the very beginning of the video, delaying its play time, or even worse, it happens in the middle, completely interrupting whatever it is we're trying to watch.
It is because of negative experiences like this that Silverlight's use of Smooth Streaming will prove to be very beneficial to anyone interested in viewing videos or live streams online. Smooth Streaming allows audiences to enjoy a consistent high quality streaming experiencewithoutbufferingorstuttering.
Perhaps even more interesting (and impressive) from a developer's standpoint is the fact that creating and deploying content for Smooth Streaming has been said to be very simple.
Using Expression Encoder 2 SP1, developers can encode several quality levels of a specific piece of content, and each media quality level is encoded as its own complete file. The developer must then simply choose one of the Expression Encoder's Silverlight 2 templates in order to publish all of the media content and the Silverlight player directly to a Smooth Streaming enabled IIS server. Once IIS receives the request for media, it creates virtual chunks from each video file and delivers the best bits possible to the end user.
According to Microsoft -- and many of its first users -- Smooth Streaming will provide media companies with a better way to make HD on the Web a reality. Smooth Streaming also offers code-free deployment and simplified content management for content creators and content delivery networks.
Microsoft, of course, isn't all about developers and creators. The IT giant also aims to please its biggest fan base and supporter: the average home user. It is because of that fact that Smooth Streaming will probably end up benefiting the non-professionals who simply enjoy surfing the web. Silverlight's Smooth Streaming will drastically improve the video viewing experience and bring the reliability and quality of television to any website that employs the program.
Next: Smooth Streaming Features >>
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