Information on some of the most recent developments in encoding technology
iPhone & iPod Touch
The iPhone is one of the most popular in the "All-in-One" communications devices market.
Features include a rich HTML email client and Safari. It's also fully multi-tasking, so you can read a web page while downloading your email in the background over Wi-Fi or via a 3G network.
The iPhone is also a widescreen iPod with touch controls that lets you enjoy your content — including music, audiobooks, videos, TV shows, and movies — on a 3.5-inch widescreen display. And it lets you sync your content from the iTunes library on your PC or Mac.
These features give the iPhone ability to receive audio and video streaming (both live and progessive download).
And though the iPod Touch isn't a cell phone like it's sister device, it still has all of the other features and capabilities the iPhone does and more.
For information about the iPod Touch
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SlideCasting
Slidecasting is a multimedia format for viewing slide decks (such as in a Power Point presentation) synchronized with an audio file. It is for conference talks, musical slideshows, audio picture books or whatever else you can imagine.
You can think Slidecasts as a mashup of slideshare with podcasts.
Slidecasting is also different from webcasting (or screencasting). Unlike webcasts or screencasts, slidecasts does not require complex recording or streaming technology. Instead it allows you to take existing media (slides and audio) and link them together using a free, web based interface.
Additionally, webcasts are usually bandwidth hogs, difficult to create and annoyingly sluggish to view. A slidecast, on the other hand, can be setup in a jiffy, has a much faster experience. And yes, it is completely free.
To create a slidecast, you'll need to upload slides to SlideShare. Your audio file, however, can be hosted anywhere on the web- any server, file storage, or podcasting service. You link the slides & audio together using our synchronization tool. Now every time you play the Slidecast, the audio is streamed from its location and plays with the slides.
aacPlus
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), also known as MPEG-2 Part 7, and also MPEG-4 in a slightly modified form, is a digital audio encoding and lossy compression format. AAC was declared an international standard by the MPEG group by the end of April 1997. It was developed with contributions by Dolby, Fraunhofer (FhG), AT&T, Sony and Nokia.
AAC was designed as an improved-performance codec relative to MP3 (which was specified in MPEG-1) and MPEG-2 Part 3 (which is also known as "MPEG-2 Audio" or ISO/IEC 13818-3).
AAC was promoted as the successor to MP3 for audio coding at medium to high bit rates, though has yet to overtake the MP3 format or Microsoft's rival WMA format in terms of popularity or availability within the portable audio devices market.
Perhaps the world’s most advanced video compression technology, award-winning On2 VP7 can be experienced in Skype 2.0, AOL AIM, Move Networks, Triton,
Viewpoint Media Player, and Tencent Messenger/QQ, among others.
VP7 is designed to encode quicker, decode in fewer cycles, and with less decoding complexity than other compression schemes, making VP7 the ideal choice for high volume applications and low cost mass market consumer devices. On2 VP7 is optimized for playback on low-power chipsets and includes advanced buffering and latency features.
VP7 is used for PC, Video On Demand, High Definition video, and mobile video applications. It provides high quality video at data rates from dial-up to high-definition. VP7 is coming to mobile soon in On2’s TrueMobile mobile video system, currently under trials with various mobile operators. VP7 also makes high definition video possible for web applications.
Barix
The Barix Instreamer is an intelligent hardware encoder that converts analog and digital audio into MP3, which then can be transmitted to an MP3 server for streaming distribution online.
Ideal for live broadcasters, the Instreamer eliminates the need to dedicate a computer solely to streaming.
The Instreamer can go from box to streaming in 10 minutes and is configurable through a local or remote web interface.
Offers superior fidelity when compared with free or low cost software based MP3 encoders.
Up to 8 streaming servers can be sent an audio signal simultaneously.
Instreamers can be used to broadcast to the entire world, or just to Exstreamers. This versatility allows broadcasters to control whether to serve the public at large or just specific locations.
The Barix Exstreamer appliance is used to tune into MP3 streams, again eliminating the need to dedicate a computer to receiving a stream.
Retail outlets, offices, churches, and countless other organizations can benefit from Barix cost savings, easy setup, and minimal maintenance.
Barix Instreamer and Exstreamer appliances are smaller than an office phone, yet simple, reliable, and they sound great! Since they only support streaming, the threat of malicious viruses or worms is completely eliminated.
IPTV
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) describes a system where a digital television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection.
For residential users, this type of service is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be part of combined Internet services such as Web access and VoIP, where it may then be called Triple Play or Quad Play, and is typically supplied by a broadband operator using a single infrastructure.
In businesses IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LAN's and business networks. Perhaps a simpler definition of IPTV would be television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional formats and cabling, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.
In the past, this technology has been restricted by slow download speeds. In the coming years, however, residential IPTV is expected to grow at a brisk pace as broadband is now available to more than 100 million households worldwide. Many of the world's major telecommunications providers are exploring IPTV as a new revenue opportunity from their existing markets and as a defensive measure against encroachment from more conventional Cable Television services.
For more information about IPTV (including Architecture, Protocols, and Advantages)
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