Mon, 10/22/2018

RealNetworks continues video technology innovation to board China’s streaming media express

October 22, 2018, Beijing: Digital media software and services leader RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK) said in a recent LiveVideoStack forum in Beijing that China is currently leading the global OTT field. RealNetworks continues to innovate in video technology, with advanced codec, superior streaming, and computer vision. RealNetworks is riding the OTT wave, by providing Chinese users with a clearer, smoother, faster viewing experience through its partnership with CIBN and StarsChina.

RealNetworks' CTO Reza Rassool was invited to give a speech at the forum to discuss the problems faced by the OTT industry and the corresponding solutions.

Rassool mentioned that the fast-growing market faces a lot of commercial and technical trade-offs and challenges:

  • Operators have to make the difficult sacrifice of service quality for reduced CDN costs. Operators have lost control of the CODEC in the move from IPTV to OTT because they can no longer rely on the consumer device supporting their CODEC of choice.
  • HEVC is good, but the patent situation is complicated and risky. Also, HEVC patent pools don’t provide any customer support or optimization.

In response to the above issues, RealNetworks developed a RealMediaHD™ (RMHD) software CODEC that out-performs HEVC allows operators to deploy it as part of their OTT app. RMHD product suite includes:

  • The RealMedia Android SDK allows OTT and mobile phone app developers to include the RMHD codec and streaming player.
  • The OEM SDK is meant of OS integration in mobile phones.
  • Encoding tools on Windows for end users or short-term trial, and Linux for commercial.
  • FFMPEG libraries are also available.
  • FPGA is also available chip development.

RealMedia HD is the leader in the CODEC field.

RMHD is a software-defined CODEC for a software-defined network. It achieves the best balance of quality and efficiency. Compared with H.265 and VP9, ​​the RMHD file is smaller, and the software code is faster, which means higher productivity. High-resolution native supports 4k & 8k. With low CPU consumption, mobile-friendly (only 8-11% more battery consumption vs. H.264 software decoder). Moore’s Law ensures that a software codec continues to improve performance and provides greater device coverage.

Furthermore, due to its low complexity, short PBBP interframe dependencies and high compression efficiency, the RMHD codec is ideal for low latency HLS streaming; it is also CDN friendly, using only the standard HTTP/1.1 protocol; it can also be easily integrated with P2P solutions.

RealNetworks is the strategic choice of CIBN.

According to eMarketer, nearly 229 million people in China will watch videos in 2018 by bypassing traditionally distributed subscription streaming services. And this market is still booming: it is expected that by 2019, the user penetration rate of Tencent Video, iQiyi, and Youku Tudou will reach 75.3%, 70.3%, and 61.6% respectively. As the number of users grows, so does the demand for high-definition video and smooth playback.

In the face of fast-growing markets, RealNetworks has strategically partnered with CIBN Internet TV to set up the RMHD video zone powered by RealMedia® HD encoding on CIBN HDTV, and its subsidiary StarsChina.

Rassool said, “RMHD allows service operators to ehance the user experience, to deliver higher video quality while saving CDN costs, to expand HD video service to a wider range of coverage.”

In this forum, RealNetworks also introduced its highly accurate facial recognition platform SAFR, which is powered by artificial intelligence that works with IP cameras and readily available hardware to match faces in real time. Designed specifically to recognize faces in real-world conditions, including people in motion, in dim lighting, and at occluded angles; it can handle a variety of changes, including masks, make-up, glasses, hairstyles, and aging. This technology enables the system to provide industry-leading accuracy as well as detailed analytics and can reliably match against millions of faces in under a second.

About RealNetworks

RealNetworks is committed to the development of innovative applications and service offerings that make it easier for users to connect and enjoy digital media.

RealNetworks, the inventor of streaming media, is committed to supporting a wide range of networks, devices, media, and social networks, and strives to digital media connectivity to consumers directly through its own products or through partners. To learn more about RealNetworks, please visit www.realnetworks.com.

RealNetworks, RealMedia, and other logos of the company are registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other trademarks appearing above are the property of their respective owners.

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