Smooth Streaming – What, Why, When, Where, and How

chriskno — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:48:00 GMT

Since we announced our new IIS Smooth Streaming extension last October with Akamai, we've been spending a lot of time engaging with very-interested customers and partners. In the course of these discussions, we hear a lot of frequently asked questions about Smooth Streaming, usually along these lines:

What is Smooth Streaming?
Can I use my existing Windows Media content with Smooth Streaming?
How is Smooth Streaming different from MBR [multiple-bit-rate] streaming?
Will Smooth Streaming work with Silverlight?
Is Smooth Streaming based on traditional streaming, or progressive download?
Does Smooth Streaming use proprietary streaming protocols?
Why is Microsoft shifting towards standards-based media delivery?
How do I create Smooth Streaming content?
Do I need to set up Windows Media Services to use Smooth Streaming?
What kind of support will Smooth Streaming have for H.264 content?
How does Smooth Streaming work?
Is Smooth Streaming more scalable than traditional streaming?
Are there cost advantages to using Smooth Streaming?

If you are wondering about the answers to any or all of these questions, then I highly recommend you read a new four-part Smooth Streaming blog series by Alex Zambelli, Microsoft technical evangelist. Topics include (in order):

A Brief History of Multi-Bitrate Streaming
The Birth of Smooth Streaming
Smooth Streaming Architecture
Encoding for Smooth Streaming (coming soon!)

If you haven't already done so, please check out the proof-of-concept Smooth Streaming site at SmoothHD.com.

-Chris

Microsoft at NAB

chriskno — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:07:00 GMT

A number of us from Microsoft will be meeting with customers and staffing the booth at the NAB Show again this year, including folks who work on Windows Media Services 2008, IIS 7.0 Media Pack, Silverlight 2, Expression Studio 2, Interactive Media Manager, Windows HPC Server 2008, Windows Media Center, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, and Microsoft Mediaroom, among others. We will also have many partners joining us to demonstrate their value-added solutions for Microsoft media technologies, including integrated support for Windows Media and the SMPTE standard VC-1 codec.

NAB2008 is the most comprehensive showcase of electronic media in the world, bringing together over 1,400 exhibiting companies and more than 105,000 attendees from 130 countries, making it "Electronic Media's Essential Destination."

Microsoft will have an even larger presence at NAB2008, with an expanded exhibit space in the South Hall. Our exhibit will highlight Microsoft’s broad range of offerings targeting the media & entertainment industry, and will illustrate how Microsoft is enabling organizations and individuals to create, manage and experience rich media content.

You can find us in booth SL5520 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, see www.microsoft.com/media/nab2008, and check out these blog posts from some of my colleagues to find out which technologies and show events they recommend:

Ben Waggoner: http://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/21804/
Juanjo Carmena Ayuso: http://blogs.msdn.com/itmedios/archive/2008/04/10/la-presencia-de-microsoft-en-nab.aspx
Chris Carper: http://silverlightbiz.blogspot.com/2008/04/silverlight-and-nab-2008.html

Please stop by if you are going to be at NAB! I'll be at a station with Jim Thill to demonstrate Windows Server 2008 and Silverlight.

-Chris

Chris Knowlton's Blog : Expression Encoder

Smooth Streaming – What, Why, When, Where, and How

Microsoft at NAB