Carrier-Class Platform Enables Both 3GPP Formats and Access to Millions
Of Hours of RealAudio/RealVideo Content
More Than 20 Industry-Leading Companies Support RealSystem Mobile
GSMWorld, CANNES, France, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
RealNetworks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the global leader in Internet media
delivery, today announced RealSystem(R) Mobile, a breakthrough platform for
creation, delivery, and playback of RealAudio(R)/RealVideo(R) and Third
Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) standards-compliant multimedia content
in the mobile environment. By working with RealSystem Mobile and
RealNetworks, mobile operators can now rapidly deploy media delivery and
content subscription services.
Built on the 8th generation RealSystem, RealSystem Mobile includes:
-- RealSystem Producer -- the premier digital media content creation tool
which enables content providers to target content for distribution to a
range of mobile devices, including phones, PDAs, and laptops;
-- RealSystem Mobile Server -- a carrier-class system for delivery of live
and on-demand content to mobile subscribers; support for H.263v2 and
MPEG-4 content; server is interoperable with 3GPP compliant content
formats from PacketVideo, Philips, Envivio, and the open source MPEG4IP
project;
-- RealSystem Mobile Gateway -- a carrier-class proxy-cache solution for
optimizing inbound Internet content for delivery to mobile subscribers;
-- RealOne(TM) Player for mobile devices -- an optimized version of the
world's most popular media player designed for mobile devices,
including handsets and PDAs; plays back both 3GPP compliant and
RealAudio/RealVideo content.
"Throughout the world, our software products and business solutions power
the largest, most demanding digital media services delivered over IP
networks," said Martin Plaehn, senior vice president, Media Systems,
RealNetworks, Inc. "Whether a mobile operator is selecting 3GPP standards-
based audio and video or RealAudio/RealVideo, RealNetworks is the only company
that can provide mobile operators with immediate access to content, an end-to-
end delivery system, and expertise building content subscription businesses."
Major Advances in 3GPP Technologies
Technology innovations in the RealSystem Mobile product line provide more
efficient, more reliable, and higher quality 3GPP multimedia content creation,
delivery, and playback. These innovations include:
-- Creation -- fast, efficient encoding to reduce cost of H.263v2 and
MPEG-4 content creation; easy incorporation of H.263v2 and MPEG-4
content creation capabilities into existing RealSystem Producer
installations to eliminate re-architecting and deployment of new tools;
-- Delivery -- carrier-class distributed broadcasting for 3GPP compliant
content, MPEG-4 video as well as RealAudio and RealVideo including:
broadcast redundancy, server to server routing, forward error
correction and proxy/caching; support for live broadcast and delivery
of pre-recorded on-demand media; comprehensive support of 3GPP and
MPEG-4 file formats and protocols, including interoperability with all
3GPP-compliant content creation tools;
-- Playback -- complete support for all mandatory components of the 3GPP
video requirements for packet-switched streaming services: ITU-T H.263
baseline, H.263 Profile 3 Level 10, as well as optional MPEG-4 Visual
Simple Profile Level 0; patent-pending post-filtering techniques to
improve image quality, independent of the content type, video codec and
delivery bit rate; performance optimized codecs resulting in a more
consistent playback experience.
RealNetworks' RealSystem Mobile is available immediately for mobile
carriers and will be showcased this week at the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
stand, (Hall 2 G8) at 3GSM World 2002 in Cannes, France.
Media Delivery and Content Solutions
Mobile operators planning to deliver media services will find RealNetworks
and its global partners uniquely suited to provide comprehensive mobile media
delivery solutions. Software and integration services from RealNetworks
Professional Services and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young link content delivery and
subscription systems to back-end billing, payment, subscriber management,
customer care, and operations support. Entertainment, music, sports, news,
and finance content from RealNetworks' RealOne service enables mobile
operators, at their option, to jump-start multimedia content subscription
businesses. In addition, RealOne Player, the award-winning PC-based media
player, provides consumers the ability to manage and transfer their media to
mobile devices. Mobile operators can partner with RealNetworks for individual
components of the RealNetworks suite of mobile products and services or for an
entire media delivery and subscription business solution.
Industry Expresses Support
RealNetworks is working with many companies to bring mobile solutions to
consumers. Global RealNetworks partners supporting RealSystem Mobile include:
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Hitachi, Intel, Nokia, Sonera, StarHub Mobile, Sun
Microsystems, Symbian, Telefonica Moviles Espana, and Texas Instruments.
"Internet users benefit from continuous innovation and reliable delivery
of great software products to bring better quality audio and video," said
Stephen DeWitt, vice president & general manager, Content Delivery and Edge
Computing, Sun Microsystems Inc. "RealNetworks' industry leading standards-
based software products operating on Sun platforms play a central role in the
emerging market for audio and video delivery to mobile devices -- creating
better user experiences and more opportunities for service creation and
content delivery."
"For many years now we have used RealNetworks' RealSystem as an integral
part of our commercial wireline audio and video services. We are pleased to
see that RealNetworks is bringing this expertise to mobile delivery also,"
said Jukka Helin, Head of MediaLab at Sonera Plaza Ltd. "Last year we opened
our GPRS network for our subscribers and now we are testing our 3G W-CDMA
network. In our opinion, audio and video, such as that offered through
RealSystem Mobile, will play an important role in bringing new 3G services to
the market."
"The release of RealSystem Mobile gives mobile operators a concrete way to
take advantage of the rising availability of multimedia-enabled phones and the
strong demand among consumers for information on their mobile phones and
devices," said Mark Edwards, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing,
Symbian. "The Symbian OS was designed to enable rich media applications for
mobile phones, and RealNetworks has delivered a product that brings those
applications to life."
"Virgin Radio has always sought to be a pioneer in embracing new
technologies in order to offer our listeners new and innovative ways to hear
our content -- whether at home, at work or on the move," said James Cridland,
Managing Editor, Virgin Radio New Media. "RealSystem Mobile is a further step
in our aim to ensure our station is device-independent and will allow us to
reach even more people across the world."
"As an artist, I want to reach my fans wherever they are, whenever they
want to hear my music," said Thomas Dolby, songwriter. "Mobile devices are a
cool and convenient way to offer content subscription services to consumers.
RealSystem Mobile is a strong step toward that reality." Thomas worked closely
with Supersoni.com to develop music video content especially for the Nokia
9210.
Other content providers supporting the launch of RealSystem Mobile
include: Aestheticom, Animobile, AtomFilms, Edmunds.com, Eurosport, Playboy
TV UK, Supersoni.com, TF1, and Voyage.
RealSystem: The Industry-Leading Platform for Standards-Based Delivery
RealSystem is an 8th generation, end-to-end, standards-compliant, media
delivery system. RealSystem offers flexibility in deployments by streaming
from any platform, to any device, in multiple media formats, from narrowband
audio to high fidelity broadband video. Through distributed network
configurations of interconnected RealSystem Servers, RealSystem empowers all
servers to broadcast into the network, receive content from other servers, and
deliver both live and on-demand media to vast audiences world-wide.
The incorporation of 3GPP support in RealSystem is built on longstanding
and proven implementations of the leading industry standards for media
delivery and interoperability between suppliers. In 1996, RealNetworks
coauthored RTSP (Real-Time Session Protocol), the international standard for
digital media session management and stream control, and in 1998, RealNetworks
released support for RTP/RTSP streaming in RealSystem G2. RealNetworks has
also been a primary contributor to SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration
Language), and is currently contributing to MPEG and IETF committees
responsible for video compression and digital rights management
interoperability standards.
About RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is the global leader in Internet media delivery. It
develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users
of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and
receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers
can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks'
consumer software on the Internet at http://www.real.com . RealNetworks'
systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at
http://www.realnetworks.com .
NOTE: RealNetworks, RealSystem, RealSystem iQ, RealAudio, RealVideo and
RealOne are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. All
other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.real.com
CONTACT:
Kimberly Pepper, +1-206-979-7523, or
kpepper@real.com, or Erika Shaffer, +1-206-892-6191, or
eshaffer@real.com, both of RealNetworks, Inc.; or Abigail Lovell
of Noiseworks, +44 (0)1628 628080, or abigaill@noiseworks.com,
for RealNetworks, Inc.
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