STREAMING MEDIA ALLIANCE
UPSTREAM
NEWS FROM THE ALLIANCE

vol. 2, issue 2
December, 2003
 
Streaming Report Card:
'Needs Improvement'

A recently released white paper from StreamGuard 
reveals that 51% of all streams frustrate viewers to the extent that they abandon their attempt to see the content.  The study included over 2400 streams at 300 websites.  The chief findings were:

16.7% - stream not available - server down, over capacity, or bad link

4.3% - down - stream not started after 25 seconds

4.3% - very frustrating -  stream took too long to start -  10-25 seconds to load or buffer

25.7% - frustrating/poor quality - 5-10 seconds to start

49% - excellent - under 5 seconds to start

Dial-up users had a typical tolerance for no more than an 8 second delay, broadband users, 5 seconds.

The full seven page pdf report can be downloaded at StreamGuard.
 
 

New Digital Asset Management Organization Holds First Conference

Global Society for Asset Management (G-SAM) held its inaugural annual conference in New York on November 10-11, 2003.  The new professional association, with international chapters, plans to serve as a resource and focal point for developing  'best practices' in this currently fragmented industry.

G-SAM will take a leadership role in the digital asset management pavilion and conference at NAB2004 on April 17-22.
 
 

AD:TECH Energizes

Interactive advertising trade show and conference AD:TECH,  which convened at the New York Hilton November 3-5, brought a burst of new energy to the Internet industry that has been absent for the past three years. 

In addition to high attendance and a roster of new company names on the exhibitors list, the event was marked by the return of a multitude of sponsored breakfasts, lunches, receptions, and after parties.  The exhibit floor was crowded and noisy as attendees collected a new generation of promotional give-aways.  These are welcome indicators of new money flowing into the industry. 

An atmosphere of creativity was evident in the new products and services on offer, in a panel discussion on the commercial use of blogs, and in the buzz around the next wave of search engines.  The streaming session, called 'Interactive Broadcast',  still tethers the use of streaming by advertisers to the spread of broadband and featured examples of innovative streaming ads.

For more perspective on the conference, see http://adtechblog.com.
 
 

Streaming Media CA

Streaming Media continues its focus on corporate enterprise applications.   Wrap up report from this year's west coast conference Oct. 14-16 provides an excellent summary of vendors' products and services.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
Recommended 
BROADCASTPAPERS.COM

 
Venture Capital Trickles Back Into Streaming 

In good news for our industry, several  firms attracted new investment  during the past six months.  This comes as a welcome relief after the funding drought of the past few years.  Here are some highlights.

Media Publisher - $1.3 million - Angel Forum, Halo Fund, Garage Technology - enterprise software

Scopus - $15.5 million - Genesis Partners - video compression

LoudEye - $12.2 million - private placement - streaming services

VitalStream - $900 thousand - Dolphin Equity Partners - streaming services

Myrio - $9 million - Siemens Venture Capital - broadband video
 
 

Featured Streaming Websites

AmericaFree.tv and On-the-I Internet radio

Recently launched  MPEG-4 streaming television website and its sister audio site focus on independent cutting edge content.  Both are multicast and non-commercial, relying on large audiences at college and universities,  which are typically multicast enabled.  The low cost of multicasting  compared to unicasting allows these sites to operate without advertising or sponsorship, creating an open market for new, creative content that flows directly from the artist to the viewer/listener.

Alliance member Marshall Eubanks, former CEO at Multicast Technologies, which operates the sites, was instrumental in the development of these services.  A leading expert in multicasting, Marshall is the new CTO at TeleSuite.
 
 

Goodbye to NYNMA

The New York New Media Association abruptly closed its doors in a December 15  e-mail announcement to members, following the resignation of executive director Alice O'Rourke in mid October. 

In spite of some clear hints, the end of this dot.com era organization, which was a magnet for New Yorkers involved in the digital economy, comes as a sad surprise.  This year's Technology Showcase on October 30 was robust and portended well for the continuation of NYNMA's programs under the  Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA).  NYNMA had also revived its popular CyberSuds event to an enthusiastic crowd, but had experienced a notable decline in the activity of its many SIGs. 

SIIA will continue some of NYNMA's initiatives, such as the venture capital forum and executive breakfasts.  The question is whether a broad based organization such as SIIA can adequately serve the particular interests of the new media community.
 

Also of note -

AOL's acquisition of Singing Fish marks streaming's acceptance by mainstream Internet users.

Streaming over wireless takes a step forward as RealNetworks teams up with AT&T to bring video to your cell phone.

A subdued Red Herring returns to the Web under new ownership.
 


To submit news items or subscribe/unsubscribe contact: Jane Curtis, jcurtis@bestweb.net