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HIGH TECHA FIRST LOOK AT HIGH-DEFINITIONVIDEO STREAMINGBy Michel Dupagne, University of Miamidupagnem@miami.eduThe author thanks Ali Habashi, Sanjeev Chatterjee, and Bruce Garrisonfor their assistance with this project.By any technical or business standard, the short history of video streaming has beenremarkably fast-paced and has contributed to opening new avenues for informationtechnology businesses. This technology allows Internet users to view live or archivedvideo programs without prior downloading, so it can be aptly characterized as Internettelevision (for introductory materials, see Austerberry, 2002; Dupagne, 2000a, 2000b;Mack, 2002; Wilkinson, 2002).Within eight short years, the quality of video streaming has evolved from adeprecated, stamp-sized and jerky curiosity to a high-definition, full-screen and fullmotionenchantment—with the right Internet connection speed. The first phase invideo streaming technology began in 1995 when Xing Technologies (acquired byRealNetworks in 1999) and VDOnet introduced the first video streaming players (seeVenditto, 1996). At that time, video streaming took its first steps toward recognition,but was often perceived as a technological oddity.The second phase spanned from 1997 to 2001, with the launch of the RealSystemG2 by RealNetworks, the Windows Media Technology 7 platform by Microsoft, andQuickTime 4 by Apple. During these five formative years, the streaming technologymatured and offered VHS and near-DVD video quality stimulated by significant codec(compression/decompression) improvements and the growth of broadbandconnections.In August 2000, the streaming subscription model became a reality whenRealNetworks introduced GoldPass, a $9.95 per month content service (Kramer,2001). The company rebranded it as SuperPass in March 2002 (Kramer, 2002).RealNetworks also launched other subscription services, such as GamePass in July 2002and RadioPass in August 2002 (Kerschbaumer, 2002). During the first quarter of2003, the number of subscribers to its premium content services hit the million mark(“RealNetworks Swings to Loss,” 2003).The third and current phase ushered in yet another level of streaming sophisticationwith the introduction of the Helix Universal Server by RealNetworks in 2002 and thefinal release of the Windows Media 9 Series by Microsoft in 2003. The intensecompetition between the two companies has not abated. Helix Server allows streamingdevelopers to webcast in multiple formats, such as RealMedia, Windows Media, andQuickTime. On the other hand, Windows Media Encoder 9 is touted as a professionaltool to encode 720p or 1080i high-definition television (HDTV) programs intostreaming files—a practice that can be called high-definition (HD) video streaming.BEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 4