Vividas Share Discussion Threads

[scrutable] 17/4/2007 11:33

I have tried to check up on this doomsaying that VDS technology is only superficially ahead, and will lose its lead once broadband services attain higher capacities as with BT soon at 24GB.

Apparently not so. There will still be a limit in small numbers as to how many can access the service at the same time. VDS can make it possible for tens of thousands to stream long programmes like feature films, all at the same time.
I am trying to get some numbers from the company.

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 13:00

Adobe unveils Flash video control

The new system gives greater control to copyright owners
The new software should also allow video to be played offline, whether on computers or portable devices.
Flash is used on websites such as YouTube, the Google-owned video sharing site dogged by rows over the use of copyrighted material.

The launch comes as Microsoft took the wraps off its own competing online media platform, Silverlight.

The product - formerly dubbed WPF/E - also includes copyright protection.

The software giant has long wanted to take on Adobe's dominance of online video, and has signed up several content providers including Netflix and Major League Baseball.


Flash - originally developed by Macromedia, a firm then bought by Adobe - has been the biggest player in online video for some time.

Its dominance has been secured by the huge popularity of both YouTube and dozens of other video sharing services.

Although there are programs and services available to pull content from such sites and convert them to be viewed offline, this is the first time Adobe has launched its own dedicated piece of software to make it possible.

But the big seller for Adobe is the ability to include in Flash movies so-called digital rights management (DRM) - allowing copyright holders to require the viewing of adverts, or restrict copying.

"Adobe has created the first way for media companies to release video content, secure in the knowledge that advertising goes with it," James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research said.

Content publishers are promised "better ways to deliver, monetize, brand, track and protect video content".

The new software will be freely available in the same way as other products such as Acrobat Reader and Flash Player, for both Windows PCs and Apple's Macintosh computers.

Microsoft is promising that Silverlight, too, will work with both Windows and Macs.

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 12:51

It looks like vividas published an updated patent on 28th March 2007. Hard to tell how signifiacnt it is because at the moment there is no abstract available and it points towards an older correponding document. Perhaps they are just republishing the old document with a few updates? Including further territories?

Publication number: EP1766987
Publication date: 2007-03-28
Inventor: LIPKA MARTIN SAMUEL (AU)
Applicant: VIVIDAS TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD (AU)





I have no idea what all this bit means!

Legal status (INPADOC) of EP1766987



EP F 05744676 A (Patent of invention)
PRS Date : 2007/03/28
PRS Code : 17P
Code Expl.: + REQUEST FOR EXAMINATION FILED
EFFECTIVE DATE: 20061219



PRS Date : 2007/03/28
PRS Code : AK
Code Expl.: + DESIGNATED CONTRACTING STATES:
KD OF CORRESP. PAT.: A1
DESIGNATED COUNTR.: AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 12:45

lrr, your argument that VDS have nothing unique is an interesting one. On the one hand, the fact the codec and delivery is available commercially to others backs-up your argument. However, given that VP6 and VP7 and Akamai have been around for some time, it begs the question as to why others are not making streaming video of the quality that Vividas provide? Why are Vividas winning so much recognition in the field for their use of technology when the codec and delivery system are available to allcomers?

Do you think it could lie in their patented technology? Or perhaps you think it's simply that others just can't be bothered to integrate VP6 or VP7 in combination with Akamai (or similar) distribution?

We do know that Vividas have enough unique technology to have been granted two patents in December 2005. I'm not sure why you have not really mentioned those patents in your discussion. Are you implying Vividas have patented ideas and technologies that are not unique? I'd be interested in that, because the technical aspects of those patents in relation to other adaptive decoding technology out there are a bit beyond my knowledge.



It is worth acknowledging that just because vividas have patents, it does not mean it is the best technology out there for performing the decoding. The use of hardware to accelerate the decoding does not appear to be patented, but the way the process occurs looks to be where patents focus.

I'm sure that someone else will produce something better at some stage in the future, so they really need to step up to the plate and build contracts

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 08:42

Old news, but ntl are testing a 100Mb broadband in the UK:

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 08:35

I see that vividas are down to the last five in the Webby awards. They certainly seem to be winning a lot of respect for the quality of the video.




"Vividas down to the final five!
Vividas are down to the final five in the Experimental category for the Webby Awards"

[the analyst] 16/4/2007 08:32

Just got back from a nice break in NY visiting friends. One of the more bizarre things I saw was a group of around 40 people in a park having a 1am lightsabre fight - a slightly sad scene, but great to watch from a distance. Would have made a good video.

[chairman2] 15/4/2007 20:36

great posts lrr and The-p

I am trying to focus on the cash flow equations
in the marketplace so the inbfo on the premium content providers get potentialy is v v minteresting. It wil come down, of course, but key
issue is whether the models can get into profit ahead of the revenue
curve decline.

[littleredrooster] 15/4/2007 15:12

Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 1:00 AM PT

Move Networks Makes Web TV Watchable

Move Networks, which has developed some interesting streaming video technology over the last two-and-a-half years, is finally starting to talk about itself. The company helps TV networks get their shows online using its techniques for high-quality in-browser streaming. We had previously written about Move when word got out it had closed $11 million in funding.

American Fork, Utah-based Move signed some impressive customers while flying under the radar: Fox Network, the CW, Televisa, and E! Online. You can check out examples on MySpace and the CW website As of the last month, Move works on Macs as well. So we can say from personal experience, the quality is most excellent. Really - web TV from the networks that's actually watchable!



Move's trick, as described to me today by Jim Ericson, VP of marketing, is to deliver video as a standard web object, cached in small bits. This borrows some aspects of peer-to-peer, but is friendlier to ISPs. Move doesn't use special media servers, and adjusts the video quality based on available bandwidth. The streaming is made possible using a small applet that users must download to the browser.

Benefits to the viewer: no buffering, no stalling, and backwards and forwards navigation within a live stream, high-quality video. Benefits to the content owner: cheaper, detailed reporting, high-quality video.

Ericson said Move sees about 35 minutes average viewing time per user, making advertising and sponsorship revenue models more viable than on sites with shorter engagement. He said Move charges based on streams delivered rather than revenue-share, and supports subscription, purchase, and advertising models.

I asked Ericson whether Move would get involved in supporting user uploads and showing them on site players in addition to showing its customers' libraries. He said that was something the company is "very interested in doing" but would not comment further, seemingly implying such deals are in the works.

Move was founded by Drew Major, best known for creating Novell's flagship NetWare software. Most recently Major co-founded video networking startup Arroyo. It formally incorporated last summer during the fund-raising process - which amounted to $11.3 million from Steamboat Ventures and Hummer Winblad, closed in December. The company now has 35 employees.




Move Networks Closes $11.3 Million In First Round VC Funding

Hummer Winblad, Steamboat Ventures see Move Networks as the future of online video distribution; As Do Customers Such as Fox Networks, E! Online, CW and Televisa

Salt Lake City, UT - February 7, 2007

Move Networks (www.movenetworks.com), the leader in providing continuous long form video via the Internet, announced that it has secured $11.3 million in its first round of external venture capital financing. This funding round, co-led by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Steamboat Ventures, closed in December. This latest investment will be used to expand Move's customer base and develop new functionality for the Move Networks server and clients. Move Networks clients already include Fox Networks, E! Online's GlamCam, the new CW Network and Televisa, the largest media company in the Spanish speaking world.

"Until now, there has been no way to scale quality long form video distribution over the Internet for millions of users at once - this has prevented major networks from building large, viable revenue streams online," said Doug Hickey, Partner at Hummer Winblad. "Move's traction in this space is a direct result of technology that is completely changing the way people consume, and producers deliver, long form video content over the Internet."

Move Networks provides services that transform both the process of making video available online as well as the experience of watching videos.

Move Adaptive Stream - Innovative Video Delivery

The process of encoding video for multiple bandwidths and target platforms is managed through a single process called "Simulcoding." This revolutionary process leverages hardware clustering and software pipelining to prepare video for on-demand or "live" distribution. Once available, the video can be delivered as an adaptive stream that "upshifts" and "downshifts" to match the current constraints of the computer's environment without pausing or buffering. The Move Media transmission system can scale to millions of users because of the efficient use of existing Internet caches and related technologies. Move also provides its own Digital Right Management system; and complete editing and publishing control for maximum viral effect.

Move Publish – Scheduling, Editing, and Playout Control

Move Publish includes a suite of publishing tools for purposing and publishing content online. Live videos can quickly be placed by the publisher in on-demand libraries without any modification or physical editing of the media. The same is true with creating clips or re-sequencing video. Broadcast shows can even be pre-empted and replaced by alternative programming.

Move Media Player - Viewer Controls for Video Through Move Media Player, video publishers provide their viewers with DVD player-like controls, and "TiVo™" style navigation. Video is higher quality than the video delivered through traditional video delivery platform and doesn't stall or buffer. Those viewing the content control an immersive video experience.

Move Monetize - Detailed Viewing Statistics for Business Decisions

Content publishers can view detailed statistics including geographic distribution of viewers, when viewing occurs, and the nature of the viewing experience. For the first time, advertisers and publishers can receive detailed statistics that go far beyond how many times their shows and commercials are viewed and by how many individuals. Some of these statistics include how much content is viewed, at which bit rates viewing occurs, how often the viewers navigate within the streamed content, the geographic location of viewers, and viewing by time of day.

Move Networks asserts that their technology turns online video from an interesting marketing experiment to a solid business platform and revenue center.

"We have the right team in place developing this game-changing technology," said John Edwards, CEO of Move Networks. "With our new partners, Move Networks is primed to become the de-facto publishing partner for long form continuous play video distributed on the Internet. Our goal is to usher in a new era where long-form, high quality content combines prime time broadcast CPMs and Internet per click, per stream analytics."

About Hummer Winblad

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was founded in 1989 as the first venture capital fund to invest exclusively in software companies. Through our history, we've had the opportunity to invest in the pioneers and leaders of several generations of software applications, architectures, delivery methods and business models. We've helped entrepreneurs build companies in desktop software, embedded systems, client-server, distributed network computing, internet, and software as a service. Our earliest portfolio companies started shipping software on floppy disks and today we're investors in pioneering companies in on-demand computing. We've seen everything from shrink-wrap licenses to enterprise-wide "big deals" to subscription pricing; from direct sales to highly-leveraged channel strategies. In other words, because software is all we do, we bring tremendous value to highly talented people who want to build great software companies. We hope our website tells you a lot about us, but please feel free to contact any of us directly.

About Steamboat

Our mission at Steamboat Ventures is to help young companies successfully face the challenges of becoming leaders in their markets. We invest in early to mid-stage, technology-focused companies that are pursuing opportunities in emerging media and entertainment markets. Although the fund is primarily focused on technology investments, we also consider venture investments in other areas of broad strategic importance to the Walt Disney Company.

About Move Networks

Move Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of video services that drive the growth and support of online audiences for leading broadcasters and publishers. The video technologies and services developed and managed by Move Networks enable leading brands to deliver live and on-demand programming to millions of people without the buffering, stalling, and low-quality viewing experiences common with competing technologies. Backed by key investors, including Walt Disney Corporation's Steamboat Ventures, LLC (NYSE: DIS) and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Move Networks, Inc. is a private company.

[littleredrooster] 15/4/2007 14:06

Thanks, The_Pimp. Very interesting.

This article emphasizes the critical role played by the content-delivery specialists as I have suspected for some time.



"But for greater, more "TV-like" video performance, content providers are farming out streaming to a handful of content-delivery specialists, ranging from large, publicly traded firms such as Akamai Technologies (nasdaq: AKAM - news - people ) to boutiques including Limelight Networks and VitalStream. These hosting companies all boast elaborate, international server networks that push videos geographically closer to users, making downloads quicker.

Adobe wouldn't discuss its financial relationship with hosting companies, but content-delivery specialists are already taking Web video to the bank (see: " Your Tube, Whose Dime?"), charging around $1 per gigabyte of video streamed--a steep premium to their regular data-hosting rates. Research firm IDC estimates content delivery is already a $500 million market, growing 25% annually. Munster says Adobe's server products division is growing between 30% and 40% year-over-year, though it currently accounts for a mere fraction of their overall sales--at most $50 million."


There wouldn't appear to be anything particularly unique about VDS's hardware acceleration technology as I have also suspected for some time.



"Since Flash Player 8, many video providers have embraced the On2 VP6 codec available in Flash Video. While this codec was a marked improvement for low-bitrate video compared to the older Sorenson Spark codec (available in the Flash Player since version 6), video scaling has remained a problem for Flash Video. Scaling refers to the quality of video when zoomed at a size larger than the native dimensions used for encoding. For example, displaying a 320x240 video at 640x480 requires four times as many pixels than the native size. No Flash Player, including Flash Player 9, can use hardware acceleration for Flash Video. This means that the power of your fancy video card is not available to Flash Player-your computer's processor has to handle the work of scaling the video pixels. Another video technology, Vividas, uses the same On2 VP6 codec, yet produces better scaled video than the Flash Player can. Move Network's video technology uses the On2 VP7 codec, and scales better. Both of these technologies use hardware acceleration."

[the_pimp] 15/4/2007 12:58

Another positive article mentioning VDS:

[littleredrooster] 11/4/2007 19:17

Germany is building a network of up to 50Mb per second and France a network of up to 100Mb per second. The future of even On2 may be uncertain.

[lofty] 11/4/2007 13:39

What have VDS to offer? A better system!

For all the links that have been posted here, VDS is the only one (that i've
tried) that works. First time-every time.
Full screen within seconds.

Forgot sorry. You've got a bee in your bonnet about VDS.

Hmmm. Now let me see. $15.00 less 22c is erm, $14.88........Really?
Surprised Wal-mart makes that sort of mistake for others to copy.

[littleredrooster] 11/4/2007 13:15

There will be a lot of competition and, as broadband speeds increase, one must wonder what competitive advantage, if any, VDS will have.



Wal-Mart Tests Movie Download Service with All Major Studios

By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
February 6, 2007, 12:11 PM

This morning, the US' leading retailer is rolling out what it calls a "beta" of its pay-per-download video service, though the "pay" part is clearly turned on. What immediately differentiates Wal-Mart's Video Downloads Store from its competition -- other than undercutting their prices by about 11 cents -- is that it features new and recent releases from every major Hollywood studio, including Sony (Columbia, Screen Gems, MGM), Warner Bros., 20th Century-Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, and Lionsgate.

So while studios continue their long bargaining process with technology brands such as Netflix, Amazon's Unbox, and Apple's iTunes, holding firm on their retail price "suggestions," it behooves them to not risk alienating themselves from their principal retail outlet, which analysts estimate is responsible for at least 40% of all DVD sales to US customers.

Wal-Mart launched this morning with titles such as Warner's Superman Returns downloadable at $14.88, compared with $14.99 at Unbox. Wal-Mart is notorious, even in its retail outlets, for never pricing anything with the classic "99-cent suffix," to help give the appearance of deeper discounts.

While Wal-Mart wrestles with some minor technical issues dealing with its HP Digital Media Platform (a few of which we noticed this morning, such as losing track of the customer ID in sessions lasting longer than five minutes), competitors such as Netflix that were hoping as far back as early 2004 to conquer the broadband download market find themselves playing catch up.

Last month, Netflix announced it was resuming the countdown for its broadband video service, but this time only as a streaming video system rather than downloadable video. Subscribers there could pay $5.99 per month for six hours of online viewing, or subscribe to the full movies-by-mail service for $17.99 per month to receive 18 hours of streaming.

Netflix settled for this deal after negotiations with major studios bogged down in late 2005, after it found itself unable to secure distribution licenses from studios after having announced a distribution partnership with television industry nemesis TiVo.

But ironically, the entry of Wal-Mart into the video market could alleviate one of Netflix' and others' major obstacles to starting or boosting their downloadable services, analysts are saying today. Up to this point, studios have avoided setting their asking price too low for downloadable video, for fear of creating too enticing a price tier for bargain hunters, and in so doing upsetting Wal-Mart, whose relationship must be attended to carefully.

Now, the Wal-Mart price could potentially set a benchmark for the rest of the industry to follow: roughly $15 per first-run title downloaded (subtract 22 cents if you're Wal-Mart).

Ironically, though, for Netflix and potential competitors like Blockbuster to have this roadblock lifted, they may want Wal-Mart's efforts to succeed, in order that the industry and consumers alike will start to perceive $15 as the benchmark movie download price. So any technical support they may be willing to offer at this point to help Wal-Mart get over the initial glitches, may be much appreciated.

[lofty] 08/4/2007 21:18

You try!

Download the latest version of the Flash plug-in. click here (sic)

[littleredrooster] 08/4/2007 02:06

Recommended Software and Browser Plug-Ins

Internet Explorer - Please make sure you are using the latest version of Internet Explorer 6, as this will allow the best experience of www.uktvslam.tv
Download the latest version of Internet Explorer 6 click here.

Windows Media Player- Please make sure that you're using the latest version of Windows Media Player.
Download the latest version of Windows Media Player click here.

Video Codecs - If you're having problems viewing video you may need to download and install the necessary codecs (compression software) on top of your Windows Media Player.
Download the latest codec's for Windows Media Player click here.

Macromedia Flash - To get a full site experience it is recommended that you install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash browser plug-in.
Download the latest version of the Flash plug-in. click here

[littleredrooster] 05/4/2007 20:16

The Imperatives- Winner Photos



Best use of Technology- Vividas

[the_pimp] 04/4/2007 20:14

The good news is this thing is quietly going up with no BB noise which suggests proper investors are getting involved.

Also good to have the likes of llr keeping peoples feet on the ground although having looked at his various points am happy with what I see.

[littleredrooster] 04/4/2007 19:18

"As we have pointed out numerous times, the On2 codec and the Akami distribution are very good, but not unique to Vividas, anyone can use them to stream video (and they do). It is the unique patented technology that Vividas has for the adaptive decoding of video data from the codec that gives them the advantage and is responsible for their market-leading streaming video quality."

analyst,

Could you please provide some evidence to support your, presently unsubstantiated, claim.

For example, who else uses the On2 VP7 codec?

'VP7 demonstrates marked improvements in quality and performance up to 50% over VP6'

'VP7 has higher compression has not been released for flash yet but is used with vividas java based streaming'

lrr

[the analyst] 02/4/2007 18:47

Still plenty of people buying at these levels, despite the growing discrepancy between market cap and revenue. Based on H1 revenue, the market cap is now 24x annual revenue. My guess is that there is some confidence out there that further big deals are in the pipeline.

The price is now looking to make all-time highs, a rise that has been on high volume. Interesting indeed.

[the analyst] 02/4/2007 11:01

Have posted links to Vividas' patents into the header, something I should have done when I set up the thread.

These patents cover techniques for adaptive decoding of video data and for sychronising video and audio data, which help explain the reason why the quality of Vividas' streaming video is best of breed.

As we have pointed out numerous times, the On2 codec and the Akami distribution are very good, but not unique to Vividas, anyone can use them to stream video (and they do). It is the unique patented technology that Vividas has for the adaptive decoding of video data from the codec that gives them the advantage and is responsible for their market-leading streaming video quality.

Plenty of detail to keep the technical enthusiasts happy for hours:

[littleredrooster] 01/4/2007 14:42

Copied from the FBT board. The NubaTV link has never worked for me.

_m_k - 1 Apr'07 - 12:30 - 3855 of 3855

Lrr,

The narrowstep video looks really good - just like Vividas in fact.

Yes nubatv is not there - and no sign on the net of where it went.

Perhaps it just fell off the internet temporarily.

Thing is - how many people will watch video like this in front of a PC screen?

What these companies need to do is package their technology into a box similar to the Tivo, so the video can be moved into the 'front room' where people watch the telly.

They can then connect it to their BB connection and watch TV on demand, the quality can only improve as speeds increase.

I use homeplug devices that use your household mains as a LAN, this means you could easily hook up one of these devices next to your TV with a BB signal (OK a lot of people have wireless but securing it can be an issue).

The extent to which the internet can cope with all this extra data has been questioned - surely there have to be ways around this.