Microsoft has invested in online video specialist Move Networks; the sum was not disclosed. The two aim to provide a new alternative to delivering video on the Web.
Microsoft and Move Networks have been working together since at least May, when they announced they were partnering on integrating the former’s Silverlight technology with the latter’s Internet-based content delivery system.
Together, the two aim to provide a framework for delivering content and – not coincidentally, advertising – on Web pages easily and, they believe, less expensively.
Move Networks has developed a means to deliver live and on-demand programming without the client system having to buffer content. The company says the process, which it calls adaptive streaming, eliminates stalling and can deliver “high-quality” video.
The company said the system adjusts the quality of the video to the amount of bandwidth available to each user.
By relying on standard Web servers and using HTTP protocols, Move Networks says it is able to deliver video at a lower cost than can be accomplished by relying on Adobe Flash, Real or Microsoft’s own Media Player.
Microsoft’s Silverlight, meanwhile, is a browser plug-in for presenting graphics and video, competitive with Adobe’s Flash and Shockwave, as well as JavaFX.
Broadcasters and publishers working with Move Networks include Fox, ABC, the CW and Discovery.
The companies say the Democratic National Committee is using Microsoft’s Silverlight technology and Move Networks’ Internet television services to deliver viewers live video from its 2008 convention in Denver on the Democratic Convention Web site.
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