I saw a press release earlier this week about how iStreamPlanet was working with Akamai and Microsoft to stream the 2010 Winter Olympics for NBC. I wanted to get some more information on what they were doing, so I reached out to my friend Ray Lyons who is Vice President of Global and Strategic Sales at iStreamPlanet to get some details, below are excerpts from my interview with him:
I see that iStreamPlanet is one of the companies responsible for streaming the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Can you tell me a little about the technology and how it works?
Sure, the technology is pretty extensive, the workflow that iStreamPlanet will be providing includes turnkey satellite downlink encoding and production services for Smooth Streaming for Silverlight and the video will be delivered to online audiences over the new Akamai HD Network. iStreamPlanet will be encoding 23 video feeds for NBC including nine venue feeds, four broadcast feeds, one Olympic News Channel, six Beauty Cams, two Victory Ceremonies and one Press Conference. All 23 feeds are originating from Vancouver, British Columbia and transported to iStreamPlanet’s Las Vegas Webcast Operations Center over OC12 via IP multicast.
What sort of traffic are you expecting to see from the Winter Olympics?
Massive! There will be more Live and OD Olympic content available than ever before (almost double the Beijing games at 800+ hours of content). At the time, the Beijing games produced one of the largest events in “Internet History” in regards to delivered traffic. Initial expectations were varying prior to the 2010 games but all indications suggest the Vancouver Olympic traffic will be among the largest in history. I can’t provide exact details because NBC has the legal rights to disclose this information.
How does the Winter Olympics compare to other big events iStream has broadcast in the past?
In the past year, iStream has delivered the largest high-profile events in the MS Smooth Streaming platform including Sunday Night Football, Wimbledon, the Michael Jackson memorial, Netflix’s Wizard of Oz event, Canada’s MMVA, AVP Tour event schedule, etc.. The major difference between these events and the Vancouver Olympics is scale.
I notice you are using Microsoft’s IIS Smooth Streaming, how’s it working out on this project? What sort of advantages does it have compared to other technologies?
Microsoft’s Smooth Streaming has been a wonderful end user experience. This is a high quality solution that adapts to end-users bandwidth availability. The IIS Smooth Streaming technology provides the capability to deliver HTTP adaptive streaming and high definition to users with varying bandwidth rates. If your readers are not familiar with technology, here are the basics: Smooth Streaming dynamically detects local bandwidth and video rendering conditions and seamlessly switches (in near real time) the video quality of a media file that a player receives. Consumers with high-bandwidth connections can experience high definition (HD) quality streaming, while others with lower bandwidth speeds receive the appropriate stream for their connectivity, allowing consumers across the board to enjoy a compelling, uninterrupted streaming experience and alleviating the need for media companies to cater to the lowest common denominator quality level within their audience base.
I know you partner with a number of hosting companies to resell your product, can you tell me some of benefits that hosting companies typically see from partnering with iStreamPlanet?
There are many benefits in particular to hosting companies. By partnering with iStreamPlanet, hosting companies add considerable services to their portfolio such as:
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Live and OD webcasting in all formats (MS Smooth, WM, Flash, Apple/iPhone, etc..)
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Application services – authentication/security for live and OD, Digital Asset Management, CMS customizations, etc..)
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Player Development (SL3, WM, Flash)
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Experience – iStream has been streaming as long as any provider (since 2000)
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Business development and revenue. iStream has truly built-up a niche in the live event delivery arena by delivering such high-profile events in not only Smooth Streaming but many platforms including WM, Flash, iPhone. Many of the companies we are working with today ask iStream to include hosting in their solution.
Check out the NBC Olympic site and see the amazing user experience that this technology is delivering http://www.nbcolympics.com/.
About Stacy Griggs
Stacy Griggs is Sr. Director of Customer Experience for Cbeyond Cloud Services , previously Stacy was the Vice President of Sales for MaximumASP which was acquired by Cbeyond in 2011. Cbeyond (NASD-CBEY) is a publicly traded provider of telecommunication and cloud services, which has been recognized by Microsoft at its 2009 Worldwide Hosting Partner of the Year and 2010 Hyper-V Cloud Provider of the Year. Prior to Cbeyond Stacy held a series of positions at Hosting.com including Chief Sales Officer, Chief Service Officer and General Manager for their flagship Delaware data center.
Stacy has led several information technology services companies over the last 15 years. He was a Managing Director for KForce a $1 Billion publicly traded professional services firm. At KForce Stacy managed 5 business units that collectively generated $18 Million in revenue and had 140 employees. Prior to KForce Stacy was a Vice President and part-owner of Diamond Technologies, an 80 employee custom software development firm. Previously Stacy held management positions at TMP Worldwide, the University of Pennsylvania, and Humana.
Through his theWHIR blog, Stacy will touch upon sales and service in the Web hosting space, web hosting events, cloud computing and industry trends.
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