SAN JOSE, Calif., July 10, 2007 - Wowza Media Systems, an emerging streaming server software leader, announced today that StreamGuys Inc., a leading provider of professional streaming media services, is using Wowza Media Server™ Pro to launch a set of Flash streaming services without the “Flash premium”. According to the CDN 2006 - 2007: Market Size, Share, Metrics and Analytics, a report just published by AccuStream iMedia Research, “Flash streaming video contracts are typically priced up to 35% higher than standard bandwidth contracts, …” Wowza’s economical licensing model and low total cost of ownership eliminates this premium and opens the way for Internet broadcasters to attain the maximum audience for their content, reaching over 98% of all PCs. “Our broadcast customers have been asking us for Flash streaming services for a long time, but it was out of reach because of Adobe’s prohibitively expensive licensing” commented Kiriki Delany, CTO and founder of StreamGuys. “Now, thanks to Wowza Media Systems, we can deliver an innovative suite of Flash streaming services. This make dollars and sense not only for us but also for our customer’s bottom line.” StreamGuys is starting with two distinct services based on Wowza Media Server Pro: the SG Flash Suite service which is engineered for large 24/7 Internet broadcasters, and the SG Flash Channel service, which provides economical options for users with lower volume needs.
In addition, StreamGuys is using two unique functions of the Wowza Media Server Pro— SHOUTcast-to-Flash restreaming and scalable multi-server live streaming—to further leverage their global infrastructure. “One of the killer applications of Wowza Pro is the ability to restream SHOUTcast streams in Flash. This increases compatibility between browsers and players and allows for the MP3 to penetrate a larger audience,” says Delany. “Compatible standards for streaming are extremely important for our broadcasters. With Wowza Pro we can re-stream that content to Flash without changing anything on the broadcasters’ end.”
Delany also notes “We plan on taking advantage of Wowza Pro multi-server live streaming allowing cluster Flash streaming for high volume distribution. This allows us to offer infinitely scalable live streaming to support the growth of successful broadcasters.” All editions of Wowza Media Server Pro offer this functionality as a standard feature. Any Wowza Media Server Pro can be configured in real time to act as a live stream repeater (origin) or edge server, giving customers maximum flexibility to economically scale live streaming to large audiences. “StreamGuys is just the kind of customer we had in mind when we architected Wowza Media Server Pro,” said David Stubenvoll, CEO and co-founder of Wowza Media Systems. “They’re really pushing the envelope on streaming services, and we designed our server with unique features that enable people like them to economically create highly differentiated services and realize new revenue streams.”