Streambox and Fisher Communications Form Strategic Partnership
Streambox and Fisher Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: FSCI) today announced a strategic partnership to further develop solutions that will enable Fisher and other broadcasters to expand video contribution and Web streaming initiatives for all distribution
SEATTLE (17 Aug 2010)
Streambox and Fisher Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: FSCI) today announced a strategic partnership to further develop solutions that will enable Fisher and other broadcasters to expand video contribution and Web streaming initiatives for all distribution platforms. Fisher is also the first U.S. customer to deploy the new Streambox Avenir(TM) compact mobile encoder. The Avenir joins a number of other Streambox IP-based streaming and video transport solutions deployed by Fisher to enhance the remote newsgathering capabilities of its news teams.
"The Avenir is the latest in a long line of Streambox solutions that have greatly strengthened our stations' ability to cover breaking news and share live video from remote locations in a cost-effective, high-quality, and easy-to-use manner," said Rob Dunlop, Fisher Communication's senior vice president of operations. "We were among the first to demonstrate the Avenir's potential by using it for an actual remote broadcast in our Seattle market, and its benefits were immediately apparent. In today's environment, being first to market with advanced technology solutions that expand our ability to deliver news content to multiple platforms is a key strategic advantage. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Streambox to deploy technologies that increase our volume of content and our flexibility in distribution."
Fisher implemented the newly launched Avenir as a valuable alternative to deploying more-costly and less-flexible SNG/ENG vehicles for field newsgathering. A mobile device that can be carried as a side pack, the Avenir employs Streambox's award-winning ACT-L3(TM) codec to enable high-quality, low-latency, and low-bandwidth IP transport of HD and SD video for broadcast and Web streaming. With the Avenir, Fisher's local news teams will be able to transport full-resolution HD and SD for both live and file-based video with a system that can be deployed in minutes using up to eight bonded 3G/4G wireless network modems. The Avenir's intuitive touch screen interface lets users connect quickly and easily via their choice of network connections -- ranging from dual Ethernet to Wi-Fi platforms -- including bonded 3G/4G mobile broadband devices (via browser-capable smartphones) and low-bandwidth portable satellite devices such as BGAN.
Through its partnership with Streambox, Fisher will continue to expand its use of the Streambox Live broadband video contribution service, which the company has been using for more than two months. With the Streambox Live software installed on their laptops and iPhones, members of Fisher's remote news teams can record, encode, and uplink live or file-based video to the cloud-based Streambox Live service over low-bandwidth IP and mobile networks, where it can be browsed, downloaded, and decoded for broadcast. Because the entire station group subscribes to the many-to-many Streambox Live service, news occurring in one market can be shared for broadcast by any other station in the Fisher group, and video can easily be streamed to local stations' websites, as well.
"As a highly visible public company, Fisher Communications has a progressive track record in successfully deploying leading-edge technologies such as video delivery to mobile platforms and the Internet, so Fisher's embrace of Streambox products is powerful validation of our solution set," said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. "We're looking forward to leveraging each other's domain expertise and collaborating on testing of future enhancements to Streambox Live in a real-world, live news setting, and to gaining the customer feedback we need to continue delivering a superior product."
More information about the Avenir and other Streambox ACT-L3 encoding solutions is available online at www.streambox.com.
About Fisher Communications
Fisher Communications Inc. is a Seattle-based communications company that owns and operates 13 full-power television stations, seven low-power television stations, and eight radio stations in the western United States. The company also owns and operates Fisher Interactive Network, its online division (including more than 125 online sites); Fisher Pathways, a satellite and fiber transmission provider; and Fisher Plaza, a media, telecommunications, and data center facility located near downtown Seattle. More information about Fisher Communications Inc. is available at www.fsci.com.
About Streambox
Streambox focuses on IP-based, end-to-end newsgathering, video transport, and contribution services. It delivers SD and HD software and hardware for video compression, transmission, management, and playout. The Streambox Live(TM) service supplements the Streambox platform with free encoding software and server-based services for scalable newsgathering and contribution.
Streambox solutions are based on the industry-leading ACT-L3 codec, which provides unrivaled performance, reliability, and quality over low-data-rate IP networks for fast transmission and playout of video streams in HD and SD. The company's platform enables broadcasters, government agencies, enterprises, and other users to enhance content ownership, simplify operations, and increase operational efficiencies.
More information is available at www.streambox.com.