Multiplatform encoding solutions specialist, Envivio, announced Monday a mobile video encoding and distribution solution for evaluating, developing and deploying live and on-demand video services for the Apple iPhone. Dubbed iLiveTV, the new solution--which leverages the new iPhone OS 3.0 mobile video format that Apple unveiled Monday at its Worldwide Developer Conference--is billed as delivering "everything mobile operators and content owners need to deliver TV to iPhone users." Its components include the Envivio 4Caster C4 video encoding platform (which Envivio bills as a fully upgradeable system that can support almost any network or client device), content delivery server software, a Web-based Cover Flow iPhone navigation portal, and integration and support services. "iLiveTV is the complete solution for mobile operators and content owners ready to take advantage of the opportunity created by Apple's new game-changing video format for the iPhone," Envivio CEO, Julien Signes, said in a prepared statement. "The iPhone is redefining mobile entertainment. Combining the new iPhone OS 3.0 with Envivio's leading technology and products provides the end-user with an unmatched online mobile video service experience."
According to Envivio, iLiveTV, which is available immediately (note: a private demo is available at: envivo.com/solutions/ilivetv.php), enables operators to offer iPhone users multiple channels of live broadcast TV over 3G and Wi-Fi networks in "home theater quality," video-on-demand, catch-up TV, and a client channel guide. It supports all the advanced capabilities of the new mobile video format offered by iPhone OS 3.0, the company says, allowing it to dynamically adapt to available bandwidth, optimize full-screen video playback, and increase battery life. It is optimized for the native iPhone 3.0 video player, and requires no additional software to be installed on the end-user's iPhone, Envivio says. According to the company, it offers a rich, customizable Web interface, featuring "Cover Flow" navigation, in order to provide users with a "smooth and elegant" channel-zapping experience.
According to Envivio, the iLiveTV system ingests analog or digital sources and simultaneously encodes and protects the content for delivery at multiple bitrates, using the company's H.264 Extreme Compression mobile video codec. The company says that this multi-profile encoding ensures consistent, automatic and seamless delivery of the best picture quality by adapting automatically to fluctuations in network bandwidth. The iLiveTV solution also includes all the necessary software components to deliver protected video from a standard Web server, Envivio says.
