Chyron Extends Its Business To The Internet Market With The Launch Of Pro-Bel's Clarinet Streaming Media Coder

Pro-Bel, the European subsidiary of the Chyron Corporation, has demonstrated the Company's commitment to the Internet market with the launch of Clarinet, a broadcast-compliant streaming media coder used to encode video and audioon the Internet. Previewed at IBC, Clarinet has already been purchased in quantity by the BBC for Internet use, and by Virtue Interactive TV Ltd, a leading provider of live broadcasts on the Internet.

"We are extremely excited by the tremendous interest Clarinet has already generated from both traditional and new market areas," said Philip O'Ferrall, Head of Internet Strategy at Pro-Bel. "Clarinet provides asimple solution for applications such as webcasting a broadcast station's output oran on-line corporate briefing for shareholders. The convergence of traditional media and the Internet is providing opportunities for us to develop a wealth of new products and services to address customers' needs inthe e-commerce, security and streaming media markets."

Clarinet's MS Windows Embedded NT offers a robust operating system andenables it to utilise leading streaming software formats, including RealNetworks Real Producer G2 for the optimum multimedia experience.

"Offering users a simple `plug and stream' pre-configured box,Clarinet breaks down entry barriers to the webcasting market. We're excited by Pro-Bel's innovative solution," says Ben Rotholtz, General Manager Systems and Tools at RealNetworks.

Available in a number of configurations, Clarinet has dual power supplies with internal cooling and an integral LCD screen for set-up, monitoring and status information, all in a 2U rack-mounted frame.

For optimum audio quality the Pro-Bel digital audio signal processing module incorporates a moveable sharp low-pass filter that reduces theeffects of aliasing. It also features automatic compression and limits the dynamic range of the audio to eliminate the need for external signal equalisation.

Clarinet's LCD screen also displays useful navigational information including ISP target address, streaming rate and basic digital signal processing parameters.

Along with broadcast-compliant inputs, Clarinet accepts professional phono connections and can be used with a VGA and keyboard for live event confidence monitoring. A simple HTML set-up wizard is supplied for effortless system configuration. Remote control facilities also enable a wealth of security and monitoring applications.

David Ward, Pro-Bel's Director of Marketing and Sales, said: "We recognise the huge opportunities available to our customers through the use of the Internet, and we see this as a major part of our future business. Clarinet is the first in a range of Pro-Bel products employing Internet technologies."