ViewCast Launches Portal

ViewCast Corporation, a provider of Internet and networked video solutions, has recently launched a new portal (www.viewcastonline.com) aimed at helping businesses add streaming video to corporate Web sites. The portal features packages of software and hosting services, as well as a complete streaming media solution, from production through posting.

In February, the company dropped the dot-com from its name to emphasis its offline efforts. At that time president and chief executive officer, George Platt, stated that while the Internet was still a integral part of its business, the company also provides video distribution products and services for deployment of media over all types of networks.

Along with the portal, the company launched a new internal division named Viewcast Online to handle its Internet ventures.

"ViewCast Online makes streaming video easy for companies that might not have the technical or financial resources to incorporate this effective and efficient communications medium as part of their Internet initiatives,'' Caulfield added.

The portal is showcasing two main products, a software package Ezstream, and Stream Story, a complete streaming solution.

EzStream allows companies to capture, edit, encode, publish, host and deliver rich media content. The product processes video and publishes it to ViewCast's content delivery network, with client companies then pasting a link on their sites to the ViewCast stream. In addition, EZstream allows companies to change or renew hosting rate plans and review notification flags for usage metrics.

"StreamStory is for businesses that have a message but don't have the content, creation skills, management ability or video delivery infrastructure to get it done," said Caulfield.

With Stream Story, a business writes a short script and submits it though viewcastonline.com and chooses from a variety of male and female speakers to deliver the message. The video is professionally produced and a link is provided to the business to be pasted onto the company's Web site within 72 hours.

The video is hosted on ViewCast's content delivery network, and the service also provides the business with granular statistical tracking of views with online reports that can be broken down within divisions or departments of any given business.