Digital Rapids' StreamZHD and TouchStream Encoders Enable HD Video for Innovative Dental Education Portal
Award-winning encoders create live and on-demand high definition content for DentalEDU.tv, the first interactive, full-screen HD video learning platform for the dental profession.
Markham, Ontario (22 Mar 2010)
Digital Rapids—the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and Web content to wider audiences—today announced that Florida-based digital media production company 1MediaProduction is using Digital Rapids' StreamZHD and TouchStream encoding and streaming solutions to create high definition content for the first interactive, full-screen HD video learning platform for the dental profession, DentalEDU.tv.
DentalEDU.tv's rapidly expanding user base of registered dental professionals earn Continuing Education credits through its live and on-demand video course offerings. While the site's exceptional video quality is enough to differentiate DentalEDU.tv, its supporting capabilities enable its effectiveness as an educational platform. The site's custom video player automatically detects the viewer's bandwidth and selects between HD or lower-resolution versions of the video accordingly. The player tracks the minutes of each chapter -- or of the entire production in the case of a live event -- that are watched by the user, ensuring that the viewer is meeting the minimum requirements for certification of completion of the course.
A StreamZHD encoding system, supplied by Digital Rapids reseller Trock Media, is used to capture, encode and stream live HD productions from 1MediaProduction's multi-camera studio. The StreamZHD encoder is also used to transcode edited media files from Apple® Final Cut Pro into formats ready for on-demand Web distribution. A TouchStream portable encoding and streaming appliance, configured with HD-SDI input, provides a second live streaming channel—allowing users to switch between multiple streams—while giving 1MediaProduction increased flexibility in live production at remote sites. Encoded outputs are delivered in the H.264 compression format for playback through DentalEDU.tv's video player—powered by AdobeFlash® technology—and simultaneously encoded for streaming to BlackBerry mobile devices.
"Digital Rapids encoding systems enabled us to realize our vision of bringing dental education to the Web in high definition," said Dr. Bradley J. Engle, founder of DentalEDU.tv. "As we continue to increase the depth and sophistication of our online offerings to include live events from multiple camera angles and expanded mobile delivery such as the Apple iPhone, the roles of TouchStream and StreamZHD in our operations will expand even further."
"We're very pleased that 1MediaProduction has chosen our systems as the backbone of DentalEDU.tv," said Brent Ross, Director of Sales for the Americas at Digital Rapids. "The ability to deliver high definition content over the Web is enabling a wide range of innovative new video-based services, and the superior quality, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of TouchStream and StreamZHD make them ideal solutions to power these applications."
StreamZHD continues to raise the bar for high-definition encoding solutions, delivering multi-format video ingest, encoding, transcoding and live streaming in a versatile configuration that integrates easily into any media environment. TouchStream appliances deliver Digital Rapids' renowned streaming video quality and reliability in a fully self-contained, portable form factor with an intuitive touch-screen interface for unparalleled ease of use.
StreamZHD, TouchStream and the complete range of Digital Rapids solutions will be showcased in booth number SL6010 at the 2010 NAB Show, April 12-15 in Las Vegas. For more information about Digital Rapids, please visit www.digital-rapids.com.
About Digital Rapids Corporation
Digital Rapids provides the leading hardware and software solutions for transforming and delivering media, enabling the multi-platform experiences that are changing how audiences view content. Scaling from standalone appliances to global workflows, Digital Rapids solutions enable media professionals to maximize their productivity, quality, and the value of their content. Recipient of a coveted IBC Innovation Award and four prestigious Frost & Sullivan honors for encoding and transcoding leadership, Digital Rapids combines innovative technology with proven expertise to help our customers to expand their audiences, increase their media revenues and reduce their costs. Digital Rapids Corporation (www.digital-rapids.com) is headquartered in Ontario, Canada with offices in the United States, the UK, Australia, Argentina and Hong Kong.