Save your seat for Streaming Media NYC this May. Register Now!

Biographical Information

Geoff Daily

Geoff Daily is a contributing editor for StreamingMedia.com, and contributes regularly to EMedia, EventDV, and EContent magazines, writing about the business of online video, the future of optical media, the event video industry, and digital content distribution. He's also editor of App-Rising.com, a daily blog on the intersection of broadband networks, applications, and policy. He's a big believer in the power of broadband and eagerly engages with fellow broadband believers, including network operators (especially those deploying FTTH), applications developers, and community leaders, about how the use of broadband can revolutionize society. He can be reached at geoffdaily (at) gmail (dot) com.

Articles for Geoff Daily

The Watchman: NBA All-Star Game Was Nothing Special Online

TNT's online delivery of the NBA All-Star Game this week was more notable for what it got wrong than for what it got right.
Thurs., Feb. 19, by Geoff Daily

The Ultimate Guide to Creating Online Video Content That Works, Part 2

In the second part of this feature, industry professionals discuss the pros and cons of high and low video production quality and long-form and short-form content.
Thurs., Dec. 25, by Geoff Daily

The Ultimate Guide to Creating Online Video Content That Works, Part 2

In Part 1 of this article, we looked at the importance of understanding your audience—both existing and potential—and the different challenges facing major media companies and independent content creators. In Part 2, we’ll look at the importance of video production quality and the pros and cons of long-form and shortform content. We’ll also get some advice from successful content creators about what works and what doesn’t.
Tues., Nov. 25, by Geoff Daily

The Ultimate Guide to Creating Online Video Content That Works, Part 1

Nine media and entertainment content decision makers discuss what they have learned from their years in the field and offer advice on producing and delivering content that draws—and keeps—viewers.
Tues., Nov. 11, by Geoff Daily

Silverlight Makes Good For Government Webcasting

Even though much of the focus on Silverlight has been on its impact in the media and entertainment world, Granicus has been utlizing its cross-platform compatibility and interactive features to provide enhanced public service content.
Fri., May 16, by Geoff Daily

The State of High-Definition Streaming

The bitrate race may have slowed down a bit, but as high-definition online video has become a reality, publishers and CDNs are making HD a priority.
Tues., April 8, by Geoff Daily

The Watchman: March Madness Online Is Both Mad Cool and Just Plain Maddening

Issues with video quality, player functionality, and browser compatibility have marred CBS' live streams and on-demand delivery of this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, but in the end, the very fact that all of the games are available in all markets is still a win for fans.
Tues., April 1, by Geoff Daily

The Watchman: MSNBC Makes Mess of Democratic Debate Webcast

MSNBC botched their delivery of Tuesday night's Clinton-Obama debate in more ways than one. In the first installment of this new column, Geoff Daily evaluates what MSNBC did wrong, and what a local affiliate in Ohio did right.
Thurs., Feb 28, by Geoff Daily

Video to Go

These five innovators—Ortiva, Skyward, Transpera, Vizrt, and Harris—are vying for attention in an increasingly crowded mobile space.

DVB-H Mobile Video Standard Gains Support Around the World

Plenty of challenges lie ahead, but the recent push to settle on the standard in the EU gives a boost to DVB-H's viability and long-term prospects.
Thurs., Aug. 2, by Geoff Daily

It's Not Your Father's TV, Part 2

What content owners are thinking about new approaches to delivering content from the internet to the television.

Let the (March) Madness Begin!

CBS hopes to surpass last year's surprise success of 2006 March Madness On Demand with increased capacity, better video, and a richer user experience.
Wed., Mar. 14, by Geoff Daily

Flash Media Encoder: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

The quiet release last month of Flash Media Encoder was exciting enough for Flash devotees. But, according to Adobe, the real excitement is yet to come, as future products and partnerships expand FME's presence and power.
Mon., Mar. 12, by Geoff Daily

BitTorrent Launches Legal Video Download Store

The latest outlaw download service to go legit, BitTorrent banks on a combination of its P2P distribution and Windows Media DRM to make it a serious player in the premium online video distribution space.
Tues., Feb. 27, by Geoff Daily

Ten Questions: Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Streaming Media

Elliot Zimmerman discusses IP issues facing content creators, owners, and publishers.

Case Study: Video Empowers Local Government

Granicus has turned its full attention to the government streaming marketplace, with a primary emphasis on the city and county levels—a niche that has served both them and local governments well. In the process, they've helped those governments serve their constituents better, bringing public meetings to a broader audience.

Swarmcast Strives to Amplify Content Delivery

The company claims its new product, CDN Amplifier, will offer significant increases in the quality of video content publishers can deliver to end users.
Wed., Jan. 3, by Geoff Daily

User-Generated Video Grows Up, Gets an Allowance

User-generated content sites like Revver, Metacafe, and Panjea are taking the next big step in the market’s growth by paying content creators and, in some cases, rewarding users for sharing videos.
Tues., Nov. 14, by Geoff Daily

If You Webcast It, How Many Will Come?

Too many viewers can result in unforeseen delivery costs and overwhelm your infrastructure. Too few viewers, on the other hand, can leave you paying for bandwidth that goes unused. As a result, properly estimating the size of a webcast’s audience is often essential to its success.
Mon., Oct. 30, by Geoff Daily

Flash Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

A discussion with Adobe about the history of Flash and Flash Video, and more importantly, a few hints about Apollo, which frees them both from the browser.
Tues., Aug. 15, by Geoff Daily

Commentary: Net Neutrality – An Update, a Misnomer, and (Possibly) a Better Way

It’s time we clarify the terms of the debate and separate “network neutrality” from “internet neutrality” and work towards a solution that preserves the open internet while stimulating the growth of next-generation technology, including HD streaming video.
Tues., Aug. 8, by Geoff Daily

YouTube Keeps Growing, but for How Long?

By increasing its user-friendly features, the user-generated video site just keeps getting more and more popular. But analysts are beginning to wonder how long YouTube can keep going at this pace without a solid business strategy in place, and a recent lawsuit points out a chink in its armor.
Tues., July 18, by Geoff Daily

Company Profile: FocusVision Empowers Market Research with Streaming Media

Offering an overlay to established market research practices, FocusVision enables clients like Microsoft, Pfizer, and Coca-Cola to watch focus groups respond in real-time, live over the Internet.
Tues., May 23, by Geoff Daily

Flash 8 Goes Live with On2’s Live SDK for Flash

New release offers developers the opportunity to integrate the VP6 codec into their webcasting applications.
Tues. May 9, by Geoff Daily

Download-to-Own Movie Services Open the Door to the Future of Digital Distribution

Movielink and CinemaNow recently announced programs that enable consumers to purchase and download movies online. Until DRM issues are resolved, however, these are but small steps toward the holy grail of download once, play anywhere content delivery.
Tues. April 18, by Geoff Daily

Commentary: Is Prime-Time TV Ready for the Internet?

Despite the tremendous potential of Disney’s aggressive push to experiment with and monetize its most valuable content through streaming media, this announcement has raised more questions than it has answered.
Fri. April 14, by Geoff Daily

March Madness: A Slam-Dunk for CBS SportsLine

Though the numbers, including more than a quarter-million simultaneous streams, are out of many Webcasters’ league, the rules of the game when it comes to planning for a live event are the same, regardless of the size.
by Geoff Daily

Company Profile: Online Video Service

Tim Treanor was able to parlay his previous government experience into a successful firm that focuses exclusively on the public-affairs and government vertical.
by Geoff Daily

Commentary: NBC’s Olympic Coverage Marks Major Victory for Streaming Media

NBC’s expansion of its online video coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics provided a rare opportunity to compare and contrast the characteristics of on-air and online video delivery of this premier sporting event.
by Geoff Daily

Mobile DTV Alliance Formed to Promote Best Practices for DVB-H Standard

Industry group hopes to bring TV’s broadcast model onto mobile phones and other handsets and reap the benefits it has to offer over the unicast model in use today.
by Geoff Daily

The Great Telecom Debate: (Re)Defining the Internet for the 21st Century

Congress is poised to write new telecom legislation that will have far-reaching ramifications for the future of the Internet as an open communications network and the development and delivery of ultra-wide broadband content.
by Geoff Daily

Court Upholds Claim Construction Findings Against Acacia Technologies

While significant in terms of helping the case of the adult entertainment defendants, Acacia’s DMT patents are still a long ways from being officially ruled legitimate or invalid.
by Geoff Daily

ManiaTV Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

Powered by NewTek’s VT[4] Integrated Production Suite, ManiaTV aims to be a leader in the ascent of online video.
by Geoff Daily

Google Video Steps Up Profile with Everybody Hates Chris Premiere

Partnership with UPN hints at things to come for Web search giant’s video distribution arm.
by Geoff Daily

Streaming Hurricane Katrina

For news providers and CDNs, the sustained spike in traffic during the hurricane and its aftermath gave them the chance to test the limits of their streaming capabilities. For viewers, streaming and on-demand video gave them their best look at the devastation.

Network Live: A New Era in Streaming Entertainment?

Bon Jovi to play at September 19 launch event for joint venture between AOL, AEG LIVE, and XM Satellite Radio

Weather Channel Expands Mobile Offerings

In a harbinger of more rich media content to come, the Mobile Media Company and the Weather Channel partner to deliver lifestyle alerts to consumers’ cell phones.

Commoditization and the Future of Content Delivery Networks: Part Two

In the second installment of this two-part article, we look at how commoditization might change the nature of CDNs.

Commoditization and the Future of Content Delivery Networks: Part One

How are CDNs working to differentiate their services from their competitors in the face of the increasing commoditization of bandwidth?

Profile: FeedRoom CEO Bart Feder

From the “Wild West” of the late 1990s to the stability and success it’s found today, the FeedRoom offers lessons in expanding the scope of corporate communications.

Video Production for Streaming

From lighting to camera work to video resolution, there's plenty you can do to make sure that your encoding team has the best possible footage to work with.

Streaming on the Go

The mobile space could prove to be streaming’s hottest market, but it’s still in its infancy. Here, industry leaders take a look at the technological and content challenges—and offer suggestions for how to overcome them.

IPTV and Streaming: Distinguishing the Differences

Industry experts discuss two approaches to delivering content, with an eye towards a future where IPTV and streaming coexist rather than compete.

SunSpots Productions Brings Streaming to Voiceover Production

While streaming has garnered a lot of attention for its increasing use in distributing rich media ads, what's often not mentioned is its adoption behind the scenes, enabling a much more efficient post-production workflow. eSessions give ad clients real-time collaboration during the voiceover process

Case Study: Electronica Finds a Voice at DI.fm

Ari Shohat’s stations demonstrate the potential—and the pitfalls—still to be found by entrepreneurs who want to get started in the Internet radio business.

Merkato Enables Dynamic, Real-Time Bandwidth Marketplace

By freeing purchasers from yearly or even monthly contracts, InvisibleHand is banking on the technology to turn bandwidth into a true commodity.

Acacia Makes Its Case

Acacia isn’t the first company to follow the patent licensing and litigation model, and it won’t be the last, as a flood of new companies with similar aspirations follow its lead. Here, Acacia's Robert Berman gives his company's side of the story, while patent experts provide an opposing view.

So You've Just Been Approached by Acacia...

You've gotten a letter from Acacia asking you to sign a licensing agreement. What are your options?

HomeMovie.com Streams Home Movies for Families of Troops Overseas

Enables soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to stay connected with their loved ones and watch their children grow up at home.

AccuStream Report Reveals Strong Growth in 2004

With its proprietary database and server log data from major CDNs, AccuStream iMedia Research has been reporting on streaming since 1991.

ISMA Releases Next Link in Content Delivery Chain

Specification 2.0, based on H.264, is but one of several initiatives designed to create industry-wide standards.

Acacia’s 27 New Patent Portfolios Just Tip of the Iceberg

The company’s attempts to enforce patents on streaming technology merely are representative of a larger, worldwide trend of firms working to collect patent licensing revenue.

VideoLAN's Piece de Resistance

An open-source streaming server and client, rolled into one

Acacia Update: Still Flying Underneath the Radar

Due to its seemingly esoteric nature, most major news organizations have reported on Acacia’s DMT patent claims only fleetingly. What’s surprising is how many trade organizations—even those with members who’ve been contacted by Acacia—have continued to ignore this important and complex issue.

Acacia Update: 3rd Quarter Earnings Report Reveals Scope of Acacia’s Ambitions

Acacia enters into its 200th DMT licensing agreement while reporting third quarter licensing revenue of $740,000 from its DMT patents alone.

Orb Networks Mobilizes Digital Content Via Streaming

Transforms a home PC into a "personal media portal" that can stream every major digital media format to an Internet-enabled PDA, cell phone, laptop, or remote desktop equipped with either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

WSN TV 75: A Business Model for the Next Hundred Years

This digital content aggregator wants to evangelize to the U.S. about the benefits of fiber optics; monetize streamed and downloaded digital content; and partner with and educate entrepreneurial content creators, all in an effort to build an Information Age business.

IBC Update: From a Streaming Perspective

IBC2004 offered a host of streaming-related announcements, from the ISMA’s Conformance Program to a video headend from SkyStream with eight MPEG-4 AVC encoders. Learn more about the latest and greatest in streaming media in this IBC2004 roundup.

Acacia Update: Busy Little Bees

From revising its licensing fees for schools to suing more cable companies, Acacia’s been keeping the streaming media industry on its toes. Here’s a look at what’s gone on in the last month.

The Last Mile: Streaming’s Bottleneck

The future of full-screen, high-quality streaming media hinges upon the widespread availability of ultrabroadband as well as the business models necessary to make it all profitable.

Player Penetration By The Numbers

250 million and 93%. Those are just two of the figures given by Microsoft, Apple, Real, Macromedia, and others in reference to the number of people who have downloaded their media players. This is a realistic look into what those numbers actually mean.

Acacia Releases Second Wave Aimed at Colleges and Universities

The company has made limited-time licensing offers to colleges and universities across the country, creating confusion among schools as to how to respond.

District Court Delivers Blow to Acacia

The recent Markman Order may be the first step towards invalidating some of Acacia’s DMT patent claims, but the case still has a long way to go.

The Net/Net of Internet Radio

Between advertising, subscriptions, and marketing approaches both innovative and traditional, companies like Live365.com and Liquid Compass are trying to monetize Internet radio stations.

Microsoft Releases Windows Media Player 10 Technical Beta

The new version puts more options at users’ fingertips, and Redmond says the new "Digital Media Mall" will lay the groundwork for the future of digital content consumption.

Saving Streaming

No, it's not the industry that needs saving. But more and more people want to save streamed content onto their hard drives. For companies like ZyGoDigital and Twinklesoft, that spells opportunity. For content creators, it might also spell trouble.

The Best of Streaming Media East 2004 Part2

Last week, we shared highlights from the show's Content track. This week, here's a look at some of the more notable issues from Streaming Media East's Business track, including sessions on Internet radio, security, and the future of enterprise streaming.

The Best of Streaming Media East 2004

The exhibit floor was hopping, but the real action took place in the conference sessions, where industry experts gave attendees tips on best practices, offered their take on the state of the industry, and gave a glimpse into the future of streaming media.

Case Study: Cinequest's Maverick Approach to Streaming

Cinequest Online takes films from analog to digital to streaming in six weeks, giving exposure on the cheap to independent filmmakers and high-quality delivery to movie buffs.

Workshops Kick Off Streaming Media East 2004

In their pre-show seminars, Steve Mack offered a primer in "best practices for streaming," while Nico McLane walked her audience through three real-life scenarios.