Speedera Offers Secure Streaming Service Wichita KS

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Originally published at Internet.com

Stressing security, content delivery specialist Speedera Networks Inc. launched a refresh of its streaming media service, which carried with it a strong endorsement from Amazon.com Inc.'s digital group.

The Santa Clara, Calif. firm unveiled Secure Streaming service, which lets content providers safely offer streaming content to users across the Web with less risk that the content will be poached.

The company said the new service protects streamed content against theft and copyright violations through what it calls a kind of "plug-and-play" technology. This approach makes it cheaper than digital rights management solutions from the likes of Real Networks Inc. or Microsoft Corp. Regardless, it is compatible with the three major streaming providers applications -- including QuickTime, Microsoft's Windows Media and RealNetworks' RealMedia format.

Speedera Vice President of Marketing Gordon Smith told InternetNews.com Tuesday that the refreshed service places a greater emphasis on security, something his firm recognized as becoming essential for streaming media offerings.

"Well, I think we all know it's relatively easy to lift streaming media content if people want to," Smith said.

Since this past June, Seattle's Amazon.com has used Speedera's streaming service to provide its vast e-tail customer base with music samples and movie clips, but now they have an improved service to offer shoppers; listeners have access to a whole work while they wait for it to show up in their mailboxes, so long as they pay Amazon.com for it.

"Speedera's new streaming service provides us with a means to innovate even further, by giving customers instant access to new music releases in digital form, while they await their CD shipment," said Jeff Blackburn, general manager of Amazon Worldwide Digital Group.

Speedera's emphasis on security comes at a time when fears about pirated content are rampant, as HTRC analyst Greg Howard said:

"Our research shows that secure streaming will be a fundamental requirement for most organizations. Speedera's new service opens up new possibilities for content providers who want to sell streaming content such as training, films, and music over the Internet while minimizing the risk of the content being illicitly distributed."

Features of Speedera's Secure Streaming service include: Pay-per-view and subscription services; pirate prevention, in which the service ensures that users cannot provide unauthorized access to others by e-mailing them a URL to the secure stream or by posting the URL on a Web site; ticketing, which ensures that viewers hold valid tickets to view content; and geographic distribution limits, in which Secure Streaming can be paired with geographic targeting to ensure that content is only streamed to those countries where distribution is authorized.