MUMBAI: Content delivery network for digital media Limelight Networks has introduced LimelightHD, a service for the delivery of high-definition (HD) media and digital content over the Internet.
Rajshri Media’s broadband portal Rajshri.com, which deploys Limelight’s services has also upgraded to this new service. LimelightHD allows media and entertainment companies, global consumer brands, game publishers, and social media sites to deliver HD-quality movies, TV shows, video clips and games directly to their users’ Internet-connected televisions, game consoles, and PCs.
Apart from Rajshri.com, internet TV service Brightcove and media entities including Fox Interactive Media and MSN Video will also be offering HD content via the LimelightHD service.
Rajshri.com managing director Rajjat A. Barjatya said, “As India’s #1 broadband video portal, serving a South Asian audience worldwide, it is our constant endeavor to offer entertainment-hungry consumers premium Indian programming of the highest quality. By leveraging Limelight’s rock-solid HD delivery network, we will soon be able to offer our audience an unmatched online experience: HD-quality streams and downloads of India’s finest films, TV shows, music videos and original made-for-online video programming.”
Media technology leaders supporting the LimelightHD initiative include Adobe Systems, Incorporated, Microsoft Corporation, Move Networks and Veoh Networks. LimelightHD will be available immediately on over 700 broadband access networks worldwide.
LimelightHD is designed to meet the rising demand for high-definition content delivered via the Internet, to television set-top boxes, media players, game consoles, and PCs. Consumers are broadly embracing HD-quality programming, with Forrester Research predicting that the majority of US households will have an HD television by 2010.
A recent report by eMarketer noted that by 2011, there will be 200 million Internet users in the United States and 183 million online video viewers. As broadcast HD becomes commonplace, consumer demand for Internet HD will grow rapidly, prompting leading media and online companies to expand their Internet programming strategies and begin introducing online HD offerings this year.
The LimelightHD service is specifically designed to provide end-users with a high-fidelity, high-definition media experience by bypassing the often-congested public Internet and delivering content directly to “last-mile” broadband access networks. At the heart of LimelightHD is Limelight’s advanced global CDN architecture, consisting of thousands of high-performance content servers distributed worldwide, connected directly to leading broadband access networks, interconnected via a high-speed, dedicated optical network, and built to store and deliver entire content libraries. This global footprint reduces network latency and ensures that every title in every HD content library — whether the most popular title or the least popular — will be consistently available to every user, on demand.
LimelightHD will deliver video content of 720p and 1080p resolution supporting popular Internet formats and players including Adobe Flash Player software, Microsoft Windows Media, Microsoft Silverlight and Move Media Player.
“The Internet has had inherent limitations for companies trying to distribute the massive files associated with HD content, and content providers have struggled to find different ways to monetize their HD content on-line. LimelightHD is optimized to address these issues and deliver extensive libraries of rich media — from a newly discovered indie movie to the most popular hit TV show — with better clarity and speed than consumers experience with their existing broadband Internet connections. With LimelightHD, high-quality programming on the Internet is possible today, and we’re looking forward to working with our customers and partners to continue to transform the digital media experience,” said Limelight Networks senior vice president of global products, marketing and sales David Hatfield.
