Highwinds Unleashes Infinite HD for High-Definition Streaming

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Highwinds, a leader in content delivery and hosted IP services, today announced at Streaming Media East the availability of Infinite HD for streaming high-definition video live and on-demand over its content delivery network (CDN).  Setting a new standard for delivering HD video to online audiences, Highwinds' Infinite HD is built on technology that provides the most resilient and consistent HD streams available in the industry today, together with the features necessary to deliver advanced HD viewing experiences.

Infinite HD is the result of Highwinds' robust, global CDN coupled with the Octoshape Infinite Edge throughput optimization technology.  Unlike TCP or chunked HTTP-based protocols, Infinite HD is far less susceptible to latency and packet loss, allowing Infinite HD to have the highest probability of successful HD stream delivery to the last mile.  When there is contention in the last mile or in the core, other technologies fail to deliver consistent streams and are forced to rely on bitrate adaption technologies, which require higher overhead and support lower average bitrates than Infinite HD.

Infinite HD customers gain:

• True High-Definition Streams of Live and On-Demand Video
• Consistent HD Quality Resulting in Longer Viewing Times
• Global Reach and Massive Scalability Regardless of Video Origin
• Customizable HD Viewing Experiences and Advanced HD Features
• Robust, Real-Time Analytics and Reporting on All HD Streams

Though the new Infinite HD platform is making its debut into the market today, Highwinds has a number of customers who are already using the platform and player technology.  Infinite HD was first used to deliver last year's PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, and it continues to power the streaming of major media, entertainment and sporting events, including THE PLAYERS Championship, which was held May 6-10, 2010.  In addition to gaining early customer adoption of Infinite HD, Highwinds has also garnered industry support from its ecosystem partners, including Octoshape, whose technology is integral to Infinite HD, and Digital Rapids, who has created encoding profiles specific to Infinite HD to support broadcast-quality streaming.

"As consumer demand for ubiquitous HD video grows, we continue to see increased HD traction from traditional broadcasters and online content owners.  However, HD technologies used to deliver HD video today fail to deliver a consistent experience," said Steve Miller, president and CEO of Highwinds.  "As such, we launch Infinite HD as a proven streaming innovation after having successfully delivered several high-profile live events with unprecedented quality.  Additionally, Highwinds customers who stream video with Infinite HD can experience advanced viewing features including DVR, instant replay, picture-in-picture and live data feed overlays."

Exclusive demonstrations of Highwinds' Infinite HD will be provided to Streaming Media East attendees at Booth #202.  If you are unable to attend Streaming Media East and would like to schedule a demo, please e-mail [email protected].

About Highwinds Network Group, Inc.

Highwinds is a content, network and hosted IP services business that offers a comprehensive suite of solutions including CDN, IP transit, content storage and IP software.  The company delivers live event streaming, on-demand video and large file downloads over its high-performance RollingThunder^® network to millions of global users every day.  Highwinds' CDN customers gain unprecedented command and control over all types of content with its StrikeTracker^® console and open APIs.  Highwinds is headquartered in Winter Park, Fla., and maintains data centers throughout North America, South America and Europe.  For more information, visit www.highwinds.com.

RollingThunder and StrikeTracker are registered trademarks of Highwinds Network Group, Inc.

SOURCE Highwinds Network Group, Inc.