Sun Launches New Video Delivery Over IP Platform With Highest Video Streaming Throughput in the Industry

Nortel Joins Sun for System Unveiling at New York's Tribeca Film Festival

    NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 ( SUNW) today introduced the Sun(TM) Streaming System -- the
 industry's first massively scalable and cost-effective video delivery
 platform for cable and telecommunications operators, which helps operators
 increase subscriber revenue by offering new video-based services and
 personalized, unique video streams to each consumer. Unveiled at the 6th
 annual Tribeca Film Festival in Lower Manhattan, a world-class venue for
 the international film community to demonstrate the power of film, the
 system leverages the Solaris(TM) 10 Operating System (OS) to deliver the
 highest video streaming capacity in the industry by enabling cost-effective
 personalized video delivery over existing optical network infrastructure --
 consequently reshaping the economics and quality of video delivery
 services.
     Designed by Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim, Sun's cutting-edge system
 design enables the Sun Streaming System to support up to 160,000
 simultaneous, unique video streams at the rate of 2Mbps and a price of less
 than $50 per stream for complete video headend -- which is approximately 10
 times the streaming capacity of competitive platforms. Thirty-two
 integrated 10 Gigabit Ethernet optical networking ports combine
 multiplexing, switching and routing all in one high-density video streaming
 package.
     "Video on demand and IPTV are expected to become widely available by
 2010," said Andy Bechtolsheim, Chief Architect and Senior Vice President,
 Sun Systems Group. "The Sun Streaming System's revolutionary design allows
 operators to capitalize on that market opportunity and deliver unique
 content and relevant advertising to each subscriber, increasing revenue for
 operators and advertisers. As the first industry solution to offer 160,000
 video streams per switch, it is also the industry's most scalable and
 cost-effective solution. We are extremely excited to see where the industry
 will go with this new architecture."
     The Sun Streaming System is an integrated platform that is composed of a
 distributed software suite running on Sun Fire(TM) x64 systems, storage and
 switching technologies. Key components of the Sun Streaming System are the new
 Sun Streaming Software, the new Sun Fire X4950 Streaming Switch, the Sun Fire
 X4500 data server and the Sun Fire X4100 systems, which together provide the
 highest streaming throughput in the video services industry at the lowest
 cost:
 
      --   Sun Streaming Software: Based on open industry standards, the Sun
           Streaming Software is a single point of control to operate and
           manage the entire video streaming system. The software enables
           operators to reduce time to market for deploying new services by
           supporting more than 20 video streaming features, such as: MPEG-2
           and MPEG-4 formats; bit-rate support from 1Mbps to 20 Mbps;
           standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) streaming;
           encrypted and clear content streaming; at least six trick-play
           settings; Network Personal Video Recorder (nPVR) capabilities; and
           splicing and personalized playlists for permission-based target
           advertising. Open software standards, such as CORBA, XML, HTTP and
           RTSP, allow operators to easily integrate third-party components for
           an end-to-end video headend solution.
      --   Sun Fire X4950 Streaming Switch: A scalable memory cache-based
           content switching and streaming engine, the Sun Fire X4950 Streaming
           Switch provides the highest available streaming density at 320 Gbps
           and up to 2 terabytes (TB) of memory to enable scalable video
           streaming with a low cost per stream.
      --   Sun Fire X4500 server: By integrating state of the art server and
           storage technologies, the Sun Fire X4500 server powered by Second-
           Generation AMD Opteron(TM) processors delivers the performance of a
           four-way x64 server and the highest storage density available, with
           24 TB of storage in seven inches of rack space for up to 9,400 hours
           of 2Mbps video content storage.
     Customers, Partners and ISVs Show Support for Sun Streaming System's
 Market-Changing Economics
     Sun is aligning with several resellers, partners and Independent
 Software Vendors (ISVs), including EDS and Nortel, to bring the Sun
 Streaming System's market-changing economics to customers in the video
 services industry.
     "Nortel is focused on IPTV as a critical enabler of our video strategy,
 which aims to help our carrier customers increase revenues by adding video-
 rich applications to their services mix. As we work to transform networks
 to accommodate the increasing requirements of video, we are partnering with
 the best of the industry's best to provide the most comprehensive,
 best-performing IPTV solution to our customers," said Sameer Sheth, general
 manager, Video Solutions, Nortel. "The Sun Streaming System, which combines
 high performance in a cost-effective platform, will facilitate the
 introduction of competitive new video applications and is a strong addition
 to Nortel's IPTV solution ecosystem."
     "The Sun Streaming System is a best-of-breed solution that allows
 customers to consolidate their infrastructure and save on management
 costs," said Sue Chevins, Global Leader, Communications, Media &
 Entertainment Industry at EDS. "This breakthrough platform is a key part of
 EDS' Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) strategy. It allows us to leverage
 the innovation of an Agility Alliance partner to augment our core Managed
 Services competencies as Sun's preferred Systems Integration partner in the
 IPTV marketplace."
     Early access and beta customers such as Acetrax of Europe have already
 been testing the Sun Streaming System. In addition, a number of ISV and
 Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) solutions have been integrated and tested
 with the system, bringing together an end-to-end deployment architecture
 for video delivery services. These partners include Advanced Digital
 Broadcast (ADB), AMD, Amino, Digisoft.tv, Harmonic, IMAKE Software, Juniper
 Networks, Minerva Networks, TANDBERG Television, Tellabs, Verimatrix and
 Widevine. For quotes and more details on customer and ISV support of the
 Sun Streaming System, please visit:
 http://www.sun.com/servers/networking/streamingsystem/perspectives.xml
     Sun also announced today its Sun Solution Center at the Menlo Park
 campus for the Sun Streaming System/IPTV solution. The center allows
 potential customers, OEMs and ISVs to test the Sun Streaming System's
 capabilities, architect and validate an end-to-end solution. It is
 currently involved in partner enablement and pilot projects. For more
 information on how to engage with the Sun Solution Center, please visit:
 http://www.sun.com/ssc
     In addition, Sun announced today a range of services to help optimize
 Sun Streaming System performance and ROI, including on-site installation
 and testing; factory integration and end-to-end support; and access to Sun
 experts to ensure a smooth and productive experience. Sun is rolling out a
 software subscription that includes fundamental software services such as
 telephone and online technical support, software updates and upgrades, and
 self-help tools and notifications. For more information on services for the
 Sun Streaming System, please visit:
 http://www.sun.com/servers/networking/streamingsystem/support.xml
     The Sun Streaming System is available now. For more information, please
 visit: http://www.sun.com/streamingsystem
     About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
     A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer(TM)" -- guides Sun in
 the development of technologies that power the world's most important
 markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is
 at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun
 can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.
     NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Sun Fire and The Network Is The
 Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 in the United States and other countries. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD
 Opteron and combinations thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of
 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
     Contact: Rebekah Johnson of Sun Microsystems, Inc., +1-650-585-5473, or
 rebekah.johnson@sun.com.
 
 

SOURCE Sun Microsystems, Inc.