SEATTLE, April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) is addressing outdated views and misconceptions about the Helix Media Delivery Platform, which features new and improved server capability and beefed-up customer support. New marketing initiatives are being leveraged, including a humorous video aimed at dispelling myths about the pioneering platform.  See "Hello, My Name is Helix" video here http://www.realnetworks.com/spark-the-connection/helix-video-rtmp.html.

Today RealNetworks announced the new Helix Universal Media Server, the latest version of its flagship streaming media server that is currently in use by thousands of enterprises, mobile carriers and education and governmental entities around the world.

The new Helix Universal Media Server is a multi-format, multi-platform solution that lets companies and organizations stream video to PCs and most mobile and tablet devices, including iOS, Android and BlackBerry.  Advanced features include full 64-bit application support, providing an HD-quality viewing experience and eliminating file size limits. It also includes bookmarking capability that lets the user stop a stream and return later to where they left off.

Over the past four months, Real conducted extensive customer interviews aimed at improving the overall Helix technology solutions and is incorporating the feedback into its product development.

Real has also streamlined its customer support capabilities to further accelerate response time, and created a new customer support portal on the Helix website that features a continually updated knowledge base. The main Helix website has also been revamped for better navigation, with a focus on industry solutions.

"Helix is the only industrial-strength streaming media server in the world that can reliably deliver high-quality video from any platform, in any media type and to any device," said Martin Schwarz, RealNetworks' area vice president of mobile/consumer devices and Helix.  "We're taking the opportunity with our new-and-improved Helix Universal Media Server to get the word out and reintroduce Helix to education, government, carrier, and enterprise customers.  We're quite sure they're going to like what they see."

Among the key features of the new Helix Universal Media Server:

• Full 64-bit support to maximize server resources, creating an HD-quality viewing experience and limitless bandwidth.
• Simultaneous delivery of content to iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android-based handsets, BlackBerry, Flash Players, Symbian OS and Silverlight clients –available from a single server platform. 
• Universal delivery – multi-format, multi-protocol and standards-based H.264 and 3GPP delivery, along with iPhone native Dynamic HTTP segmentation.
• Support for AES-128 bit encryption over HTTP or HTTPS, and Flash (RTMP, RTMPT, RTMPS).
• Improvements in bandwidth management and control that translate into savings and superior quality of content delivery.

More information about the new Helix Universal Media Server can be found at http://www.realnetworks.com/helix.

The "Hello, My Name is Helix" video can be found at http://www.realnetworks.com/spark-the-connection/helix-video-rtmp.html.

About RealNetworks

Real creates innovative applications and services that make it easy to connect with and enjoy digital media. Real invented the streaming media category in 1995 and continues to connect consumers with their digital media both directly and through partners, aiming to support every network, device, media type and social network. Real's corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/about-us 

Real, Unifi, RealNetworks, Helix and RealPlayer are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. 

SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.