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Helix universal media server review8/28/2023 ![]() A year later, in 1997 Microsoft announced a licensing and standards development deal with Progressive Networks and made a minority investment, taking a 10% ownership in the company. Microsoft then launched version 1.0 of their own player, called NetShow, in conjunction with the launch of Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 at Internet World. In 1996, Microsoft made an investment in VDOnet, a small company with some Internet video broadcasting technology, acquiring a 5% stake in the company. This ushered in the era of good quality music streaming as well as Microsoft’s entry into the industry. Then in September of 1996 they launched RealAudio 3.0, with the help of Sheryl Crow’s single “If It Makes You Happy”. In October of 1995, Progressive Networks launched version two of their platform, RealAudio 2.0, and pretty much owned the entire audio streaming market at the time. But Progressive Networks rightly deserves a lot of the credit and was the primary company responsible for the wide adoption of audio and video streaming with content owners, and consumers, from 1995 to 2002. There were a lot of very smart people working on audio and video technology at the time that helped contribute to getting the industry off the ground. Some say it was the Rolling Stones concert in November of 1994 over the Mbone, but others disagree. Progressive Networks radio webcast on Septembetween the Mariners and Yankees is considered by most to be the first major live sports webcast on the Internet, but no one truly knows who did the first webcast. Progressive Networks got all the traction in the market and quickly became the default platform in the industry. Microsoft tried to provide the answer with “My TV” Microsoft Interactive Television, or MITV for short, but aside from the catchy acronym, MITV didn’t have much going for it. Progressive Networks spent more money and had an aggressive expansion plan and out executed everyone else. Microsoft’s video server technologies, originally code named Tiger, (because it sliced data into “stripes” for storage) led to its innovation in streaming media and was first demonstrated in 1994. Microsoft was already working on video technology as early as 1993, when their video for Windows development kit was sent to developers that year. So while many want to point to just one company that founded or started the industry, the fact is that no single entity or person deserves all the credit. Xing, which had an MPEG tool suite at the time, launched their StreamWorks platform, which supported not just audio, but video as well, just after Progressive Networks. Others including Vivo, Xing, VDOnet, VXtreme and Microsoft were also developing their own platforms. While they ushered in the era of the early days of the industry, with audio only streaming, they weren’t the only company at the time working on streaming technology. ![]() Progressive Networks is considered by many to have started the streaming media industry with their launch of RealAudio 1.0 in April of 1995. So for those that want a history lesson, or want to re-live the old days, here’s how it all started. You really had to live through it and be working in the industry during the early years to appreciate it. Words can’t describe how competitive the market was at the time or the amount of advancements that took place in the industry within a two-year period. ![]() If you didn’t work in the streaming media industry during that time period, you would have no idea just how fierce the battle between Microsoft and RealNetworks really was. Fewer still are aware of the role that RealNetworks and Microsoft played in growing the industry and helping to foster the adoption of streaming media content, thanks to their deep pockets and marketing muscle in the late 90’s. ![]() 2015 marked the 20th year of the streaming media industry and for many who weren’t around in the early days of the Internet, the history of how the streaming media industry started isn’t a story they know.
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