IP Telephony

Inlet Technologies enables new media for new networks. The company’s advanced encoding solutions are designed to produce high-quality video, enabling content creators, programmers and distributors to increase their production efficiency, reduce their costs and deliver quality video over any IP network. Inlet’s family of encoding solutions are created for applications such as video on demand; video on the Web, real-time streaming, and digital archiving.

 

I had the opportunity to catch up with Neal Page, Inlet Technologies CEO.

 

 

NP: Seamless interconnectivity between different communications devices and networks is a growing trend, including synchronization between mobile devices and PCs fueled by consumers’ desire to have access to audio and video media wherever and whenever they want.

 

In addition, new communication techniques such as text messaging, instant-online messaging, and social networks are being used extensively by certain consumer demographics (typically those under 30). While the growth within these groups is staggering, there is very little overlap to other, particularly older, demographics.

 

With these communication trends is an equally fast tsunami of growth in media communications, what we at Inlet consider “New Media,” as various digital networks deliver content to consumers. This will exponentially increase the demand for quality bandwidth and therefore require wholesale communications infrastructure upgrades to deal with the vast amount of new media data.

 

NP: We observed the expected increase in trends in the New Media market that we address. It’s evident from the dramatic increase in online consumption of video content, and the tectonic shift beginning in the power/revenue driving distribution of content, away from traditional networks and cable companies.

 

NP: For those of us in the new media communications space, the answer is a resounding yes! We expect an ever-increasing expansion of the availability of media under the control of the consumer. We will see the emergence of effective delivery of VOD over broadband networks; however, widespread deployment will remain spotty in 2008 but come on strong towards the end of the year. There will be more companies like MLB.com that drive serious revenue via broadcast quality streaming over the Internet.

 

On the other hand, mobile video communications will remain a much-hyped capability, but will have limited commercial deployments in 2008. Also, the gap between connecting the Internet to the television will remain significant, bridged primarily by game consoles, but still a barrier for delivering video over the Internet to TVs.

 

NP: IP networks, hands down. This drives the online experience and ultimately powers the mobile revolution. Next I would say is wireless connectivity for IP communications.

NP: Again, by leveraging the power of IP networks, Skype has begun to affect how consumers look at the ubiquity of the Internet and how it will ultimately become the backbone of all communications on the planet.

 

NP: Throw Cisco (News - Alert) and Amazon into the mix. For media communications, these giants will transform themselves and morph to overlap into different companies. Consider how GE transformed itself from the early days to a broad-based supplier of consumer stuff, plus a host of other diverse businesses (medical devices, aircraft engines, etc). We are now beginning to see our technology companies grow like the incredible hulk into the GEs of the future.

 

NP: There will be surprises, and with these surprises, we will see some interesting players shake up the telecom market.

 

NP: There are real, looming scalability problems in the new media communications market. Converting the vast amount of existing content (transcoding) for delivery to consumers over various networks and playing on various devices is a monumental task. Add to that the explosion of new content, both professional and UGC, and the industry is faced with a real problem in meeting the demands of consumers. This is exactly what Inlet Technologies is in business to solve. Providing solutions that increase the ability of content providers to transcode content over 10x more efficiently will save time, increase ability to generate revenue, and serve the needs of consumers. Likewise, we are excited that our technologies are part of the new media network infrastructure that delivers an optimized media experience to consumers on any network, on any device.

NP: Trying to expand too rapidly. We have built our reputation on excellent products and services and we can’t get ahead of ourselves in this exciting and rapidly growing market.

 

NP: Hopefully, they will gain insights from panelists and provoke thought in the attendees that stimulates interest in learning and/or influencing the media communications market.

 

NP: People that are interested in new media and issues that impact content delivery through the communications ecosystem.

 

NP: A perspective from the “early daze” of narrowband, crummy quality streaming video, blended with the perfection demanded by professional content creators in Hollywood. Inlet represents the bridge between professional quality content and the ubiquity of IP networks to deliver media, and as a result, we’ve touched everything from “glass to glass”… from the camera to the consumer’s screen.

 

NP: Establishment of business models that leverage IP networks for delivering content to consumers. This is a great normalizing factor in the market and enables brands, networks, and content like we have yet to only imagine.

 

NP: A live event will be broadcast that will clog the Internet, much like the traffic jam that occurred when Victoria’s Secret first streamed their fashion show in the late 90s. This underscores the fact that media will drive the next revolutionary expansion of the Internet.