First there was RealAudio, then RealVideo, and now, RealSystem G2. As they approach the second anniversary of their February 1997 launch of RealVideo, RealNetworks (formerly Progressive Networks) has begun the distribution of its standard-setting new streaming media architecture, RealSystem G2 (except for the Mac components which are due by early next year). The name "G2" is designed to identify this product family as the next generation of streaming media software Ž and maybe rightly so.

Rather than an incremental upgrade from RealVideo 5.0 (the standard for most of 1998) to RealVideo 6.0, RealSystem G2 presents the Video Web with a fundamentally revamped server-player architecture. By incorporating new formats for multiple streaming data-types (audio plus video plus JPEG graphics plus text plus MIDI, etc.) along with an array of other new software enhancements, there's no question that this is a major upgrade. In fact, RealNetworks claims that G2 incorporates a "base of 1.6 million lines of (software) code, which took 40 developer years (and 5,400 gallons of Diet Coke) to construct."

And, it's important to note that this new software architecture comes from the leader in streaming media who not only produced the original streaming media breakthrough with RealAudio, but who also claims that according to HotWired's HotBot search engine, "9 out of 10 new streaming media sites use RealNetwork's software." RealNetworks also claims that "more than 85% of web sites with streaming media use RealNetworks audio or video software." Of course, some of these sites use RealNetworks' software along side the remaining post-Video-Web-shakeout alternatives including Microsoft's Windows Media Player (formerly NetShow) and Apple's QuickTime.

No matter how you interpret these statistics, RealNetworks is the current streaming leader, and in my humble opinion, with RealSystem G2, they have reasserted their technological prowess. RealSystem G2 is the standard by which the upcoming releases from RealNetworks' competitors will be judged.

REDEFINING THE MEDIA SYSTEM
Streaming video and other media on the Internet requires a server that "handshakes" with a player in order to maximize efficiency over the frequently inconsistent network conditions of the Net. That's why RealNetworks bases RealSystem G2 on what it calls the Real Media Architecture (RMA). In essence, it's a platform for streaming media (especially video) that combines components that include players, servers and tools. RealSystem G2 also gets down to Internet business with network enhancements like software "hooks" for secure authentication and e-commerce.

This system comes to market as a family of products with the RealPlayer offered to users, tools offered to producers, and servers offered to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and to corporations for their Intranets. RealNetworks has also pioneered the up-sell in each of these categories, particularly with the RealPlayer Plus G2 ($29.99) which includes "experience enhancing features" like real-time graphical audio waveform displays, a 10-band equalizer and video color, brightness and contrast controls.

Either version of the new RealPlayer looks more like a small web browser than another streaming media player. With a selection of webcast "channels" pre-configured, a search window at the bottom (touted as the "first integrated streaming media search system") and a larger-than web video display window where arrangements of text and other media can complement the video stream.

On the tools side, RealNetworks offers its basic RealProducer (which replaces RealEncoder) for free but they sell the more fully featured RealProducer Plus G2 (which replaces RealPublisher, $89.95 "limited time" via download, initially Windows only, Mac to follow in the first quarter of next year). Of course, other tools from third parties are also available. In fact, RealNetworks offers a bundle of RealProducer Plus, MediaPalette for Cynax Designs, and T.A.G. from Digital Renaissance for $289. Details are available at http://www.real.com/products/tools/bundles/interactive.html. (More on these other tools in future Video Web columns.)

Also important is G2's new built-in AutoUpdate feature which enables both RealNetworks as well as third parties to update the RealPlayer and its components (RealNetworks now incorporates plug-ins within their plug-in) without requiring a time-consuming downloads and re-installations. Furthermore, RealSystem G2's open and extensible multimedia architecture enables RealSystem to synchronize the presentation of multiple media types including, for example, Macromedia Flash vector animations synched to RealAudio and/or RealVideo and/or RealText, RealPix and more.

MULTISTREAM SMILES
In fact, one of RealSystem G2's niftiest features is the way it allows for the arrangement and synchronization of multiple media files by using a new Internet Industry standard, the SMIL (pronounced "smile") language. SMIL stands for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language. Like the web's foundation programming language, HTML, SMIL uses relatively simple text "tags" to define the layout or arrangement of multiple media types on a web page or, in the case of RealSystem G2, within the program window of the new version of the RealPlayer.

What also makes G2 an effective tool for taking online presentations beyond the limited size of its video frames is its own new media types. RealText, for example, allows both static and live, very low bandwidth text including links to be added to online video presentations.

RealPix allows existing image formats like JPEG photographs to be sequenced at larger than streaming video frame sizes with remarkable quality. And RealPlayer G2 lets you enhance a slide show style presentation with six built-in transitions that reduce the precious bandwidth required to deliver these effects. (Remember, as a New York post production editor once told me, "A dissolve IS a special effect.")

Because doing these kinds of hybrid presentations represents a new kind of communications art form, I expect video producers like Videography's readers (who are familiar with productions involving multiple "layers" of video and audio) to use their specialized knowledge to take advantage of these new creative opportunities. (I'll be watching. Please keep me posted.)

SURESTREAM
In order to address the fundamental challenge of getting better video through limited bandwidth connections, RealSystem G2 offers an innovation called SureStream. Beyond expected upgrades like new codecs (Real claims that G2's new audio codec delivers twice the frequency response of its old RealAudio codec), SureStream is designed to confront problems like Internet data "traffic jams" and unpredictable bandwidth variances. Like QuickTime 3, RealSystem now delivers the ability to encode multiple datarate streams within on media clip.

However, RealSystem G2 takes this feature a step further with the ability to dynamically "upshift" and "downshift" between multiple datarate streams in real-time. For example, if the user is watching a 56K datarate video clip and experiences network congestion, SureStream will "downshift" to a 28.8 clip and thus seamlessly reduce quality while saving the user from experiencing an unwanted interruption in whatever they are watching. Likewise, if the network's congestion clears up, RealSystem G2 will seamless shift back to the higher-quality 56K stream. QuickTime (so far) chooses only one of available streams at the clip's start and then sticks with it.

RealSystems' SureStream offers an improved user experience because it minimizes the need for the much more disruptive process of re-buffering (where a video clip will stop playing in order to catch up.) If you're dweeby enough, it's almost fun to watch SureStream's datarates change.

NEXT STEPS
Of course, there's more to RealSystem G2 than I have time or space to detail here; but bottom line, I'm impressed with both the scope and the depth of this upgrade. In a universe that morphs with the velocity of the Video Web, RealNetworks continues to demonstrate vision and determination as well as the ability to execute. These are three crucial requirements for true leadership and they are at least some of the reasons that RealNetworks continues to set the streaming standard.

How long can their leadership last? Stay tuned.

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