Smooth Streaming, an IIS Media Services extension,
enables adaptive streaming of media to Silverlight clients over HTTP. Smooth Streaming
provides a high-quality viewing experience that scales massively on content distribution
networks, making true HD media experiences (720p+) a reality.
Smooth Streaming is the productization of technology first used by Microsoft
to deliver on-demand video of the 2008 Summer Olympics for
NBCOlympics.com.
Smooth Streaming dynamically detects current network and local PC conditions, and
seamlessly switches the video quality of a media file that a Silverlight player
receives. Consumers with high-bandwidth connections and newer hardware can experience
HD quality streaming, and others with lower bandwidth speeds or older hardware receive
an appropriate stream for their conditions, allowing the audience to enjoy an uninterrupted
streaming experience with the highest quality possible.
With a few mouse clicks in
Expression Encoder 2 Service Pack 1, you can encode several quality levels of
a specific piece of content; each media quality level is encoded as its own complete
file. Choose one of Expression Encoder’s
Silverlight 2
templates and publish all of the media content and the Silverlight player directly
to a Smooth Streaming-enabled IIS 7.0 server. Once IIS receives a request for media,
it will create virtual chunks from each video file and deliver the best content
possible to the end user.
Smooth Streaming provides media companies with a better way to make true HD (720p+)
on the Web a reality. It offers code-free deployment and simplified content management
for content creators and content delivery networks. For end users, the improved
video viewing experience will bring the reliability and quality of television to
their favorite video Web sites.
To see Smooth Streaming in action, check out the
Experience Smooth Streaming page,
where you can simulate different bandwidths and see how Smooth Streaming responds. To learn more,
download Smooth Streaming from the links at the top right of this page, and read the
Smooth Streaming Technical Overview.