New Free High-Definition Video Player

In December 2007, Swarmcast announced the release of its groundbreaking player, Autobahn HD for Flash which can be found at http://www.swarmcast.com.

The new player enables full-screen, high-quality video while protecting against video stalls and skips. This is the first ever FREE video player platform to feature network acceleration, protect against rebuffering, with high-definition support. Has anyone used this player? If so, please let us know your experience in the comments below.

• Swarmcast lets developers get the open code to create or customize their own embeddable, full-screen video player.
  • Developers – Get the source code to modify and extend the Autobahn HD player Here
    
• In addition, for a limited time, Swarmcast has a Free hosting trial to support you in showcasing high quality video on your site. You can use the player or integrate Autobahn HD into your Flash^® player, and they will cover the bill for content delivery from several of the top CDNs in the world.

Here is the original Press Release:

Swarmcast’s Autobahn™ HD for Flash® Delivers Online Video Breakthrough
Free, customizable player gives content providers complete control over HD video viewing experiences

Minneapolis, MN – December 11, 2007 – Swarmcast, the leader in high-quality online video delivery, has announced the release of its groundbreaking player, Autobahn HD for Flash at http://www.swarmcast.com. The new player enables full-screen, high-quality video while protecting against video stalls and skips. This launch is the latest step in Swarmcast’s mission to enable content providers to deliver the best possible viewing experience to global audiences.

Exponential growth in the online video market over the past two years and high expectations of video quality have fuelled consumer demand for high quality online video. Content providers and video aggregation sites have begun to showcase high definition (HD) content on their websites, but the lack of reliable delivery methods has resulted in poor user experiences. Factors such as network congestion, overloaded servers and users’ bandwidth limitations have hampered the online video industry’s attempts to service the demand for HD content.

Autobahn HD for Flash is the industry’s first syndicatable media player to combine the power of Adobe’s® Flash platform with advanced video delivery technology. Built on Swarmcast’s patented multi-source streaming technology, which provides network acceleration, Autobahn HD for Flash also features adaptive bitrate streaming. Adaptive bitrate streaming dynamically adjusts the video bitrate (video quality) to ensure that individual viewers are always watching the highest-quality video possible for their Internet connection.

Completely transparent to the end-user, network acceleration and adaptive bitrate streaming give content providers the confidence to showcase their high-quality video assets without fear of poor user experience.

Swarmcast has also announced that it will be making source code available to the Flash developer community, enabling and encouraging developers to freely modify and extend the Autobahn HD player.

Additionally, Swarmcast is offering use of its player and a risk-free hosting trial for those who want to showcase high-quality video on their websites.

“The enormous, latent demand for high quality online video is undeniable. However, the market is being held back by available players and delivery methods that are expensive, inflexible, require proprietary publishing tools, lack syndication abilities, or fail to accommodate viewers according to their Internet connection,” said Justin Chapweske, founder and CEO of Swarmcast. “With Autobahn HD for Flash, content providers and developers can leverage the ubiquitous Flash platform, gain complete control over the user experience and monetization, and be confident that the best video experience is being delivered to every viewer, every time.”

“Replicating the TV experience in a browser is the holy grail of online content delivery,” said Michael Goodman, director, digital entertainment in Yankee Group’s consumer research group. “Content providers have been searching for a solution to provide consumers with HD video online, but until recently quality and bandwidth issues have limited their ability to meet this demand. Solutions such as the Autobahn HD for Flash enable content providers to satisfy consumer demand, expand their audiences and generate new revenue streams.”

To enhance the HD viewing experience users have the option to upgrade their Flash experience with Swarmcast’s Autobahn, which transparently accelerates video delivery. Additionally, Autobahn has built-in accelerator functionality for music or videos from supported applications such as the iTunes® store, and video sites such as MySpaceTV® and Veoh.com.

About the Author - Mark R Robertson
Mark Robertson is the Founder and Creator of ReelSEO.com. Mark has had extensive experience in online marketing, particularly in Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Local Search, Video Marketing, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You can follow Mark on Twitter @markrrobertson

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