RealNetworks to Upgrade Web Broadcast Software

RealNetworks, a leading provider of software for delivering audio and video over the Internet, is expected to release upgrades today that aim to improve the quality, reliability and scalability of Web broadcasts.

The new software, dubbed “RealSystem iQ,” is for computer servers that transmit audio and video files over the Net.

It’s separate from the software used to play those files on a personal computer, which Real updated earlier this year.

Marty Roberts, a Real product manager, said the new software enables Webcasters to route traffic automatically around Net traffic jams and faulty servers, using both satellite and terrestrial networks. It also allows Webcasters to reach larger audiences by increasing the number of viewers who can connect to each server while enabling multiple networks of servers to deliver the same feed, Roberts said.

Real’s customers already have developed some of the same improvements on their own. But Tom Gillis of IBeam Broadcasting Corp., a major distributor of streaming media, said the new version of RealSystem will increase stability and improve performance while allowing IBeam to focus on other ways to differentiate itself.

Analyst Sujata Ramnarayan of Gartner Group, a technology research and consulting firm, said that the upgrade might not help Real in its battle against Microsoft Corp. for leadership in streaming software. That’s because Real continues to charge streaming businesses for server software, while Microsoft gives its product away.

“I think Real is going to have a hard time because it’s quite expensive today to be streaming, and they’re the ones who are charging for it. People are starting to complain,” Ramnarayan said. “They’re running neck and neck right now [with Microsoft], whereas before they were very much ahead.”