LinuxWorld, New York, January 22, 2003 — RealNetworks®, Inc., (Nasdaq: RNWK), the global leader in Internet media delivery, (Nasdaq: RNWK, Booth #363), today announced the third source code component of the Helix™ platform, the Helix DNA Server, is now available to software developers through the Helix Community at www.helixcommunity.org. With Helix DNA Server, developers for the first time have source code access to a major end-to-end media delivery platform, consisting of producer, server and client components. Helix DNA Server is the core source code of RealNetworks' Helix Universal Server, the 9th generation, multi-format digital media server that thousands of webcasters already use to deliver content on the Internet.

RealNetworks also announced that more than 10,000 software developers have joined the Helix Community since its launch in July, and that the Open Source Initiative (OSI) has certified the public source license used by the Helix Community.

"Today we deliver on the commitment we made in July to create a complete, open media delivery platform and source code community," said Rob Glaser, founder and CEO, RealNetworks, Inc. "With 10,000 members and proven foundational technology, the Helix Community is ready to take flight!"

Helix DNA Server source code will enable developers to build multi-format products for live and on-demand streaming, web collaboration, mobile media delivery, in-home streaming, and many other applications. Helix DNA Server streams MP3, RealAudio® and RealVideo®. RealNetworks intends to add support for MPEG-4 after the MPEG-4 systems license terms have been released by the MPEG-4 licensing body, MPEG LA. Developers can create extensions for other media types such as Windows Media and QuickTime, or they can license these extensions from RealNetworks through the Helix Community. The Helix DNA Server is available for AIX, HP-UX, Tru64, FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems.

Helix DNA Server is the third release of source code into the Helix Community. In October, RealNetworks released the Helix DNA Client source code, which enables developers to build playback applications that support any format. In December, RealNetworks released the Helix DNA Producer, which enabled developers to build encoding applications that support any format. The Helix platform has already received wide industry support form the likes of Cisco, HP, IBM, Network Appliance, nCUBE, Nokia, Oracle, PalmSource, Pinnacle Systems, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Symbian, Virage, Volera and many others.

Video testimonials supporting the Helix DNA Server from Cisco, HP, and Red Hat are available at www.helixcommunity.org

Helix DNA Server Features
The Helix DNA Server offers a robust source code base for developing digital media delivery products including:
- 9th generation media server
- Industry standard streaming media protocol and transports including - RTSP, RTP, SAP and SDP
- Live and on-demand broadcasting
- Native MP3 support
- RealVideo and RealAudio codec/file format support *
- Administration, monitoring and logging
- Full client authentication support, such as for pay per view services
*Available for free under the RPSL, included in the RCSL royalty for commercial distribution.

Helix DNA Server Licensing
The Helix DNA Server will be licensed under both a public source license and a commercial community source license. Both licenses are free of charge for research and development use. The public source license has no royalty for use or distribution; the RealNetworks Community Source License (RCSL) includes a $500/unit royalty for commercial use of the Helix DNA Server with RealAudio and RealVideo support.

RealNetworks' Public Source License (RPSL) has been certified by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), a non-profit corporation dedicated to the management and promotion of the open source community. This certification is a part of the OSI Certified Open Source Software certification mark and program.

"RealNetworks has crafted a license which meets the rules and standards of the OSI Certified Open Source Software certification program," said Russ Nelson, vice president, Open Source Initiative. "We recognize RealNetworks in achieving this milestone and look forward to great open source contributions from the Helix Community."

About Helix
Helix is the open multi-format digital media platform. The Helix platform consists of source code developed by RealNetworks over the past nine years for the creation, delivery and playback of digital media, as well as a set of interfaces for building media-enabled applications. With over 10,000 members, the Helix Community uses this source code to build media-capable products with industry-leading technology, intellectual property and commonly used interfaces. The Helix Community offers source code of the Helix platform under two source licenses, the RealNetworks Community Source License and the RealNetworks Public Source License-- available at www.helixcommunity.org. RealNetworks has also released a family of products built on top of the Helix platform, including the Helix Producer, Helix Universal Server, Helix DRM and RealOne™ Player.

ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is the global leader in Internet media delivery. It develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software on the Internet at www.real.com. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located on the Internet at www.realnetworks.com.

Source: RealNetworks

OS/2-eCS-ArcaOS General News

More in General  

OS/2-eCS-ArcaOS Software News

More in Software  

Latest Forum Posts

Site News

More in Site News