The first darling of the adult Web was still images. Then slow, grainy video clips arrived on the scene, and from there things progressed rapidly to full-length videos, then full-screen full-length videos, and most recently to high-definition, full-screen full-length videos. Just appearing now: streaming videos viewable on cell phones and other wireless devices.
All of this innovation has come at a cost, of course. Generally speaking, the higher the video frame rate (the number of frames streamed in a second), the better the quality of the image—but higher frame rates carry with them the baggage of an increase in the bandwidth necessary to support their transmission.
Not to worry. As usual, adult entertainment entrepreneurs and adjunct industries have stepped into the vortex to create and deploy a host of solutions that stand to ease the lives of both content distributors and end users.
Here are a few to keep your eyes on:
Kinostream Networks (Kinostream.com) recently introduced a scalable new technology that allows webmasters to stream near-HD content across the Internet in real time. After the user downloads a small (550 Kb) plug-in, he can employ his preferred multimedia client (Microsoft Media Player, RealPlayer, DivX) to view video without buffering.
DivX (DivX.com) developed a proprietary codec that lets content producers convert bulky video files into leaner, more user-friendly sizes without losing quality. The files can be played back on a burgeoning variety of portable and home-electronics devices.
Qualcomm’s Qtv (Qualcomm.com) comprises a feature-rich software video decoder that enables mobile devices to stream, download, and play back multimedia content. The standards-based (MPEG-4, H.263, H.264) solution is making inroads in the mobile device industry because of its compatibility with popular mobile chipsets and the control over video it gives users.
