Microsoft, Akamai team up for "no-buffer" video streaming

Microsoft and content delivery network services provider Akamai are collaborating to produce a new video service that promises to deliver high-speed video streaming that will not require any buffering.

The new service, called AdaptiveEdge Streaming, will build upon Microsoft's IIS Smooth Streaming server technology that gives users the ability to watch videos without buffering by adapting the video quality to the user's connection speed. Thus, a slower connection speed will result in a lower-quality video while a faster connection speed will result in a higher-quality video

Akamai's AdaptiveEdge Streaming will be powered by Windows Server 2008 and the Silverlight browser plugin, and will be deployed across Akamai's globally distributed server network. From there, it will leverage IIS Smooth Streaming to produce high-definition video application delivery for media companies. Akamai says the result will be that companies can stream videos in high-definition without any lag and without buffering.

"We've seen firsthand the growing demand for high definition online content among our customer base," says Tim Napoleon, the chief strategist for digital media at Akamai. "The challenge is that capabilities in the online world vary greatly for each user. Adaptive streaming allows the video to adjust to the audience, maximizing each user's experience."

Akamai says that AdaptiveEdge Streaming will be available sometime in early 2009.