The PowerStream Pro is part of ViewCast's Niagara series of integrated, turnkey real-time video encoders for rack mounting. This device can be used in professional studios, cable headers, ISPs and by IT professionals for IP-TV applications, webcasting, video archiving, content creation, web reuse and training.
George Platt, president of Viewcast, says this device meets the operational needs of broadcasters. "The ease of streaming live or deferred events, as well as the ability to extract closed captioning for HTML search references, make it a robust solution for broadcasters. The PowerStream Pro integrates with editing, automation and content management systems to broadcast live news or sports events."
This 2 RU unit accepts digital or analog video inputs and can store the captured video or send it as a stream to a server or media distribution service through its two 1 GHz TCP/IP network ports. The supported video formats are AVI, Flash, RealVideo and Windows Media.
The PowerStream Pro can send video to any IP device on the network: laptops, desktops, workstations, as well as wireless handheld devices. With the included SchedulStream software, complex webcast programs can be planned in advance.
NiagaraMAX, on the other hand, is a packaged solution for coding live web signals. It contains the high-performance components of an entire workstation, but still, it's portable. It includes the Ospray family of capture cards and allows video streaming in RealNetworks and Microsoft formats simultaneously. A CD-RW drive allows you to archive live events.
