VDOnet says quality nears TV

Internet World LOS ANGELES--Video over the Net is coming into focus, but people may not want turn off the boob tube yet.

Tomorrow at Internet World, VDOnet will demonstrate video streaming technology that it says transmits "near TV-quality" video to users with cable modems, ADSL, and other high-bandwidth connections to the Net. VDOnet says that its technology is the first that automatically delivers a clearer picture over high bandwidths and fuzzier pictures at low bandwidths.

In order to get a clear, 30 frames-per-second video image, users will need upwards of 512-kbps access to the Internet, a connection that far exceeds the grasp of most consumers right now. Businesses with dedicated Internet connections or high-speed intranets will probably be the first to benefit from better-quality Net video.

According to a spokeswoman for VDOnet, the company's new technology allows a publisher to compress their video once regardless of the speed at which the video is to be delivered over the Internet. In contrast, other technologies such as Progressive Networks' RealVideo can deliver high-quality pictures but only if a publisher recompresses the video for higher speed Net connections, she said.

"Last year, we really didn't think there were going to be 56-kbps modems," said the spokeswoman. "If I'm not using a scalable technology, I have to go in and reorganize my entire site."

The improvements in VDOnet's technology may help its efforts against Progressive, which is poised to become an aggressive player in the video streaming market. Video streaming technology enables users to view video clips as they are being downloaded from the Internet instead of having to wait for the clips to download completely before they are viewed.

VDOnet's new streaming software will be available next quarter in a new version of the company's products.