The 2008 Streaming Media All-Stars

Sponsored by

Rich Mavrogeanes, Founder, Chief Evangelist, and CTO, www.vbrick.com

"Rich has not only invented great technology but helped shape the entire industry."—SM All-Star Nomination

Proudest achievements:
• Founding VBrick in 1997
• Growing through the "dot-com meltdown"
• Helping the industry grow via the MPEG Indusry Forum and Internet Streaming Media Alliance
• Doing well by doing good: serving the education community
• Having a family that sticks by me

Next big thing:
"One-stop-shop live streaming."

Biggest change over last 10 years:
"Moving from purely a consumer novelty to solving real human communications problems, due to increased awareness and technology maturity."

Biggest challenge facing the industry:
"I don't think cost is a problem anyone. The biggest problem is simplicity. We need more active dialog about ease-of-use and broader support for non-proprietary multivendor standards."

Doug McIntyre, Editor in Chief, 24/7 Wall St.
Former CEO, On2

"Without Doug, Flash Video might never have taken off."—SM All-Star Nomination
Proudest achievements:
• Taking On2 Technologies from brink of bankruptcy to being a viable company.
• Signing deal with Macromedia to put the VP6 codec as primary video component in Flash, allowing the On2 technology to reach almost 700 million media players and Flash to compete with Microsoft Windows Media on picture quality.
• Doing an M&A deal to buy the Flix encoder business.
• Initiating partnership with XM Satellite for rear-seat entertainment video.
• Initiating partnership with Texas Instruments to put On2 decoder software on digital signal processors.

Next big thing:
"To get major stock exchanges to provide real-time streaming quotes online."

Biggest change over the last 10 years:
"The rise of YouTube and video sharing. Up until then video was a niche business on the internet. It is now mainstream. YouTube got the industry to billions of streams per month."

Biggest challenge facing the industry:
"It’s still looking for a way to profit from most online video content and take substantially more money from TV. While some TV and other high-end video content carries commercials, the great majority of video online does not have any business model to sustain it. If one does not emerge, the amount of streaming and downloaded video could actually start to shrink because costs cannot be offset by income."

Nico McLane, CTO and Director of Interactive Media, Imagine 360

Proudest achievements:
• Developing brand, UI, and web integration for Vulcan with the Kundi.com project team. Kundi was intended to be a webcam community: It was built on individual webcam users (and various public and sponsored webcams), and the webcam feeds were to be rated by users. User ratings would then drive cam views with user ratings. The first attempt at a "YouTube," IMHO—ahead of its time. That’s Paul Allen for you!
• Learning from my peers (especially the network engineers at various CDNs, most of which no longer exist) and discovering best practices that formed from uncovering the multitude of vulnerabilities inherent to the live webcasting environment. This led to the development of StreamAware, a diagnostic tool that is easy to use and targets live encoder to media server issues in real time.
• Rising up from the ranks at JPMChase from consultant status to a vice president responsible for managing the broadcast and streaming media group for their enterprise. I was proud to present and have a business case for streaming media approved by the executive committee, an effort designed to save the company millions of dollars on videoconferencing by using streaming media.
• Getting a proof-of-concept out on live mobile streaming in 2006, bringing together 3G and Windows Media for Mobile. It is now the foundation of several platforms out there.
• Serving as Project Manager for Maven Technologies, working on site at Fox News.
• Producing the live webcast of the NewYork Philharmonic from North Korea in February 2008. It was a historic event, and it was flawless in execution.

Next big thing:
"There are a lot of 360 models in the works. I believe strongly in partnerships so I am focusing on qualifying partners and securing these relationships over the next year."

Biggest change over the last 10 years:
"Mobile and interactive TV."

Biggest challenge facing the industry:
"Lack of standards is the bane of our existence as an industry, and Adobe and MS battle it out over the next year, I look forward to the brilliant minds behind these brands building out systems that just work for mostly everyone."

Don Michels, Chief Technology Officer, Medialink Worldwide
Former VP of Technology, The FeedRoom

"A unique perspective on how to bring streaming media technologies to bear on business challenges."—SM All-Stars Nomination
Proudest achivements:
By no means can I take full credit for any one of them. In every case there was a significant team effort involved, and I am happy to have been part of it.
• Launch of the Mediaseed.tv online content distribution platform
• The first two years of March Madness On Demand
• The ESPN Gameday On Demand and Gameplan On Demand products (onlinecollege football and basketball coverage)
• Helping media companies like ESPN, New York Times, Reuters, et. al. taketheir first steps in the world of online video
• Too many other things at FeedRoom to list, from keeping our news clients online and covering events such as 9/11 and major power outages, to surviving the dot-com implosion and subsequent online advertising slump.

Next big thing:
"One of my primary initiatives at Medialink is to develop solutions that will accelerate the company's strategy for online analytics and campaign management measurement tools. It’s exciting to leverage the company's understanding of the complete creative and consumption cycle in the pursuit of a new generation of content distribution and usage-tracking solutions."

Biggest change over the last 10 years:
"The biggest change, and one I admittedly didn't see coming 8 or 10 years ago, has been the user-generated content phenomena. Online video viewership really took off when user-generated productions started delivering to audiences what TV wasn't providing: compelling, relevant content that could be easily shared with an entire community and distributed across many platforms. I get a big kick these days out of watching programming originate online and then move to traditional broadcast platforms ... now the student has become the master!"
Biggest challenge facing the industry:
"The industry is facing its biggest challenge in the area of content tracking across media platforms. By all estimates, media consumption is increasing, but the actual audience behavior is fragmenting—their consumption no longer happens on one device, or in certain times of day. One can rarely target a single distribution platform and maximize the reach to a target audience. So how do you find your audience without a standard analytics platform for tracking and monitoring video campaigns on TV, the web, and other screens? Video producers know they are leaving lots of money on the table, or underperforming in their efforts to get their message out. That's something that is obviously keeping me awake at night. Actually, it's also what gets me out of bed in the morning."

Craig Moehl, Managing Director, Groovy Gecko

"A tireless leader with incredible enthusiasm for the industry."—SM All-Star Nomination

Proudest achievements:
• In 2004 we provided technology and integration to produce the first-ever live, unscripted, subtitled webcast for the Disabilities Rights Commission. Using our experience and talent to potentially have a massive and lasting effect on the quality of life of others is very gratifying.
• Groovy Gecko being awarded the Best Streaming Company in the 2006 Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA) awards. The ISPA is an independent industry body in the UK, so kudos from our peers is always greatly appreciated.
• In 2007, for Second Life’s Second Fest, we provided scheduling and play-out for 7 separate virtual stages, each for over 2.5 days. It remains the biggest-ever single event in Second Life. Overcoming the technical challenges to make this an award-winning event was very satisfying.
• The Streaming Media All-Stars Award is a great privilege. So is the opportunity to work with fantastic people not only at Groovy Gecko, but others in the industry and within our client base who are at the top of their game.
• I feel very fortunate that I still get so animated and excited when talking about Streaming Media after almost 10 years. I am very grateful that the Streaming Media industry has allowed me to experience that which I think few people experience – a genuine love and passion for their career and industry.

Next big thing:
"One thing we have learned about this industry is that it is unpredictable and in a constant state of flux. It is partly what makes it so interesting and challenging. Besides, 'next big things' burst bubbles. As always, we concentrate on adding value to our stakeholders by refining and honing our vision and products and services for long-term sustained mutual benefit. "

Biggest change over the last 10 years
"First, the efficiency gains as a direct result of the ongoing development of codecs. Secondly, the proliferation of bandwidth (mostly broadband). These two factors remain the basis for the change in client demand, price, and technical delivery capabilities.

"These remain the largest change that has affected us all. Going forward, I would welcome further investment into alternative distribution business models (of which hybrid CDN/P2P is a start) and investment into more efficient codecs and open source codecs.

"Perhaps a niave and ambitious vision for the moment, however for starters I would like to see a multicast-enabled internet and more flexible business models and attitudes from ISPs and other stakeholders. Also, fierce competition in the codec wars can only be good for everyone. Clear winners are not good for a nascent industry, as they breed complacence. I never thought I would say this, but please could Real Networks forget about being a "content company" and come back to being a 'technology company'!"

Biggest challenge facing the industry:
"Everyone and his dog nowadays seem to be able to offer 'streaming services.' A lot of these new outfits and some more established, but seemingly desperate, companies are not conducting themselves with integrity. They create confusion and noise for customers. Bad advice, especially with a commercial sting, gives the industry a bad name.

"Secondly, there is too much VC money being pumped into the industry at present. It is very unlikely that all of the new CDNs will make it, as I don’t believe there is enough market for that level of service—not at commercially sustainable price points they will require anyway. "