LOS ANGELES – Elevated X has added HTTP Live Streaming support to its content-management software product.
HTTP Live Streaming, or HLS, was developed by Apple Inc. for its QuickTime and iOS products. The protocol allows adaptive MP4 video file streaming to Flash-enabled PCs and Apple mobile devices without the installation of special modules on the server side. Videos play, fast-forward and rewind on the users’ end at the best available data rate without lagging or pausing to refresh.
“Many of our customers are paying monthly fees for streaming servers or services like Wowza to stream videos,” said Elevated X Chief Executive Officer AJ Hall. “Now, rather than pay for a streaming service, Elevated X CMS users can stream videos to iPhone and iPad users from their own server, and this is included with the CMS for free.”
According to Hall, cost savings aren’t the only benefit of Elevated X’s HLS implementation. Because Apple devices represent an increasingly important target segment for video publishers, providing adaptive streaming video that plays seamlessly on iPhones and iPads can attract new customers. Elevated X’s optional encoding features automatically render video source files in HLS format. CMS customers who opt not to employ the encoding add-on may manually create and upload their own HLS files.
For devices that don’t support HLS, the CMS serves a standard MP4 file.
“In layman’s terms, what this means is that if you use Elevated X to run your websites, your sites will automatically deliver the correctly sized file to each viewer based on their connection speed,” Hall said. “The video playback experience will be optimized for each viewer, but now bandwidth and quality adjustments also will be made on the fly for iPad and iPhone users.”
The HLS addition is the first in a series of planned updates to make video viewing better for end-users in the largest adult-content-buying markets, Hall said.
More information about the Elevated X CMS, designed and built specifically for the adult industry, is available at ElevatedX.com.
