The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA) made publicly available the final version of its next generation specification, ISMA 2.0. The specification incorporates advanced codec technology for audio and video applications, Internet protocols for streaming and file formats for storage.
ISMA 2.0 defines a standards-based approach to developing products for the streaming multimedia market. For video, ISMA 2.0 has adopted MPEG-4 part 10, also known as ITU H.264 or AVC. AVC guarantees greater quality at various bit rates and over multiple connection types. Also adopted in ISMA 2.0 is the High Efficiency AAC audio codec, or HE AAC, which offers multi-channel support and the best quality available for very low bit rates.
The Internet Streaming Media Alliance said that, when used together, AVC and HE AAC offer endless possibilities across the digital spectrum, from IPTV to mobile devices. In addition to new codec technology, ISMA 2.0 integrates proven formats for both content delivery over IP -- utilizing RTP/RTSP -- and multimedia file storage, endorsing the industry standard MP4 file format.
ISMA member companies participated in extensive interoperability testing, known within the alliance as plug-fests, to ensure their products comply with the new specification. The alliance promotes a formal certification program, the ISMA Conformance Program, and will issue a call for participants for the next test cycle to validate compliance with ISMA 2.0.
The ISMA 2.0 specification is available for download online. http://www.isma.tv
- Members of the Internet Streaming Media Alliance include Act, Inc., America Online, Analog Devices, Apple Computer, California State University at Fresno, Case Western Reserve University, Cisco Systems, Coding Technologies, ContentGuard, DMDsecure, Dolby Laboratories, Envivio, France Telecom, Fraunhofer Institute, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, IBM, Inka Entworks, Philips Electronics, Standby Program, Sun Microsystems, Telecom Italia, University of Washington, VBrick Systems, Widevine Technologies, and WIS Technologies.
