ViewCast’s Niagara 4100 Named One of Top 11 Most Exciting and Relevant New Product Releases

ViewCast, a developer of solutions for the transformation, management and delivery of digital media over enterprise, broadband, and mobile networks, announced that EventDVLive, a quarterly digital magazine for videographers and crews specializing in live event production and delivery, has recognized ViewCast’s Niagara 4100 streaming media appliance as one of the 11 most exciting and relevant new product releases of NAB 2011.

The Niagara 4100 is the next evolution in ViewCast’s portfolio of portable, high-performance streaming media appliances. Ruggedized and compact for on-the-go mobility, and featuring ViewCast’s easy-to-use system controls, the Niagara 4100 enables the ingest and transformation of high-definition (HD) video for delivery to the web, from virtually any location. EventDVLive’s Winners’ Circle award program is the first of its kind, designed to recognize the top technologies and services that will help EventDVLive readers expand their capabilities and streamline their workflows most significantly.

“We are honored to have our Niagara 4100 recognized by EventDVLive as a broadcasting innovation,” said ViewCast President and CEO Dave Stoner. “Receiving the Winners’ Circle award highlights our commitment to delivering best-in-class streaming media solutions. With the release of the portable, pro-caliber streaming Niagara 4100, high-definition programming is no longer the exclusive domain of professional studios and broadcasters — any organization can capture and stream live action, wherever it happens, in high-definition.”

The Niagara 4100

The Niagara 4100 is a rugged, portable streaming media appliance designed with a combination of simplicity and power to quickly and easily stream HD content to broadband and mobile networks. It is a complete plug-and-play solution that enables users to quickly capture and broadcast premium quality audio and video to IP and mobile networks in multiple formats and at multiple bit rates – all simultaneously.

Capable of simultaneously streaming in multiple resolutions at multiple data rates in multiple streaming formats – including MPEG-4, Adobe Flash H.264, Windows Media (Silverlight compatible) and Apple HTTP Live (iPhone) – Niagara 4100 users are afforded the broadest possible range of streaming options to reach the broadest possible audience. The Niagara 4100 can ingest standard-definition (SD) or HD video sources through its SDI input, and can accommodate a variety of audio input formats, including embedded SDI, AES/EBU, and balanced or unbalanced stereo.

With a portable, streamlined chassis, an easy-to-use web interface, and intuitive front panel controls, setup and operation is quick and easy. The Niagara 4100 comes standard with front panel A-B-C buttons that can be pre-configured independently to activate different streaming profiles to meet the needs of any streaming application. Users can control all key functions from the front-panel controls, or access the unit remotely anywhere on the network through its built-in web interface. The Niagara 4100 is compact and self-contained in an impact-resistant shell, precluding the need for a keyboard, monitor or mouse. All rear-panel connections are recessed for maximum protection, and the built-in handle ensures on-the-go portability.

Time-saving pre-processing features provided standard with the Niagara 4100 include scaling, cropping, de-interlacing, inverse telecine and closed-caption extraction and rendering capabilities. Users can also customize streams with bitmap overlays that accommodate logos and/or graphics to ensure prominent, consistent branding.

The Niagara 4100 is ideally suited for live sports, news and event coverage, webcasting, or any other streaming application that requires ultra-reliable mobile flexibility. Organizations spanning broadcasting, athletics, corporate enterprise, government, higher education, and worship can quickly and easily equip for on-location streaming in even the most demanding environments, yielding new opportunities to expand viewership and associated marketing and sponsorship revenue.