Schwarz knows that one of the biggest obstacles for RealNetworks to overcome is the perception that the Helix solution is too costly. We can potentially do the same thing with our server and our RealProducer encoder technology." It's not unlike what we've done with our player or codecs, which are in more than 700 mllion devices-Motorolas, Nokias, Samsungs, all kinds of chipsets. We've got a massive effort to allow other companies to OEM our technology, so the video server can be part of a virtual learning system, or a CMS that wants to expand into video can build in our server to do that. The 1990s were fun, exciting, and chaotic times, but RealNetworks has grown well beyond the entrepreneurial phase and matured."Īlong the way, Schwarz says, RealNetworks is "opening up ourselves and our technology. Schwarz characterizes the philosophy as a "nicer, kinder RealNetworks, one that's much more in tune with solutions and our customers' needs. We're not worried about the codec wars anymore we're focused on listening to our customers." We're telling the world what we do versus what people think we do based on their perception of us from five or 10 years ago. "On the enterprise side, we haven't marketed ourselves a whole lot, but we've made a huge commitment to do that now.
"My mission was to re-engage with the industry," he says. "All sales is in one area, the build group (development) is in another, and delivery (carrier networks, video) are in another." Schwarz had been at Real from January 1999 until 2004 he returned to the company in 2006 and recently took over the Helix line. "Bob restructured the company into a 'sell-build-deliver' orientation," says Martin Schwarz, Real's vice president for Helix products. In the last couple of years, the company has invested much of its resources into its Helix Media Server product, following a major restructuring led by Kimball in 2010. The company also focused heavily on mobile media and its Rhapsody music service. The intervening 15 years have seen Real lose media player market share to Microsoft and Adobe, though the company's codecs are still some of the best when it comes to quality, and its player still has widespread adoption outside the U.S., particularly in China. Glaser stayed with the company until 2010, and was succeeded as CEO by Robert Kimball, who stepped down last week.
Rather, it continues to break new ground at the cutting edge of streaming media server technology.įounded by Rob Glaser as Progressive Networks in 1995, the company's RealAudio and RealVideo were the first streaming media formats to gain widespread adoption, and its RealPlayer was one of the original online media players. RealNetworks is relaunching its Helix Server today-now called the Helix Universal Media Server-the latest and most public move in the company's effort to remind the online video industry that, despite perceptions to the contrary, it's no has-been or also-ran.
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