LEAD Technologies released several updates to the LEADTOOLS Multimedia family of products. Programmers use LEADTOOLS Multimedia SDKs for the development of audio/video applications across a wide variety of industries including defense, broadcast and security. With LEADTOOLS, developers can complete complex DirectShow and Media Foundation tasks with fewer lines of code.

Keep reading below to see a list of all the improvements in this update. You can also read the official press release.

Today, we uploaded a new setup for our LEADTOOLS Multimedia products. This update adds new features and enhancements to several technologies including H.264 and Media Foundation. However, the big push for this release started with all of the positive feedback and requests we have received for the Media Streaming Server. Just a few months ago we added live streaming capabilities, and our developers have even further expanded that functionality, making it easier to create and configure, enabling a high level control over server resources and bandwidth consumption.

We hope you are enjoying all the buzz surrounding our 25 projects in 25 days. This afternoon we're making a quick interruption to announce a new Media Streaming Server video published to our YouTube channel.

This video provides an overview of the Media Streaming Server and its ability to use a single source file and stream it to multiple devices and formats such as Flash, HTML5, Apple HTTP Live Streaming, RTSP, MPEG-DASH, Adobe HDS and Microsoft Smooth Streaming.

LEAD Technologies is pleased to announce the release of the Media Streaming Server SDK. This major addition to the LEADTOOLS Multimedia product line provides a programmer-friendly library for building professional audio/video multimedia streaming applications for playback on any device.

Media Streaming Server SDK Overview

• High-level Media Streaming Server framework with minimal coding required
• Place any audio/video media file on the server and stream to any client
  • Adobe Flash RTMP — for any web browser that has Adobe Flash installed
  • Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) — for most web browsers that have Adobe Flash installed
  • Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) — for Apple iPad / iPhone and Android devices
  • MPEG-DASH — for most web browsers that have Adobe Flash installed
  • Microsoft Smooth Streaming (SSF) — for web browsers with Microsoft Silverlight installed
  • RTSP/RTP — for web browsers with the Apple QuickTime or VLC RTSP plugin installed or any application that supports RTSP
  • RTSP/RTP (MPEG-2 transport) — for web browsers with Apple QuickTime or VLC RTSP plugin installed or any application that supports RTSP
  • RTSP/RTP over HTTP — for web browsers with Apple QuickTime or VLC RTSP plugin installed or any application that supports RTSP
  • HTML5 Video — for most web browsers with HTML5 support (PC and mobile devices)
• Automatically convert videos on the fly from a single base format to minimize recompression
• Configure server settings programmatically or with XML files
  • Supports custom, application-defined properties and settings
• Monitor and manage connected users
• Flexible filters and demultiplexers allow for continuous streaming with changing formats
• Stream high-quality videos at Full HD 1080p resolution
• Broadcast audio/video content compressed with LEADTOOLS' industry-leading compression technology

Product Line Changes

Developers can acquire the new LEADTOOLS Media Streaming Server as an add-on to LEADTOOLS Multimedia SDK or bundled with LEADTOOLS Multimedia Suite:

Streaming video is the norm these days. Whether watching a movie or TV show from one of the many services out there, catching a quick laugh or how-to on YouTube, or watching some promotional video on a company's website, we have all come to expect media streaming as a way of entertainment and education. Consumers (and I will admittedly put myself into this group as well!) are usually picky about the quality of their playback. Buffering? Stuttering playback? Chances are you just lost interest.

As a web developer, server administrator or content provider, how do you serve up streaming audio/video content? YouTube can be a solid option but not for everyone as many companies prefer to host it themselves and not rely on any third party. If you choose to host your own streaming media, you now have to make sure you can support all of your clients' devices and browsers and convert the videos accordingly or risk some clients being unable to play your video.