Jibe Debuts Content Delivery Service

The software-based content delivery service is geared toward large media file sharing and promises TV-quality video on a PC with full-screen 700-plus Kbps and an increase in Web site content download speeds of up to 30 times, said Greg Schmitzer, president and co-founder of Jibe, Tampa, Fla. By using peers to deliver content, bandwidth costs are also reduced by up to 90 percent, he said.

EdgeBurst software resides on servers, but an individual's PC acts as a caching engine to speed the download process. If one person downloads content from a Web site, EdgeBurst downloads the content to that person's PC, and also makes it available to any other PC residing on that same network.

Several media companies are using the service, including Cinema Pop, Carnie Digital and Transmission Films. Enterprises and educational institutions are showing interest as well, Schmitzer said.

"A lot of business users shied away from e-learning and sharing large files because they were not happy with the quality of streaming video that has been available," Schmitzer said. "These companies are now revisiting the possibility of online training and sharing files corporatewide with us because we offer better quality and faster speeds."

Jibe is now recruiting partners that are developing complementary solutions and are also interested in cross-referral and cross-development relationships.

One such partner is SyncCast, a Norwalk, Calif.-based solution provider that delivers digital media and related data solutions via the Internet and other media such as DVDs and CDs. SyncCast is also a content delivery network that utilizes multiple Tier-1 Internet backbones.

SyncCast and Jibe are combining Jibe's peer-to-peer content delivery service with SyncCast's digital rights management solution and content delivery network.

"We are making the service a one-stop shop for customers," said Ezra Davidson, vice president of business development at SyncCast.