VBrick Adds Support For Windows Media Files

VBrick is adding support for Windows Media to its EtherneTV 3.0 video distribution software and rolling out its new VB6000 WM Appliance for Windows Media for video streaming. The vendor&s product lines already support multiple MPEG standards.

“A lot of corporations have standardized on Windows Media, so now we&re providing the ability to choose the right technology for the right app,” said Andy Howard, senior product manager at VBrick, Wallingford, Conn.

Users that require DVD-quality video likely will stick with the MPEG-2 format, while others will migrate to Windows Media if they need to use software already deployed on users& machines while sacrificing some quality, he said.

The new integrated Windows Media support eliminates the need for customers to roll out other players to act as decoders on their desktops and instead allows them to tap the Windows Media Player that is likely already installed on their systems, said Josh Doyle, sales and marketing at LTI DataComm, a VAR in Sterling, Va., that targets the federal market.

LTI&s sales of VBrick technology is on the rise, with its federal customers using the technology for live or streamed distance learning, in-field surveillance and weapons and combat testing and review, Doyle said.

Over the past year, VBrick has been building up its VBrick Certified Network Partners (VCNP) program for its top-level networking and audio/video-focused channel partners. Partners commit to staffing at least two certified engineers and to participate in sales training. The 15 partners currently in the program receive extra discounts and preferential lead generation. VBrick also works with about 80 channel partners outside of the VCNP program.