Starting tonight, you might see someone walking on the street, sitting in a coffee shop or riding on the subway tuned into the opening ceremony of the Olympics. In the coming weeks, you may see people watching live Olympic events on their mobile devices or ones that happened the previous day.
That's why the 2008 Olympics in Beijing isn't your grandmother's Olympics. And thanks to the leaps and bounds of technology in recent years, it's not even your mother's Olympics.
For the first time, viewers will be in charge of where and when they watch the Olympic games with Anystream Technology. They can watch from laptops, mobile phones and television on demand.
Anystream, chosen by NBC Universal, will orchestrate the entire digitization and publishing of more than 2,000 hours of Olympic programming to more than 16 on-demand destinations.
NBC realizes that consumers are moving beyond the "prime time only" viewing model and want programming delivered to them on all devices. This is especially true with the 12-hour time delay between the United States and Beijing because it will be impossible to keep the results of some events hidden.
Anystream will deliver 10,000 gold medal events to viewers around the world. Once video arrives from Beijing, Anystream will grab video from partner broadcast servers, editing systems and other digital sources.
Anystream transforms and customizes the video into formats ready for 16 syndication outlets. Content originating in Beijing is easily converted between PAL and NTSC formats for domestic viewing, as well as between SD and HD for the first-ever high-def Olympic experience.
Anystream will package the video with the correct title information, images and athlete statistics for dozens of popular web, mobile and electronic sell through destinations, including NBCOlympics.com.
Being a former gymnast and huge fan of the sport, this is good news because I always feel like I miss my favorite athletes. This year, I will be able to catch the events wherever and whenever I want.
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