Backbone Networks Corp. has announced plans to introduce a new version of Backbone Internet Radio at the upcoming NAB 2003 show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new version adds new features, MPEG-4 encoding and streaming, and much more.
Backbone Internet Radio has been developed as an integrated software suite to help organize, schedule and broadcast audio onto the Internet. The software is aimed at radio stations that are looking for a low-cost way to get their audio streams onto the Internet. The software leverages QuickTime and Mac OS X Server to manage this process.
New features in Backbone Internet Radio 2.0 include playlist rotation, generating new playlists based on specifications of the audio clips like genre, priority and tempo. Clips can be assigned time-based criteria like star and stop time and date, time of day play, and others. The new version also provides a new client interface, with clickable URLs accessible through QuickTime Player and the ability to display images through JPEG and SMIL. Streaming clips can be accompanied by text annotation with info like artist, item name, album info and copyright data.
The new version of Backbone Internet Radio now uses MPEG-4 as its primary streaming format, according to the developer, building on the foundation set by QuickTime 6.
Pricing for Backbone Internet Radio varies depending on the implementation: There’s a Basic version for US$795, a Pro version for $1,195 and a “Pro Plus” version for $9,500. Downloadable time-limited demos are available for download from the Web site.
If you’re planning a trip to NAB, look for Backbone Networks Corp. at booth SL828, right next to Apple in the South Hall, Lower Level. NAB 2003 runs from April 5 – 10, 2003 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.