Akamai has some immediate competition (see previous item). Limelight Networks, a content delivery network for digital media based in Tempe, Ariz., has introduced a service it said will deliver lots of different types of HD content over the Internet to a variety of end-points.
LimelightHD is designed to allow a wide array of content providers—from large movie studios to small social-networking sites—to deliver different forms of targeted HD to Internet-connected DTV sets, computers, mobile devices, and game consoles.
Already onboard for the LimelightHD service, said the firm, are Brightcove, Fox Interactive Media, MSN Video, and Rajshri.com, which is a broadband video portal serving parts of India. Tech support is coming from Microsoft, Adobe Systems, Move Networks and Veoh Networks.
Globally, Limelight Networks said its HD services will be available immediately via more than 700 broadband networks. The company said it bypasses the “often-congested public Internet” and instead will deliver HD content directly to “last-mile” broadband access networks.
Limelight cites a recent report by industry analyst eMarketer that notes by 2011, there will be a projected 183 million online broadband users in America alone (all of whom are potential “video viewers,” said Limelight), and therefore it concludes that consumer demand for Internet HD will grow rapidly.
