Geo's Emblaze compression and file-format applet promises streaming animation, audio, and video over standard 28.8-Kbps modems for Navigator and Internet Explorer
The Geo Interactive Media Group, based in Givataim, Israel, has announced the availability of Emblaze 2.02a, a realtime multimedia delivery applet currently in alpha testing. According to the company, the Emblaze Player does not involve FTP, plug-ins, or preloaded files in order to view multimedia over the Internet, using either Microsoft Explorer 3.x or Netscape Navigator 2.x. With Emblaze, content is immediately displayed upon clicking on a hypertext object on a Web page, as the Emblaze Player is transferred to the user’s computer in the background.
According to Geo, Emblaze combines a proprietary compression algorithm and file-format structure written in Java. The combination of the two reportedly enables streaming of all major media formats in conjunction with interactive programming data under the same file structure, while applying the appropriate codec method to the specific media involved at runtime.
“We think Emblaze offers the kind of ‘sex appeal’ necessary to get people who are not used to fiddling around with their Internet setups to interact with the Net in some really interesting and creative ways,” said Eli Reifman, executive vice president for business development at Geo.
Born in a barracks
No average startup, Geo was founded in 1994 by a group of software technologists primarily based in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The chairman of the young company, Naftali Shani, is a former treasurer and comptroller of the Israeli prime minister’s office. Other key Geo personnel have history as IDF instructors and advisors.
The next mission for the Israeli company is to go global. With a new office set to open in Palo Alto, CA, in early 1997, the strategic directors of Geo are rapidly approaching the unveiling of their next product, Emblaze Creator, a Java multimedia authoring environment for both professionals and novices designed to complement Geo’s Emblaze Player software. Emblaze Creator is scheduled for availability in December.
