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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA -- In an effort to create a single standard for media streaming over the Internet, five companies have founded the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), announced this week at the Streaming Media West conference here.

Apple, Cisco, Kasenna, Philips Electronics, and Sun Microsystems have announced the founding of ISMA, saying they are joining forces to promote open standards for developing end-to-end media streaming solutions over Internet Protocol (IP). The founders believe their collaboration will accelerate adoption of open standards and interoperability, while encouraging the development of competitive streaming media software, according to a statement.

The promise of streaming media can be realized only if there is a single standard for consumers, service providers, network operators, equipment suppliers, and content providers, says William J. Raduchel, chief technology officer of America Online. AOL, expected to merge soon with Time Warner, is interested in standards for media streaming to ease the distribution of content.

In addition to the founders, a number of companies have signed on to support ISMA, including Analog Devices, Axis Communications, Silicon Graphics, and Advis. RealNetworks and Microsoft, leaders in the market, each support their own streaming protocols.

Proposed Spec Due in February

The cost of deploying streaming media services to support current disparate formats has prohibited many service providers and other adopters from taking full advantage of existing market opportunities, according to ISMA. The alliance plans to adopt elements of standards that already exist for the deployment of streaming media over IP and contribute to those still in development.

The first specification from the ISMA will define an implementation agreement for the streaming MPEG-4 video and audio format over IP networks and will be circulated for review and input at the first formal meeting of ISMA in February 2001.

Upon completion of the specifications, the ISMA will promote them among developers and those seeking to deploy rich media streaming solutions. The ISMA Web site will publish completed specifications and distribute information about alliance activities.

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