ViewCast.com Inc. released an updated version of its Niagara SCX(R) encoding, control and management software to provide service providers more cost-effective delivery and user control. Niagara SCX version 7.0 offers a new output streaming format, MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS), and will now be standard on all recently released and upcoming Niagara streaming media systems. Niagara SCX version 7.0 brings added flexibility to new products, as the MPEG2 TS supports both MPEG-2 and H.264 encoding. The recently released Niagara 9100-2D with new Niagara SCX software can stream digitally in either SD or HD.

The same software allows the analog Niagara 2200 to deliver local content at a highly competitive price. A simple and user-friendly platform, the Niagara SCX version 7.0 also delivers the following new features and benefits: - Simultaneous Control with SNMP: Simple network management protocol (SNMP) enables the interconnection with network management tools so customers can control one or several Niagara systems simultaneously. Now, customers can start and stop all pre-defined encoders or just specific ones, as well as pre-defined groups of encoders.

This control also extends to system and encoder monitoring. Supportability Enhancements: Supportability enhancements such as an automatic online registration tool enables direct communication between the Niagara system and ViewCast support team, making future remote software updates faster and easier. Closed Caption support: A simplified interface control now lets customers overlay CEA-608 (standard definition) and CEA-708 (high definition) closed caption information onto video.

Additional Audio Codecs: High efficiency advanced audio coding (HE-AAC) for Flash and MPEG-4 improves audio quality at lower bitrates which is ideal for mobile devices. Existing product lines (Niagara GoStream(R) SURF, 9100-4A, 9100-8A and 7550) can be upgraded to Niagara SCX version 7.0.