Xing Technology
Encyclopedia
Xing Technology was a live audio broadcast software company founded in Arroyo Grande, California
in 1989 by former networking executive Howard Gordon.
decoding library that he had developed. This software attracted the attention of Chris Eddy, who had developed a technique for processing discrete cosine transforms (DCT)
efficiently through software. Eddy's technique helped create the first Xing MPEG video player, a very simple MS-DOS
application that could play back an I-frame-only video MPEG stream encoded at a constant quantization
level at 160x120 resolution.
Over the next several years, Xing expanded in several directions: Windows
support for the XingMPEG player, a software MPEG audio decoder, a real time ISA
160x120 MPEG capture board (XingIt!), a JPEG management system (Picture Prowler
) and finally networking. Xing released a handful of network products before StreamWorks, the first streaming audio and video system for the Internet
, with support for both live and pre-encoded sources. RealVideo
appeared just before StreamWorks, but at the time it was known as RealAudio and could only broadcast audio. It could not transmit video. After StreamWorks was launched the company raised $5M in venture capital, but RealNetworks
raised considerably more and began to out execute Xing. Despite that Xing experienced a period of expansion through its "Audio Catalyst" MP3 software and "MP3 Grabber".
Xing was bought by RealNetworks
in 1999.
Arroyo Grande, California
Arroyo Grande is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 17,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at...
in 1989 by former networking executive Howard Gordon.
History
Gordon founded Xing on the basis of a simple JPEGJPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
decoding library that he had developed. This software attracted the attention of Chris Eddy, who had developed a technique for processing discrete cosine transforms (DCT)
Discrete cosine transform
A discrete cosine transform expresses a sequence of finitely many data points in terms of a sum of cosine functions oscillating at different frequencies. DCTs are important to numerous applications in science and engineering, from lossy compression of audio and images A discrete cosine transform...
efficiently through software. Eddy's technique helped create the first Xing MPEG video player, a very simple MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
application that could play back an I-frame-only video MPEG stream encoded at a constant quantization
Quantization (image processing)
Quantization, involved in image processing, is a lossy compression technique achieved by compressing a range of values to a single quantum value. When the number of discrete symbols in a given stream is reduced, the stream becomes more compressible. For example, reducing the number of colors...
level at 160x120 resolution.
Over the next several years, Xing expanded in several directions: Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
support for the XingMPEG player, a software MPEG audio decoder, a real time ISA
Industry Standard Architecture
Industry Standard Architecture is a computer bus standard for IBM PC compatible computers introduced with the IBM Personal Computer to support its Intel 8088 microprocessor's 8-bit external data bus and extended to 16 bits for the IBM Personal Computer/AT's Intel 80286 processor...
160x120 MPEG capture board (XingIt!), a JPEG management system (Picture Prowler
Picture Prowler
Picture Prowler was an early piece of photo management software developed around and meant to show off Xing Technology's JPEG image decompression library during the early 90's. Little known today, it featured thumbnail based picture management, printing, etc.The primary developer was Ray Bunnage...
) and finally networking. Xing released a handful of network products before StreamWorks, the first streaming audio and video system for the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, with support for both live and pre-encoded sources. RealVideo
RealVideo
RealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
appeared just before StreamWorks, but at the time it was known as RealAudio and could only broadcast audio. It could not transmit video. After StreamWorks was launched the company raised $5M in venture capital, but RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
raised considerably more and began to out execute Xing. Despite that Xing experienced a period of expansion through its "Audio Catalyst" MP3 software and "MP3 Grabber".
Xing was bought by RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
in 1999.