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The RealProducer Plus encoder, a $199 add-on, supports both live data capture and encoding of existing media files. Multiple bit rates may be encoded into the same file. RealNetworks includes a number of pre-defined connection speeds and suggested encoding settings, and you can easily modify or create your own. The product's live capture functions aren't as robust as those of Windows Encoder. To record DV content over the Firewire port, for instance, we had to start and stop the camera manually
The Helix Mobile Server's video quality was a bit disappointing, with lines that were less clearly defined than the competition's. Images appeared pale and slightly out of focus, especially at the 256-Kbps bit rate, and small text was hard to read. To its credit, the server produced a decent frame rate and smooth action. Although we didn't experience many dropped streams or rebuffering during our test, we saw poor results on our 2 percent packet loss test. Video frequently stopped, and we had to pause and restart the stream or rewind slightly.
The RealNetworks Helix Mobile Server is also a complex beast to administer, thanks to its wide range of configuration screens and settings. Playlists had to be created manually through a text file.
We were most pleased by the server's security features. The product supports authentication against a user name and password or by IP address. Two other pluses were that we could connect into external databases or NT domain authentication, and RealNetworks' support for multiple administrator accounts.
Helix Mobile Server, 11.0.0.1596. RealNetworks, (800) 444-8011, (206) 674-2700. www.realnetworks.com
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