Akamai knows (hopes) 75% of broadcasters are taking HD online
By Richard Lawler 
posted Apr 16th 2008 2:55PM
posted Apr 16th 2008 2:55PM
With all the HD going online recently, a release claiming that 75% of "leading broadcasts" plan to deliver high definition via the internet in the next 24 months isn't surprising -- but we'll at least have to consider the source. Delivered by Akamai, a company in the business of providing the network to deliver all that high bandwidth video, the survey results also showed that 80 percent of those who plan to offer HD video, either already do, or will within the next year so don't expect the 'net to be getting less crowded any time soon. The company claims it can reliably deliver bitrates of up to 6 Mbps -- and expects TV and movie producers to take advantage of that quickly. Whatever, as long as we can catch replays of The Office, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and of course Airwolf even when away from home, we'll be happy.
I mean no way that HD will be streamed.. I mean what the hell are they smoking ;) *sarcasm*
As I said many times, next 2 years we will see more and more HD digital distribution models through internet. Akamai is one of the biggest delivery platforms used by all major media corporations.
It's hard to believe that 1080p would be feasible as a stream without a hardware codec. Otherwise, the processor would be tied up, and it's when I need that processing power for other programs that I'm watching content online. It would be a great step if the data format was conducive to shifting processing tasks to the video card through a standard. Perhaps this will occur as the technology matures. Otherwise, after getting past the "gee whiz" factor of HD such as that from http://www.hulu.com or http://series.airwolf.tv/episodes (so you can get your Airwolf fix, guys) plain old 525i should sufffice for casual viewing, particularly when sharing screen space with other programs.