It's not too often I see new products that I think will truly disrupt the industry, but this morning, Livestream announced a new hardware encoder that really should change the market for webcasting professionals. Called the Livestream Broadcaster, this $495 encoder makes encoding and distributing live HD events to the web and mobile devices easy and really, really affordable. (see below for more photos)

At only 4.8 x 3.0 inches in size and 1.25 inches in height, the device supports HDMI in (up to 1080i) comes equipped with a 3.5mm line-in audio input jack, 10/100 ethernet port, built in wireless 802.11 (b/g/n) and supports 3G, 4G and LTE connections via a USB adapter. It can run for up to three hours on three AA batteries, encodes video in H.264/AAC up to 720p at 2.5Mbps and will start shipping next month.

The built-in OLED screen means you don't have to lug around any kind of monitor and the simple LED indicators and two button controls make it really easy to use. While the market is filled with some really good encoding hardware from the likes of NewTek, ViewCast, Digital Rapids and others, those solutions are enterprise grade and cost thousands of dollars or more. Livestream's product is really geared towards the professional webcaster who doesn't have complex setups, isn't doing multi-camera shoots, can output 720p instead of 1080p and needs a product that's reliable, affordable and easy to use.

The encoder exclusively ties back into Livestream's platform where customers can stream unlimited live video, commercial free, for only $45 a month. Some might see that as a limitation of the device if they want to use their own network for the delivery, but that's not the target audience Livestream is going after since most professional webcasters and even content owners, want and use a SaaS based webcasting platform.

It's also one of the reasons Livestream can keep the device so affordable at the $495 price point. Clearly Livestream's not trying to get into the hardware business as a money maker, but rather is applying the Apple mentality of helping to subsidize the hardware costs to get customers to use their platform. And if the device works as advertised, they should have a lot of success in doing so.

Yesterday, D-Link announced a new streaming media player called the MovieNite which is only available via Walmart. While some have suggested this device will compete with the Roku, it falls far short of the Roku player. The good news is that Walmart is currently selling the $59.99 retail box for only $48. The player supports 1080p video streaming and has 802.11n WiFi, 10/100 ethernet port, HDMI out and composite video connections.

The bad news is that the player only supports content from Netflix, Vudu, YouTube and Pandora. It has no support to play back local content via USB, no slot for any kind of memory card and lacks a lot of content choices that Roku has. While Roku's 1080p streaming box is $30 more expensive than the D-Link model, you get so much more for your money with Roku, not to mention tons of content chocies. And for those who only want to spent $50 on a streaming box, chances are they don't care about 720p versus 1080p, in which case you can get a Roku for the same price as D-Link's box, with more content choices, but in 720p instead of 1080p.

While some might suggest this box does a lot less compared to Western Digital's WD TV Live player or the Boxee Box, that's not who D-Link and Walmart are targeting with this device. D-Link and Walmart are looking to sell this box to consumers who aren't very tech savy, don't have complex requirements and don't wan to play back local content. This is basically a $48 box made to promote the Vudu movie rental service, which is owned by Walmart. The one thing this box has over Roku is that it supports YouTube, something Roku still does not support for some very strange reason. YouTube is on just about every other box in the market, connected TVs, yet Roku is one of the most popular boxes in the market for years and they still don't have YouTube support.

We'll have the new D-Link box on display next month at the device pavilion in NYC at the Streaming Media East show, along with 50+ other streaming players, tablets, game consoles, connected TVs and Blu-ray players and content platforms.

The special broadband-enabled device pavilion allows thousands of attendees to get hands-on with more than 50 of today’s leading streaming devices and Over-The-Top video content platforms and is the only show where you can try out all of these devices and platforms in action, compare them side-by-side and get your questions answered – all for free.

It’s that time of year again when we partner up with the NY Video Meetup group to co-host a special mega-session in conjunction with our Streaming Media East show at the Hilton hotel in New York City. Tuesday May 15th, at 6:30pm, local online video startups will demo their new products live in front of hundreds of local peers. After the demos, join us at the Bridges Bar in the hotel lobby for drinks (cash bar) and networking. I'll also be giving away some streaming media devices and other cool gear. Check out the NYVideo.org website which will post more details of the event in the coming weeks.

I've been quiet on the blog for the past two weeks as I have been finalizing the Streaming Media East program as well as the program for the Content Delivery Summit. The Streaming Media East program is nearly complete with just a few spots left to fill. The agenda for the CDN Summit will be posted this week.

Below is what I have left to fill at the Streaming Media East show. If you are interested in one of these positions, please contact me ASAP. Any emails that simply say "I want to speak" with no other details on who you are, what your background is, how you are a fit for the session etc. will be ignored. If you want to speak, please make the effort to tell me how you are a fit for that session.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Making a Living on YouTube
Long gone are the days of cute kitten videos offering the only hope for "going viral," but is it possible to make a living creating YouTube videos? As the audience grows more savvy and technology more accessible, the quality of content that reaches the millions of views mark needs to be more engaging and of higher production value than ever before. Meet some of the creators who are reaching these milestones consistently, as well as advertisers trying to gain access to these creators' huge audiences.

Moderator: Jenni Powell, Content and Speaker Coordinator, VidCon
Panelist: Lauren Francesca, Actress, Creator, "Key of Awesome"
Panelist: Francesca Ramsey, YouTube Creator
Panelist: Randy Frank, Co-founder, Headquarters Studios
Panelist: One spot open

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Will Internet TV Accelerate Online Video's Growth or Keep Television Stronger than Ever?
While cord cutting has yet to make any real impact on the cable TV business, in the future all devices will be connected and more content choices will be available. Traditional television still remains as strong as ever while online video has, in some ways, failed to disrupt the broadcast industry. In this session, content owners and CE manufactures will debate whether over-the-top (OTT) connected devices and platforms will accelerate the flow of consumers away from television and onto the web and outline what OTT services have the best shot at disrupting cable TV.

Multiple panelist spots open.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Unique Deployment Challenges For Mobile Video In The Enterprise
"Help! My CEO wants video on his iPad." Deploying mobile video in the enterprise presents many challenges that are unique to enterprise environments. Major considerations include encoding video for mobile devices, choosing the correct servers, and delivering to multiple devices and players—especially now that Flash will no longer be supported on mobile devices. The final challenge we'll discuss is networking, as enterprises need to determine if users are going to access the video over the enterprise Wi-Fi network or the public cellular network.

Multiple panelist spots open, for end-user enterprise customers.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Down and Dirty: Live Streaming on a Budget
In this panel we'll explore the tools and techniques for streaming live on a small budget. This session will discuss the entire webcasting workflow, including how to get the video signal from the site to end user; how to build an audience; when to use multi-bitrate streaming; strategies to consider for reaching mobile devices; and how to leverage social media platforms.

Multiple panelist spots open, for end-user customers.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Business of TV Everywhere
Programmers and service providers have begun to strike deals that are making TV Everywhere a reality. But what business models will be the impetus for more deals that will make even more content available? What will that mean for traditional streaming video providers and the technology companies that support them? Finally, how are the over-the-top players going to fare against competition from the incumbents on this front? This session looks at how the market for TV Everywhere is evolving, the business challenges that need to be overcome to reach maturity, and how to measure success.

Multiple panelist spots open.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
How MSOs Can Defend Against Cord Shaving
This panel will discuss how MSOs can improve their value to younger audiences (e.g., adapting to technological preferences such as allowing smartphones and tablets to act as remote controls), and how they can make a true stand against cord-shaving by offering video on multiple devices (e.g., TV Everywhere), superior video quality, and enhanced content recommendation and selection guides.

Multiple panelist spots open.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Best Practices For Video Workflow In The Cloud
A number of vendors offer cloud based video publishing platforms, the features and functionality—not to mention cost—vary widely. Some vendors focus their solutions on content management and monetization, while others are geared towards enabling syndication and interactive advertising campaigns. This session will lay the groundwork for content owners to better understand which type of cloud based publishing platform is best, what benefits the cloud provides to their business and ways to streamline their video workflow.

Multiple panelist spots open, for end-user customers who use cloud based platform services.

Over the years, I have gotten lots of emails from people I do and don't know sharing information on new streaming services coming to the market. Yesterday, someone I don't know sent me images that show an Amazon app running on the Xbox LIVE platform for the Xbox 360, streaming videos from Amazon's Prime Streaming service. As with anything image based, you can never tell if what you are looking at is 100% legit, but the images do appear to look real to me.

I use to be in the beta testing program for Xbox and they would test new un-announced services like this with beta testers, so it's not a crazy idea that someone might get access to it and want to share it. That said, even if they are legit like I think, we don't have any way to know how quickly such a service would be rolled out to the market if it is in fact happening. I've seen most other content services on the Xbox get tested for about six months before they are made public and I have no way to tell from the images I was sent what stage the testing may be in.

In 2009, I got sent similar images of Netflix running on the Wii that I published on my blog and sure enough, two months later, Netflix announced their deal with Nintendo. That time around, I was able to confirm what was happening through a third party and was able to validate what I had been sent. In this case, I have not yet been able to verify this news from another source, but am working to do so. While I know neither Amazon or Microsoft would be willing to comment on what I was sent, I did reach reach out to representatives of the Xbox team anyway who had "no comment". I have not heard back from Amazon as of yet.

Maybe others will be able to help verify more of these details, but from what I can tell, I think it's a safe bet that Amazon's streaming service is currently being tested on the Xbox platform.

Note: I am not sharing any of the images I received.