Waves Begins Shipping MaxxStream Audio Streaming Product Line

Waves Ltd. has announced it is now shipping MaxxStream, its state-of-the-art hardware and software product line enabling audio to be pre-processed and streamed over the Internet. Optimized for all Internet streaming audio applications, MaxxStream provides Internet broadcasters, content providers, music e-commerce companies, web conferencing and VoIP providers, and enabling services with the hardware and software they need to ensure consistently high quality audio streaming.

Waves is shipping MaxxStream in several flexible configurations designed to meet the wide spectrum of requirements of various streaming audio applications. The available configurations are a PCI DSP audio card and software package, and a turnkey rack-mount system with a choice of two different configurations.

With its unique support for both multiple encoders and multiple bit rates (target bandwidths), MaxxStream breaks new ground in audio conditioning for the Web. The ability to encode and condition audio for several different bandwidths simultaneously makes MaxxStream the most cost-effective solution available.

MaxxStream technology has already proved enormously powerful and effective, said Gilad Keren, chairman and CEO of Waves. Our speed in bringing a variety of configurations to market is a direct result of the incredibly positive response to our beta testing program. The configuration options reflect the needs and preferences of users, positioning MaxxStream as an easily accessible, highly cost-effective solution for all audio streaming applications.

MaxxStream Raises The Bar In Internet Audio Quality Whenever audio is transmitted via a telephone, cellular phone, radio, computer, or other analog or digital communication system, it must be conditioned before it is sent. Audio conditioning, which includes dynamic range compression, equalizing, and peak limiting, is routinely needed for AM and FM radio and TV transmission. Similar conditioning is required for audio transmitted over digital links, such as the Internet. In the digital realm, the processing is applied before the data is encoded and streamed over the communication channel.

MaxxStream enables audio content to be conditioned and prepared for high quality audio streaming, to enable speech to be intelligible and music and other sounds to be clear. It allows premium quality by utilizing Waves renowned audio processors that provide automatic loudness control, voice intelligibility enhancement, noise reduction, equalization and digital filtering, peak limiting and dynamic range control, stereo enhancement, and virtual bass enhancement.

The configurations available are:

• PCI DSP audio card and software package.
• MaxxStream M100 1UR and M200 2UR turnkey systems - Windows NT
• rack-mounted computers with built-in MaxxStream.

In all configurations, MaxxStream creates a compact, unified workstation that obviates the need for expensive, space-consuming external hardware. Instead of buying, connecting, and adjusting multiple different units, MaxxStream provides a complete, self-contained desktop or rack-mounted solution.

The full MaxxStream product line is available via Waves extensive distribution network, Waves direct sales force, or the Waves web site.