Will Streaming Video Bolster E-Commerce?

VoraxRD.com calls itself a “supplier of advanced Web-hosting services for international clients,” but intends to become a revolutionary in the world of online shopping by the end of the summer.

The company has focused on putting streaming video to work on the Internet for companies needing to distribute or display video content to a wide audience. With the planned debut of multi-image, live video with electronic commerce capability and dedicated cameras, VoraxRD.com plans to grow that audience to include consumers with money to spend.

The company’s AddView service offers camera installation and Web site development to put the video to work on a variety of tasks. The service can be used for displaying multiple road and air traffic locations and real-time weather updates, maintaining building security and promoting live tourism attractions. E-commerce transaction processing, which is included with the service, could enable online retailers to display their products in a more comprehensive, more active view.

Unfortunately, at press time VoraxRD.com did not have a demonstration screen on its site to show how the video would look or might be used.

How It Works

Add View generates multiple, live, full-motion images simultaneously on the monitor of any user accessing a client Web site. Each image is generated by a 30-frame-per-second digital camera provided by VoraxRD.com. The cameras must then be connected to VoraxRD.com’s uninterruptible hosting facilities in California. The connection can be made via analog modems, DSL circuits, cable modems or ISDN lines.

On its Web site, the client can display multiple images, using multiple cameras and splitting the Web site’s viewing screen or showing them in succession as the viewer scrolls down the screen. Images can be enlarged onscreen, and videotaped footage can be substituted for live video.

“For the first time any user logging on to a client site will not only be able to actually see multiple live representations of products, activities or locales, but they will actually be able to purchase what they see,” VoraxRD.com Vice President of Marketing Michael Sadetsky said.

The company plans to pay special attention to opportunities in the tourism industry, where projecting multiple, real-time images of a destination’s facilities or events could be the decisive factor for online travel shoppers.

When and Where

VoraxRD.com tested the Web-hosting and e-commerce service with a 54-camera system in Northern Japan tracking highway conditions during ski season. According to the company, a local TV station in northern Japan is installing a second, three-camera system to keep live track of Mt. Iwate, an active volcano. VoraxRD.com plans to release a beta version of its product for sale by September.

Later versions are slated to include two-way video transmission to provide video-conferencing, video chat and other services.

VoraxRD.com, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is privately funded by a group of Japanese investors and is seeking additional venture funding from U.S. firms. The company was founded in 1993 to develop products for the Japanese educational market. New management recently shifted the company’s focus to the development of broader applications.