Starlight Networks

Starlight Networks was founded in 1991 by Charlie Bass, Jim Long{{cite web |url=http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/RioPort-Appoints-Starlight-Founder-James-E.-Long-as-President-and-CEO-62375.aspx |title=RioPort Appoints Starlight Founder James E. Long as President and CEO|date=18 April 2000}}{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalhollywood.com/07DHFall/DHFl07Mon7.html |title=Digital Hollywood Conference 2007 |access-date=2012-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510204207/http://www.digitalhollywood.com/07DHFall/DHFl07Mon7.html |archive-date=2012-05-10 |url-status=dead }} and Mark Gang with backing from investors Accel Partners and Interwest Partners. The company created some of the first commercial video-on-demand and video streaming products.{{cite web |url=http://www.informationweek.com/510/08video.htm |title=Video Servers in the Spotlight}}{{cite web |url=http://www.informationweek.com/648/48iuvid.htm |title=Full Stream Ahead}} The first Starlight Networks product was named StarWorks{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3556409 |title=CompCon Spring 1993-StarWorks-a video applications server}} and enabled on-demand MPEG1 full motion videos to be randomly accessed on corporate IP networks. Later a version was released for Novell named Starware.{{cite web |url=http://www.reviewsonline.com/mp943.htm |title=Multimedia Project, Video on Networks}}

Originally, the press to networked video as "store & forward video" but that changed after Starlight Networks began describing it as "streaming video".{{cite web |url=http://www.digitalhollywood.com/DHLA01/DHLAMondayEleven.html |title=Digital Hollywood Conference 2001 |access-date=2012-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728045621/http://www.digitalhollywood.com/DHLA01/DHLAMondayEleven.html |archive-date=2012-07-28 |url-status=dead }} In late 1996 as Starlight added support for live presentations integrating live streaming video with slides and chat, they referred to such solutions as "InterMedia Networking".{{cite web |url=http://starlight.com/ |title=Starlight InterMedia Networking home page |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227052232/http://starlight.com/ |archivedate=1996-12-27 }} The 'live' streaming product was named StarLive.

In 1995, Starlight introduced streaming video over satellites with Hughes Network Systems.{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+and+Hughes+Network+Systems+Plan+Corporate...-a017588314 |title=Starlight Networks and Hughes Network Systems |access-date=2012-06-22 |archive-date=2019-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402180803/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+and+Hughes+Network+Systems+Plan+Corporate...-a017588314 |url-status=dead }} In February 1998 Starlight introduced one of the first full motion video Web conferencing products, StarLive! (the exclamation point was part of the product name).{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+Introduces+StarLive!+--+Intranet+Streaming+Media...-a020303788 |title=Starlight Networks Introduces StarLive! -- Intranet Streaming Media Application for Enterprise Communications. |access-date=2014-12-31 |archive-date=2018-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118210706/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Starlight+Networks+Introduces+StarLive!+--+Intranet+Streaming+Media...-a020303788 |url-status=dead }} Technology analyst Om Malik wrote in May 1998 how Starlight software helped power Bloomberg Television and Starlight partnered with RealNetworks to enable Web conferencing at Smith Barney.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/1998/05/13/feat.html |title=Online broadcasting|website=Forbes}} General Electric also tapped Starlight Products for corporate communications and training.{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1997_Sept_30/ai_19798482/?tag=content;col1 |title=Starlight Networks Creates Video Solutions for GE Information Services}} Starlight streaming VOD products were also used for media applications such as powering all the video kiosks in the brand new at the time Cleveland Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame or Universal Studios using a networked Starlight video server to serve up 'dailies' to employees rather than using video-tapes copied for all and distributed manually.

Other investors included: Sequoia Capital, and Merrill, Pickard, Anderson, and Eyre Ventures. Starlight was acquired by PictureTel Corp. in 1998.{{cite web |url=http://www.starlight.com/starlight/start.htm |title=Starlight Picturetel web page |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19981206083654/http://www.starlight.com/starlight/start.htm |archivedate=1998-12-06 }}{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/Short-Take-PictureTel-to-buy-Starlight-Networks,-CFO-resigns/2110-1001_3-213662.html |title=PictureTel to buy Starlight Networks}}{{cite web |url=http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/QA-with-Andrew-Stehling-eVideo-Government-Sales-at-PictureTel-62099.aspx |title=Q&A with Andrew Stehling, eVideo Government Sales at PictureTel|date=7 March 2000}}{{cite web |url=http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/AxessPoint-Acquires-Starlight-Networks-From-PictureTel-63231.aspx |title=AxessPoint Acquires Starlight Networks From PictureTel|date=16 October 2000}}