Akamai and the NFL Draft
Written by Alan Saturday, 24 April 2010 08:00
Last night I watched round 1 of the NFL draft. Since the NFL Network is not included in my TV package I watched it through my living room’s HTPC via the NFL website. I had watched several games last season via this same method with mostly good results.
When I arrived at the site a few minutes before the start of the broadcast I noticed that they now supported Akamai NetSession. I had not used this previously, but since it promised a better performance from streaming video I figured I’d give it a shot. After all, that’s kinda what I do with most technologies. Specifically, this is what their website promised:
The Akamai NetSession Interface is distributed networking software which greatly enhances the quality and speed of downloads and video streams you get from websites that support Akamai technology. The Akamai NetSession Interface handles the caching, reflecting and sending of files delivered to you through the Akamai network. The software is safe and secure, and does not contain any adware or spyware and never will. It can also be easily removed if you no longer wish to use it (see ‘How do I uninstall the Akamai NetSession Interface?’).
In short, I watched about 3 hours of continuous streaming draft coverage and counted only 2 very brief hiccups. And this was in spectacular, full-screen, HD video. I certainly plan to favor Akamai-powered website for my future streaming video needs.
An important note, per the Akamai site, they do NOT track usage or report viewing/downloading habits. This is frequently a concern for many on the net, so that’s good information to have.
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