In 1994, I happened to be part of a revolution, producing the first-ever live stream on the internet with two great colleagues, Gerad and Rudo. 

Just do it.

It started with a wild idea, an AV capture card, a modem, a phone line, and a script. We reached only a few live viewers, and the quality was poor, but it wasn’t about the technology; it was about the mentality: “Let’s see if we can do this.” This DNA of pioneering and innovating still runs deep in our company. 

Disruptive.

Reflecting on 30 years of streaming innovation, I feel immense pride. Streaming disrupted the media landscape which shifted from linear TV to dominant OTT services like Netflix. But the impact of streaming extends way beyond entertainment. 

A video is worth a thousand pictures.

Digital audio and video are the most powerful technologies for conveying knowledge, creativity, and emotions across the world. Thanks to streaming, these are transmitted in real-time across the planet.

Creative, and inspiring.

Streaming connects ideas and people as never seen before, beyond the invention of the printing press. It is a leap forward in global knowledge and creativity sharing, in inspiration. 

Connecting people.

The idea is that you could instantly video call anyone anywhere on this planet or watch a live game from Australia at 4K quality and let millions of people in China watch your event… people would have said you were crazy back in 1994. Yet here we are, and let’s not take it for granted. 

Gratitude.

As we look forward to continued innovation and success, I want to express my gratitude to all the colleagues, clients, and partners we’ve ever worked with. Your dedication, vision, and collaboration have made this journey unforgettable. Without your commitment, trust, and support, this dream of streaming innovation would not have become a reality. I look forward to the future, as we continue to build a world increasingly connected through streaming.

Rockumentary.

Five years ago, this great short Rockumentary called ‘Ready Set Rock ‘n Roll’ (with footage of Nirvana and Pearl Jam!) was made about our first steps in streaming. It zaps you back to the culture of 1994. On the same page you can scroll down our innovative history timeline. 

Today.

Today, the streaming industry faces major challenges in profitability, eco-sustainability, complexity, and data protection. We’ve seen vendors come and go before, but not at this pace.

The future!

In the past 2 years, we’ve completely reinvented Jet-Stream to address these issues. Our knowledgeable team, sovereign cloud infrastructure, solid financial foundation, use of 100% green energy, workflow orchestration, and GDPR-compliant data protection design are all part of our innovative approach to these challenges. 

Looking at the extremely fast advancements in AI, we expect more revolutions to come, that will further accelerate knowledge transfers, inspiration, and creativity. And we are committed to being part of that.

For now, let’s celebrate 30 years of streaming. Cheers!

Stef van der Ziel
CEO Jet-Stream

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