Approximately three-and-a-half years ago, US Relay Corp., San Diego, was formed to provide streaming video over cell phones. Within a year, construction sites and ski resorts were using its services to show clients real-time conditions at these locations. The IP cameras at construction sites were particularly helpful to provide security against theft and other damage.

US Relay was formed as a division of dotworkz, San Diego, which manufactures the camera systems US Relay uses. dotworkz was formed nine years ago, and US Relay was created to provide the video service, which is offered to retail stores, amusement parks, local and federal governments, for daycare and pet surveillance, and to various Web attractions.

The company has a new branding strategy for its Broadband Relay video rebroadcasting service and VMCC off-site video management/archiving service. Broadband Relay has been renamed eLiveStream, while the VMCC service is now known as eArchive.

eLiveStream allows Web sites to serve thousands of video viewers simultaneously while reducing local bandwidth requirements up to 98 percent, the company maintains. This eliminates network bottlenecks at the camera/client level. With eLiveStream, the camera, no matter how many viewers log on, serves just one stream of video.

eArchive is most cost-effective when used at sites that have one or two cameras on-site, said Will Ferris, president/CEO of U.S. Relay and dotworkz.

“When I started dotworkz 9 years ago, my original design was to offer live content to Web sites, and at the time, it was all the rage,” Ferris explained. “Now US Relay has really taken off with its own staff and management. Its popularity has grown, and its revenue has doubled in the last eight months.”

Depending on the skill level of the company using the service, US Relay provides from one-half to two days of training. “If they have expertise on the hardware part, the software is very easy,” said Rod Motta, US Relay’s marketing director. “It would take a half-day of training.” For more information, visit www.usrelay.com.