Category: Streaming and Multi-Media

SourceForge.net: Project Info – getTunes
This is great.. It is a pain to get music off of my media machine on to my laptop this should help. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to recognize my wireless connection.
From the site:
getTunes is a Mac version of myTunes, a small application that allows users to download music from local Rendezvous-shared iTunes music libraries (instead of streaming the songs). Don’t steal music.

Mac OS Rumors :: The Original Mac Rumor Site.
Interesting..

What might even be more interesting is this paragraph:
“These days more than ever we value the relationships we have with our sources and never encourage anyone to break an NDA or other legal obligation. We certainly don’t offer any enticement, financial or otherwise, for information. Because of the sensitivity of Apple’s projects in the HDVN arena we are very intentionally working from non-“insider” reports and everything we know can be turned up without resorting to NDA-breaking by anyone who looks in the right places….”

A direct plea for Apple not to sue them this time..? A lot of Apple fans are upset, including me, about the recent court case that has Apple arguing that web site publishers are not journalists and shouldn’t have the same protections. Hog wash (only stronger).

I have done exhaustive research regarding this in the past but I still have persistent problems with latency when using QuickTime or MPEG-4 streaming in my projects so I am doing the research again (and posting it here so I can find it later).

Here are the links for further examination (from Apple’s Mailing Lists):
Latency on Streaming Server – Some information – How to change a setting on the QTSS that controls one aspect of latency created by the server.
Re: latency problem – Explains the reasoning for the latency from Apple’s point of view.
Re: Instant-On & double frame rate – Gives a rundown on editing the server config to reduce latency.
Re: Video conferencing – More of the same
Getting real-time streaming to be more real-time – interesting note regarding specifing time stamp increments in video/audio samples to reduce latency. A major hack.
Re: I found there are more than 7 seconds time delay between the real live – More about what the latency is all about.
Re: Getting real-time streaming to be more real-time – Change the SDP file to set the default buffer on the player lower.
Re: Streaming latency between two separate computers – Use multicast
Re: Request for User-Configurable Latency Parameters – One of the original emails quoted above for changing latency parameters.
Re: buffering time – Changing buffering time in home made QT playback app (using QT API, should therefore work with QT4J).
Re: buffering time – More of the same.

Last: Use these libraries to build own streaming server and client: LIVE.COM Streaming Media: RTP/RTCP and RTSP Open Source Libraries

Ok.. now to try out all of the possibilities..

Orb Networks :: Home
Ok, so you have a XP Windows Media Server at home and you want to watch YOUR TV from your PDA, get Orb.. Just what I have always wanted, to pay $30 per MB to watch my recorded shows while in a taxi. In any case, an interesting service and software.

(Can you tell I am bitter today).

Narrowstep TV Station in a Box
Perfect marketing materials.. I don’t even know if it is software, hardware, a media server, a player or all of the above.

Perhaps someone will tell me.

Ooooh, I see, TV Station in a Box is all of their productions wrapped into one. See the documentation for mediaserver, channelserver and adserver to see what it is all about… Ok.

Doom9’s Forum – MP4 FAQ
Answers questions like:
1) What is MP4? I have heard it is a “container format”? What’s that?
2) What extension is MP4 using?
3) How can i create spec compliant MP4 files?
7) How can i mux Subtitles into MP4 files?
and much more..

Streaming Media East 2005: New York, NY
The exhibitors list has been published.. Some interesting things, like Webcast in a Box (although I think it is Real only). What I don’t understand is why companies continue to market themselves and their products as “proprietary”. For me, a streaming media professional, this means, stay away, far away..