FUNET-TV

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FUNET-TV

• Harri K. Salminen

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Goals

• Easy broadcast and recording of lectures
• Multipoint videoconferencing
• Multimedialaboratory for live transmission,
  post-processing and research needs
• A versatile mediaserver
• H.261, MPEG-1, MPEG-2
• Windows, Unix, MacOS
• Experimenting with tomorrows TV

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Operating environment

• Supercomputer centers resources
• Universities have multimegabit access to the high
  speed FUNET network
• Modems and ISDN play only a minor role
• Realtime content Audio, video, VR
• Lectures, seminars, meetings, visualizations,
  documentaries
• Collaboration with shared applications

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Mediaserver

• Time shifting, multimedia on the web, media
  archive, technology experiments
• SGI Webforce Mediabase
• MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.263, RealVideo, RTSP
• Origin 200, 512MB, 300GB, ATM, Ethernets
• Management via web or unix shell
• Scales up to terabytes and thousands of users
• WrtpVoD prototype for RTP recordings

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FUNET-TV laboratory

• Realtime conversion, editing, research and
  testing facilities for audio and video
• 270Mbit/s SDI digital video connections
• Converters, TBCs etc. for analog video
• Digital audio mixer combines and processes all
  audio signals
• Realtime codecs from Realvideo and RTP/H.261 up
  to MPEG-2 at 50Mbit/s

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Sample projects

• Web University Distance education pilot
• Mainly finnish students and researchers
• MBONE tools, WrtpVod, VRVS, web
• A synthetic compression test video
• A virtual Studia Generalia seminar series
• Live conference transmissions
• Archiving of art and culture
• History of the Internet

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Conclusions Audio

• G.7xx is still a safe choice for speech
• For modem users GSM or RealAudio
• MPEG or AC-2 are best suited for multichannel
  high quality audio needs
• Professional use of microphones
• Good echo cancellation for two way audio
• Sound check, monitoring and processing
• Audio may be partly synthetic in the future

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Conclusions Video

• Television quality MPEG
• MPEG-1 is good enough for many uses
• MPEG-2 is the basis of digital television
• MPEG-4 is emerging for future virtual worlds
• H.26x videoconferencing
• H.261 has worked well but H.263 is the future
• RealVideo is very common but proprietary
• High quality video material pays off

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About the future

• Differentiated services should appear to support
  real-time QoS needs in the Internet
• Anyone can be a real-time content producer
• MPEG-2 will spread to every home
• HDTV may take much more time and money
• MPEG-4, VRML and computer games will make
  realtime virtual worlds more common
• 2-D mediawall or 3-D VR helmet? Good question.
  Next question please!

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For more information

• http//tv.funet.fi/
• Harri.Salminen _at_ funet.fi
• GSM 358 400 502 352