The Multimedia Exchange Archives

Friday Flash fun

Stop-action animation has been around seemingly forever. One of the pioneers in the industry is Ray Harryhausen and Matt Round created a tribute to Ray's genius using Flash and skeleton warriors.

Via MetaFilter.

One big videoconference

The H.323 Forum hosted a 1.5 hour videoconference between 93 different endpoints around the globe using IP technology. The event, which took place along side SuperOP!, a confab put on by the International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium's (IMTC) to test rich media technology, used Internet2 and WireOne's GlowPoint network to connect some 200 partipants into the conference. The Video Development Initiative (ViDe), which promotes digital video use in research and education, was also involved.

Why do I mention this? I think it's pretty cool that 93 different global endpoints were connected simultaneously into a single call using IP. Granted, it was using Internet2 and a private carrier, not the latency-plagued public Internet. For videoconferencing to take off, IP has to be at the core to keep costs down. ISDN is reliable but costly, making it difficult to roll videoconferencing out to the masses. Services such as GlowPoint help (they shined in a test we did a year ago) further the conferencing cause, but we still have a long way to go.

Sonic launched DVD authoring seminar

Sonic Solutions is launching a free seminar series this fall called "Burn and Earn" designed to teach users the ins and outs of DVD creation and sales. According to a press release from the company, topics covered will include "MPEG encoding versus software transcoding and hardware encoding, and OpenDVD technology that allows DVDs that have already been created to be re-opened and revised without reference to any original source materials."

Of course, the catch is the company will be pimping its product line: Sonic ReelDVD workstation, the SD-Series SD-500 encoder, and Sonic's advanced DVD Producer. Even though its vendor specific, it couls still be a good way to immerse yourself in DVD production techniques.

Translate foreign languages on your iPAQ

Travelers heading to Europe have a new option for helping read the local language with IBM's new ViaVoice Translator (warning: press release) for the Compaq iPAQ PocketPC. Announced at DEMOmobile, the software provides two-way translation from English to French, Italian, German and Spanish. It can be used to read e-mails, news, signs and other information, with the translation returned by text or audio.

ViaVoice Translator is part of IBM's Pervasive Computing intiative that focuses on pushing standard office applications out to connected devices such as the Palm and BlackBerry.

The $49 software, which will be downloadable from IBM and available at retail stores, comes with 50 starter sentences such as "I would like to exchange money." With that and the questions "Where is the pub?" and "Where is the bathroom?" one should be all set for a trip abroad.

For more coverage from DEMOmobile, check out "Cool Tools: Daily Dose" for updates from Network World's own Keith Shaw and Sandra Gittlen. You can also check our show preview for a sneak peek at other cool products being demoed in La Jolla, Calif.

Hands-free MP3 player

The perfect gift for those that want to listen to MP3s while driving: The new BCL VoiceMP3 player for the PocketPC. Made by BCL technologies, the player uses voice recognition to operate the controls. According to a press release from the company, users can perform such functions as "loading, playback, searching, volume control, and play-list management entirely by speech."

BCL VoiceMP3 is priced at $29.95. A free 5-day trial is available.

New workspace for AV editors

Your standard office desk not cutting it when it comes to audio/video editing and production? Anthro Corp. may have a solution for you. The company's new Creation Station (warning: press release) is supposed to fit like a glove, wrapping around the user to keep all equipment in reach.

Creation Station comes in two sizes - large and extra large. Large measures 111" wide with a 30" wide middle section and 42" wide wings, while extra large comes in at 129" wide with a 48" middle. The smaller of the two is suited for a single large monitor, while the larger can fit two monitors side by side. Also, the station can be setup for stand up or sit down use. Pricing is not yet available.

A monitor in your eye glasses

You've seen it in the movies and now it is here - a monitor in your eye glasses. MicroOptical, a Westwood, Mass. company, yesterday announced the Instrument Viewer, an "eyewear-mounted display for test and measurement applications."

While it doesn't connect to your laptop or Pocket PC, it does connect to testing equipment like oscilloscopes and flaw detectors and renders the display in color, says the company. This allows technicians to work hands free, focus on the task at hand and still be able to see results from various testing equipment. Intrument Viewer is priced at $995.

It's only a matter of time before MicroOptical or one of its competitors comes up with a similar solution for the PC, handheld or Gameboy. "Yes, ma'am, I am paying attention to the blackboard," says little Jimmy as he plays Super Mario via his glasses.

LiveWave monitors the subway

Mass High Tech has an interesting story on how streaming technology from LiveWave is being used to monitor the Boston subway system. The pilot program with the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) has led to a nationwide program with Argonne Laboratories, which will link the LiveWave technology into its emergency management software.

Polycom introduces convereged audio/video MCU

Conferencing uber-vendor Polycom is converging its video and audio MCUs (multi-point control unit) into a single chassis with release 4.6 of its MGC software, which runs on the MGC 50 and 100 platform. With the new software installed (it's compatible with existing hardware), users can run up to 600 concurrent audio calls on a single MGC 100 box. The MGC 50 (8 slots) and 100 (16 slots) can be configured with any combination of audio, video and network access cards, depending on the customer need.

Polycom's goal with the product:

"You can dial into a conference regardless of the endpoint, be it a phone, ISDN or IP video," says Mark Roberts, director of business development for Polycom.

With acquisitions of Accord Networks and PictureTel, Polycom is looking to be a one-stop provider of hardware, software and endpoints for any conferencing need.

Was the post-9/11 boost in conferencing temporary?

Today's Boston Globe takes a look at audio and videoconferencing post-9/11. Right after the tragedy, there was a noticeable spike in conferencing usage and the stock valuations of companies associated with the technology. But has the uptick lasted a year?

But despite plunging costs and improved convenience, videoconferencing still can't shake a widespread perception it remains too klunky and contrived for widespread use. And ACT, Polycom, and WebEx shares are all well below where they were on Sept. 10, 2001.

It does seem that conferencing is still on the rise, but more as a cost-cutting measure than a fear of flying/traveling.

Bug in QuickTime 5 ActiveX control

My two extracurricular Network World activities (this blog and our Security and Bug Patch Alert newsletter) converge with this one:

The security group @Stake has discovered a flaw in the way the QuickTime 5 ActiveX control, for viewing QuickTime media embedded in a Web page, handles the plugins page parameter. A buffer overflow in the parser could be exploited to allow a malicious user to execute arbitrary code on the affected Windows machine. What should you do? For those that want the technical details, see the @Stake advisory. For those that want to fix their machine, upgrade to QuickTime 6.