[WarpCast] Live Video Internet Feed From Warp Expo West - 9/14/99 |
Warpstock 99 - Atlanta, October 16-17, 1999 Two fun filled days of OS/2 and YOU! Register by September 6, 1999 to receive a discount! Visit http://www.warpstock.org for full details. ****************************** WarpCast ****************************** Source: Peter Skye (pskye@peterskye.com) Moderator: Christopher B. Wright (wrightc@dtcweb.com) ********************************************************************** Contact: Rollin White (Rollin@scoug.com) 1-562-596-5121 office Tuesday, September 14, 1999 Press Release - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ____________________________________________________________ Live Video Internet Feed From Warp Expo West Warp Expo West announces something very special - a live video feed over the Internet from the show floor. You'll be able to watch the video on your Netscape browser. The continuous broadcasts will begin when Warp Expo West opens it doors on Saturday. At this time we aren't exactly sure how many channels of video we will deliver. The system itself can supply four different channels and we hope to have all four up and running. There are multiple T1 lines in place to deliver these four video channels to the Internet backbone. There are some technical issues that still need to be worked out. The audio feed is one we're still working on, and fine tuning the HTML code for your Netscape browser is another. Still, the video system worked fine in tests on both Saturday and Sunday and we're confident we can deliver live video to you on "show day" this coming Saturday. There will be a special link on the Warp Expo West web pages and you won't need anything but your Netscape browser. This is not a "webcam". This is full-motion video, just like you see on your television. Even with the multiple T1 lines there are some bandwidth issues and we may have to reduce the image size, increase the compression level or restrict the number of simultaneous users depending on how many people choose to "tune in". A lot depends on the average bandwidth of viewers like yourself, since cable modems and DSL lines will load our video system more than 56K modems. Consider this a part of OS/2 history, as we take a "first shot" at sending full-motion video to your computer screen. The idea for the live video feed belongs to Tim Katz of Demand Systems. (Demand Systems is an OS/2 preinstaller and an exhibitor at Warp Expo West.) Tim Katz did the engineering design work, lined up the equipment and first tested the fully completed system on the Demand Systems network last Saturday. He and Steve Schiffman, the Network and Facilities Director for Warp Expo West, then tested the system at the show site on Sunday. There was plenty of preparation for the final test. "I had to ensure that our supplier network was capable of supplying the bandwidth required," said Schiffman, "and that meant checking on each segment of the uplink. We'll have cameras in the lecture rooms and in the exhibitor area, and we'll supply a combination of live video feeds and repeat broadcasts of the most popular lectures." Tim Katz had to work out some last-minute connections and spent part of the testing time working on the HTML. "Netscape supports live video, but Internet Explorer requires a special add-on which we won't support," said Katz. "The Netscape HTML is coded in a certain way and it took a bit of experimentation to get it right." And Tim McCoy, owner of Demand Systems and present during the tests, was very pleased. "We like to come up with a solution no matter what the problem, and live video on the Internet is in everyone's future for seminars, trade shows, even family events such as weddings and any gathering of people. It's cost effective." Rollin White, Chairman of Warp Expo West, said that "watching live video over the Internet is a great demonstration of why OS/2 is a leading technology platform." And Terry Warren, President of The Southern California OS/2 User Group (SCOUG), the show's sponsoring organization, said "This is the technology of the future and we're pleased that SCOUG can bring this new benefit to OS/2 users via Warp Expo West." - - - Warp Expo West is free, free, free. The show will be held on September 18 near Disneyland in sunny Southern California. All the info is at http://www.scoug.com/warpexpowest Sponsored by The Southern California OS/2 User Group. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, unsubscribe, or for more information on WarpCast, visit: http://www.warpcast.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------