IDM Mailing Archive

quoted 10 lines * An open air rock festival in GLASGOW is to be the first British

>> * An open air rock festival in GLASGOW is to be the first British >> concert transmitted on the INTERNET. >> >> STORMY WATERS features new-wave rockers PLAID, AUTECHRE. The two >> day gig, at GLASGOW UNIVERSITY on 21 and 22 July will be played to a >> potential audience of 25 million information highway travellers. The >> event is being shown to test the quality of the Internet for live >> shows. > > I wonder about this. Will it be on the MBone?

Yes, the session announcements are already in sd.

quoted 2 lines When Plaid and Autechre perform as 'New Wave Rockers' do they dress up

> When Plaid and Autechre perform as 'New Wave Rockers' do they dress up > like The Cars?

Nah; The Knack :-)

quoted 2 lines Organisers also want to see how many people are prepared to sit in

>> Organisers also want to see how many people are prepared to sit in >> front of a computer to watch a music show.

As I've stated before, this is completely pointless. Right now the MBONE audio transmits 8-bit mu-law telephone-grade quality audio, and because of the MBONE's carrying capacity you're lucky if you can get a few frames a second of video at best. The annoying thing is that the MBONE is essentially a research effort right now, suitable for testing transmissions and algorithms and the like. Just because one has the ability to send some video and audio over the 'Net doesn't mean that it can be received at 15-24 fps and 16-bit 44.1/48 KHz. While I have a certain begrudging respect for Curry's having transitioned from MTV hairspray metalhead to knowing about the MBONE, the fact is, the MBONE is Not Ready For Prime Time and won't be until/unless the Net's backbone carrying capacity (as well as leaf net) goes up to at least FDDI/Fast Ethernet levels (100 Mbit/sec) end-to-end. I'm sure most of us on IDM know that the generation of 15-24 fps video and 16-bit audio is *lots* of bits to be passing around in real-time. The forthcoming RTPv2 protocol will help this out in some ways, and IPv6 has further support for prioritizing Real-Time packet traffic. In the meantime, however, efforts like this and having the Groaning Bones on the MBONE is more for self-aggrandizement and promotion ("Gee, we can claim that the Stones are the first Big-Time Band to broadcast on the Internet!") than actual useful content. Having a 1.5x1.5" video window on my screen that updates maybe once a second, with a 60's AM radio to hear the "sound" is *not* my idea of how to watch Plaid and Autechre. As long as the backbone technology remains in its present state, FSOL (with their directed unicasts over ISDN and Switched 56 links) have a much better idea. Someday ... someday soon. But not now. - Greg