robelr@ucs.indiana.edu (Allen Robel) (05/24/91)
Hi, I'm new here and have been following the discussion of NeXT/Amiga multimedia features. No one mentioned anything about networking these features. What I'd like to see is a way to video-conference over ethernet using a standard transport (TCP/IP) and X Window. We've got video over ethernet using X Window between a Sun Sparc2 and Sparc1+ and are looking into adding voice to this. Performance (one way video) is about 20 to 25% capacity of an ethernet (which is about the dying point for ethenet) but this particular board/software combination performs *no* compression. This is just some futzing we're doing in the lab... What are the capabilities of the NeXT--I'm writing this from a 040 cube so am embarrased I even have to ask :-( --and the Amiga (or Mac/PC for that matter) in this area. What products are available to accomplish this? Again, we're talking about video conferencing over X-Window with some form of compression so as not to kill an ethernet... Any info greatly appreciated! Allen Robel robelr@mythos.ucs.indiana.edu University Computing Services ROBELR@IUJADE.BITNET Network Research & Planning voice: (812)855-7171 Indiana University FAX: (812)855-8299
don@chopin.udel.edu (Donald R Lloyd) (05/24/91)
In article <1991May23.222324.20489@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> robelr@ucs.indiana.edu (Allen Robel) writes: > I'm new here and have been following the discussion of >NeXT/Amiga multimedia features. No one mentioned anything >about networking these features. What I'd like to see >is a way to video-conference over ethernet using >a standard transport (TCP/IP) and X Window. > [Stuff deleted] >Again, we're talking about video conferencing over X-Window >with some form of compression so as not to kill an ethernet... > A guy from our local Amiga dealer told me about a demo he went to of the A3000UX machines (equipped with CBM's 34010-based graphics card). Several stations were networked together, each with a video camera mounted above it. Basically, from what I remember him saying, you could open a window at the station you were sitting at and view another person's live image. You could then apparently send mail to that person by dragging an icon or some such thing onto his/her picture. People had multiple picture-windows open and were conversing heavily... Don't really know if this was done via ethernet or some other trick (the machines were sitting close together, so I imagine it could have been possible to have some kind of direct video connections between them somehow...). I doubt there was any compression being done, as I don't think CBM is currently working on any compression hw (would be nice if they were, though.) The NeXTCube with the NextDimension board (when it gets here) should be able to perform similarly; if they get the MPEG chips working, it'll also have compression capabilities. -- Gibberish May the Publications Editor, AmigaNetwork is spoken fork() be Amiga Student On-Campus Consultant, U of D here. with you. DISCLAIMER: It's all YOUR fault.