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Video Streaming Goes Peer-to-Peer

CMU ESM Project writes "Our research group at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a peer to peer streaming video content distribution system called End System Multicast (ESM). The system constructs a self-organizing and adaptive overlay network using the receivers that are tuning into the broadcast events. The system has been used fairly successfully for quite a few events. Now we want test the system with a lot of more users and different user join patterns. We are streaming some very cool video, such as Triumph of the Nerds by Bob Cringely, distinguished lecture by Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, ACM SIGCOMM conference paper presentation by Dave Clark, and 2002 Sony Legged Robot Soccer Championship. Here is the detailed schedule. So please tune in, enjoy, and help test our system!" The streaming is based on QuickTime; for Linux users, the project page steps through installation of CodeWeaver's CrossOver plug-in.

180 comments

  1. uhhh... by FortKnox · · Score: 2, Funny

    We are streaming some very cool video

    If you wanna grab the /. communities attention, I'd suggest you show Ghost in a Shell, RMS vs MS PR lecturer, the Matrix, and The Two Towers.

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    1. Re:uhhh... by Soko · · Score: 2

      I beg to disagree. Think Jennicam.
      'Nuf said.

      Soko

      --
      "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
    2. Re:uhhh... by Dr+Caleb · · Score: 2
      Think Jennicam

      They want streaming video tests, not static pages of an empty chair.

      --
      "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
    3. Re:uhhh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't believe these guys are using Quicktime but are not supporting the Macintosh platform.

      Stupid.

    4. Re:uhhh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Think Jennicam
      They want streaming video tests, not static pages of an empty chair.

      An empty chair is better than an overweight, naked geek-girl.

  2. Prepare to hear from the MPAA by gambit3 · · Score: 2

    They're sure not gonna like this.

    1. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by glesga_kiss · · Score: 3, Interesting
      My response: "Tough shit. Welcome to the future".

      The fundamental problem with true video-on-demand is at the server end. Sure, you can stagger showings like todays PPV systems, but the viewer cannot pause, rewind and fast-forward.

      P2P solves this. As much bandwidth as you need. The more popular a piece of media becomes, the easier it is to get. A reverse slashdot effect. It's a much more elegant solution compared to throwing bandwidth and server capacity at the problem. Put P2P in a TIVO, it's just gained a second killer app. The only problem is that if two users record the same show, they will not be HASH compatible, which is essential for a good multi-point downloading p2p network. Solve that, you've just reinvented how broadcast TV works.

      The MPAA and RIAA are just going to have to accept that they can no longer control our media. We have the tools and we have the technology to do it ourselves.

      Only lawyers can try stop us now. And if they do, our countries will have so much civil disobedience and lack of respect for the law that the war on (some) drugs pales in significance.

    2. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by martyn+s · · Score: 2, Informative

      Umm, Video on Demand is already being done successfully by Time Warner Cable in New York. I agree P2P ends up being much cheaper and easier, but don't make it like it can't be done. Besides, true video on demand lets you watch something whenever you want. Streaming P2P does not, it's like a broadcast. You can't go back and watch from the beginning. And not only that, the more people watching this "live" broadcast, the more lag you'll have.

      I think this stuff is great, but you can't compare it to video on demand. And if you saw "Peer-to-peer" and though "Kazaa," the I also agree with you; Kazaa is great, and peer-to-peer is the future. Your post doesn't belong in this story though.

    3. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by glesga_kiss · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Umm, Video on Demand is already being done successfully by Time Warner Cable in New York.

      Is it real video on demand, where every user can select a show and watch it that instant, or is it like most systems where the show is broadcast on, say 12 channels, with each one starting 5 mins appart? If the later, it's not VOD. With real VOD, you have a private stream from the provider, which requires a massive server.

      Streaming P2P does not, it's like a broadcast.

      We're at cross purposes here, methinks. The example that this article links to is a repeater p2p network, which is pretty neat. However, I was describing a system where it's fully on demand. Jeez, if it wasn't for the .avi file format having important data at the end of the file, you could almost do this now on the existing p2p apps. All you need is enough bandwidth to watch the video in realtime. You wouldn't be able to jump 30 minutes in if you wanted, but that's only because the current p2p clients haven't even thought of that yet.

      Give it a year or two... ;-)

      Your post doesn't belong in this story though

      Well, what I'm thinking of isn't quite a p2p repeater as described in article, but it's similar and they share a few traits. For example, imagine I am watching an episode of the Simpsons on my node. That episode will be getting cached on my system, and thus will be available to other users from me. That concept is in keeping with the article. I'm just removing the need to have defined broadcasts, limiting when and what you can watch.

    4. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The video being broadcasted all have appropriate permission from the respective speakers / organizers.

      -- CMU ESM Project

    5. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by martyn+s · · Score: 1

      I'm a huge fan of P2P systems, and I personally believe that the public library system should run and support a p2p network of public domain materials (while cutting copyright times). Yes, in New York it is real VOD. But I don't like it because it's very limited and they charge too much for it (tivo does the job just fine). I honestly don't think you can find a bigger supporter of p2p than me, but I'm just pointing out that this has more in common with broadcast television than napster or kazaa.

    6. Re:Prepare to hear from the MPAA by shaunboy · · Score: 1

      "Is it real video on demand, where every user can select a show and watch it that instant, or is it like most systems where the show is broadcast on, say 12 channels, with each one starting 5 mins appart? If the later, it's not VOD. With real VOD, you have a private stream from the provider, which requires a massive server."

      Yes, it is real VOD. Yes, each user gets a private stream to control and yes we do have massive servers. Actually they only take up about 4 racks.

      TWC will be releasing DHCTs with PVR built in next year but we will be phasing this out for a central storage method. Yes, more servers and arrays then you can shake a finger out. They will be caching about 40 channels for a rolling 48 hours to start and then move up to more. You will be able to "save" programing for up to two weeks in a personail cache.

      Currently TWC offers HBO, Cinemax, TMC, Showtime, Adult. Plus for free ... BBC America, Comdey Central, Cartoon Network, HGTV, DIY, Golf, CNN, Food, and Bio.

  3. Wow, what a future! by scosol · · Score: 1, Funny

    Broadcast audio and video!
    Who would have ever thought?
    I love technology!

    --
    I browse at +5 Flamebait- moderation for all or moderation for none.
    1. Re:Wow, what a future! by Randolpho · · Score: 1

      It's not really broadcast, you know, dispite the use of the word in the original post.

      --
      "Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
      -Marilyn Manson
    2. Re:Wow, what a future! by crawdaddy · · Score: 0

      What's that? Pictures?...that MOVE?!

    3. Re:Wow, what a future! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i agree, why the hell does every one what to make the internet another boardcast medium? Make this an load on demand library and let the user decided when to watch. Schedules SUCK!

    4. Re:Wow, what a future! by Capt.+DrunkenBum · · Score: 1

      Pictures, that move... That is the work of the devil.

      --

      Not everyone deserves a 320i

  4. He must really have wanted to test this. by rmadmin · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'd say if slashdot doesn't kill it, nothing will! Except the MPAA.. Evil bastards!

  5. Wow by Raul654 · · Score: 3, Funny

    P2P streaming video, eh? We *KNOW* which industry is going to be the frontrunner there. And for some reason, the geeks will all be very generous in the uh, "support" they offer.

    --


    To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
    --E.C. Stanton
  6. No Support for Mac?? by TracerJPN_USMC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They state that they are using quicktime.. yet there is no support for Mac. ?!

    --
    magnanomous.
    1. Re:No Support for Mac?? by TracerJPN_USMC · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Actually.. i have a white ibook. It was white, but i used rubbing alcohol to take the paint off, and repainted it myself. Now I have a Marine Corps flag on the top (with glowing EGA) and an American flag on the bottom. Not all mac users are pre-pubscent girls you know.

      --
      magnanomous.
    2. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It scares me that you are armed and supposedly defending our country.

    3. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the only thing that scares me is that he has to defend people like you.

    4. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah from people like you. I dream of the world where people like you are locked up and I don't need to be defended.

    5. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      Why force Windows users to download that crappy bloated piece of shit player if you aren't catering to the fruity mac community.
      Far less bloated than WMP or Real, and guess what Einstein?

      It's the only codec wrapper that supports specific functionalities that enable such terrific, innovative projects to happen.

      I'm sorry you don't know how to configure an operating system to best suit your needs, fuckball.
      I mean they may make up only 1/10th of a percent of the world's computer users but those users make up 95% of the homosexual community.
      There are more desktop Mac users than desktop Linux users - and by your logic Linux users make up only 1/100th of a percent of the World's computer users, yet make up 95% of the clueless fuckwads on the planet that think running a free OS on their $12.95 system makes them "31337!!!!!!!!!!"
    6. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      ...This is because we have chosen to use the Apple QuickTime player, which is not available in most Unix platforms
      Uhh.. I can think of one REALLY popular UNIX variant that Quicktime runs on...

      That dude a few threads down mentioned that they bought a Mac specifically to broadcast Mpeg4, so a client looks promising.
    7. Re:No Support for Mac?? by ChrisPalow · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We have macos x port running internally with some issues (you have to pause and play everytime you switch from low->high or high->low video streams) but other then that it works ok. So yes there is a MacOS X port. There is no, nor are there any plans for, a MacOS 9 port.

      Chris

    8. Re:No Support for Mac?? by citoc · · Score: 1

      any estimated time frame we (the public) might be able to use it?

    9. Re:No Support for Mac?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Got a photo? Better yet, a case mod page? :-P

  7. Quicktime video by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    mplayer also handles Quicktime, though you may have to recompile your kernel.

    1. Re:Quicktime video by The+Wicked+Priest · · Score: 1

      Moderators, that was NOT off-topic, since the summary talks about the Crossover plug-in. The point is, you don't need to shell out for that, when you can just get MPlayer. (Slashdot editors seem to promote Crossover in every article that mentions QuickTime, even now.)

      I don't know what he's on about with the kernel, though... I've never had that problem with MPlayer.

      --
      Share and Enjoy: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  8. Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "We are streaming some very cool video, such as Triumph of the Nerds by Bob Cringely, distinguished lecture by Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, ACM SIGCOMM conference paper presentation by Dave Clark, and 2002 Sony Legged Robot Soccer Championship."

    We want ... PORN!

    1. Re:Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 2

      "We want... PORN!"

      Funny? Heh I'm serious guys. I don't care about Triumph of the Nerds. I don't care about the Sony Legged Robot Soccer Championshiip. But if they feed down porn, hell yeah I'm going to jump through some hoops to get it to work!

      I'm not +1 Funny whoring here, I'm bored with the porn I've got and don't feel like running my credit card up higher!

    2. Re:Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      If you /.s ever saw the people who go to CMU, you would beg them not to distribute porn. BEG THEM

    3. Re:Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you PAY for porn?

      jesus, haven't you got kazaa lite?

      or usenet?

    4. Re:Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It takes a lot of capital to produce porn. You usually need at least two people, and as for the equipment, well... a "webcam" can be a very expensive investment. And then there's the training: most people don't know anything about sex and are reluctant to perform the acts.

      Porn production is a natural monopoly. It doesn't make sense for it to be distributed.

    5. Re:Um yeah, there'll be mass-market demand... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they should license porn stars - "you must be this hot" to be filmed naked and having sex

      and there should be a rule about shaving too. some of that 70's porn is just nauseating

  9. MPAA raid! by dex22 · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a shock move, the MPAA closed several University research departments this afternoon, in a series of commando-style raids.

    "It's tantamount to theft" said Hilarity Rosen. "People sharing video and film clips like this without paying? It's immoral, unjust and illegal! Luckily, we caught the equivalent of 7,562 illegal viewers. (Well, we caught 17, but they all had VERY fast connections!)

    In other news, Microsoft tommorow will announce a new DSigital Rights system for P2P video, called "PayNow!"

    1. Re:MPAA raid! by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I actually heard Hilary Rosen on the radio monday night on KGO. she said "They have a CD Burner - which is the equivalent of a CD production facility"

    2. Re:MPAA raid! by steve_bryan · · Score: 1

      Hilarity (Hilary) Rosen is the head of the RIAA, not the MPAA. You need to take your poke at Jack Valenti.

    3. Re:MPAA raid! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


      Jack Valenti must be pissed about that Hilary bitch horning in on his racket!

  10. this was done years ago by dan501 · · Score: 4, Informative

    blue falcon networks has been doing this for quite a while.

    their technology is already in such distribution systems as Virgin's internet radio broadcast

    they do live re-multicast as well as on-demand.

    they rock the casbah.

    --
    my livejournal is interesting and worth reading - I swear. I know everyone thinks their blog is interesting. mine is.
    1. Re:this was done years ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You work for them, I bet. >=)

    2. Re:this was done years ago by dan501 · · Score: 1

      nope. used to though. I stopped working there in about 1998ish

      nice.

      --
      my livejournal is interesting and worth reading - I swear. I know everyone thinks their blog is interesting. mine is.
  11. But... by sulli · · Score: 2

    if you want to grab the public's attention, show porn. I guarantee that porn will be the killer app for this (remember CU-SeeMe).

    --

    sulli
    RTFJ.
  12. Recompile Kernel? WTF? by brunes69 · · Score: 5, Informative

    You most certainly do *not* have to recompile your kernel to use QT in mplayer. Just build it, download the codecs .zip, and go

    BTW, for debian users, here are the lines to install mplayer (WITH qt6 support):

    echo "deb http://marillat.free.fr/ unstable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
    apt-get update
    apt-get install mplayer-686 mencoder-686 qt6codecs w32codecs

    1. Re:Recompile Kernel? WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      And in Windows you have to go through the arduous task of clicking setup.exe!

      I think you have to click an OK button too!

      Good thing linux is 'taking over'

    2. Re:Recompile Kernel? WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Mr. Troll,

      There are things Linux is good at. Much as it pains me to say, there are also things that Windows is good at. Asinine comments about how easy it is to do x in are asinine comments, regardless of . It is possible to comment constructively on such topics; be a man and demonstrate your ability to do so.

      It's a question of what you want your platform to be good at. I want mine to be good at being secure and at helping me do software development.

      Figure out what you care about, and get a platform that's good at it. And take your "Hi, I'm a flaming asshole!" comments to some .flame newsgroup.

    3. Re:Recompile Kernel? WTF? by msimm · · Score: 1

      And for urpmi (Mandrake) users simply configure urpmi to use the plf mirror nearest you. eg:

      urpmi.addmedia plf http://ftp.club-internet.fr/pub/linux/plf/cooker with hdlist.cz

      Then just type:

      urpmi mplayer

      (and maybe "urpmi mplayer-gui mplayer-fonts mplayer-skins" for the nice looking interface and extra skins!)

      --
      Quack, quack.
    4. Re:Recompile Kernel? WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why codeweavers? Mplayer plays Sorenson 1 natively and Sorenson 3 using a binary codec, we can broadcast either. Unforutunately, Mplayer's RTP code doesn't support Sorenson 1/3 streams yet.

      Scroll back up and read the one by ChrisParlow. Then maybe, you sir, will have a clue. Thanks for reminding us how simple Debian is though.

  13. QuickTime? No thanks. by edward.virtually@pob · · Score: 1

    Linux users who embrace QuickTime because it can be made to (mostly) work via unauthorized codec clones or using Windows plug-ins will be in for a rude awakening when Jobs and Gates pull the plug on them once QuickTime and Windows Streaming Media achive unstoppable market share.

  14. Quicktime - no way jose by CKW · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    .
    > Step 1: Install QuickTime player version 5 or 6 for Windows

    Ummm, NO.

    No I will not install that heavy-gloss and pointy-haired marketing-droid built **configuration-siezing** piece of sh*t on any system I control.

    Call back later when you use an open streaming video format that doesn't ask me to bend over.
    .

    1. Re:Quicktime - no way jose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, dork, learn the difference between Apple and Real. Doofus.

    2. Re:Quicktime - no way jose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. They should have used xvid.

    3. Re:Quicktime - no way jose by steve_bryan · · Score: 1

      Fine, your suggestion is acceptable. Now go away, who needs you?

    4. Re:Quicktime - no way jose by damiam · · Score: 3, Informative
      Quicktime is an open streaming video format. It's completely documented on Apple's web site, and is the basis for the MPEG-4 file-format. The only closed part are the Sorenson and QDesign codecs, which aren't Apple's responsibility (and may or may not be what these guys are using).

      What "open" system would you ahve in mind? Ogg Tarkin? Maybe it'll kick ass in 5 years. Until then, Quicktime is one of the best choices.

      --
      It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  15. BitTorrent? by jcr · · Score: 2

    Can anyone fill me in on how or if this differs from the BitTorrent concept?

    http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    1. Re:BitTorrent? by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 3, Informative

      BitTorrent is a great tool for file downloading, but it doesn't do live streaming.

  16. Peer to peer in the geek community is an oxymoron. by Quaoar · · Score: 2, Funny

    No self-respecting geek believes any other person to be geeky enough to be considered their "peer."

    --
    I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
  17. Cool. by Schnapple · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Watching it now. Pretty cool, and pretty effective - but the video seems a little bit too bright.

  18. I did that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    On the first attempt I got a single frame of video and then a crash. So I checked for all the latest codecs and updated everything. The second time around I didn't even get the single frame.

    But I didn't build mplayer from source either, I just installed the RPM.

    1. Re:I did that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Download the latest source. It's easy enough. ./configure; make; make install. It will most certainly work by doing just this. If you have any problems with specific codecs, check your configure.log and read the docs.

  19. mplayer? by slux · · Score: 1

    Sounds interesting but I'm not going to install the Crossover plugin just to see it. Is it possible to view this with Mplayer now that it has full support for QuickTime?

    P2P Radio seems to be working really well and I'm sure it's the same for video too. The RIAA is going to have a few headaches over these too... first they had unstoppable file-sharing and now they'll have same for live video streams and radio. :)

    1. Re:mplayer? by slux · · Score: 1

      before someone corrects. MPAA, obviously :P

  20. P2P Ho-Slappin: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  21. Re:Unfortunately, this isn't a troll by Dunark · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    "...demonstrated to a crowd of hackers at a hacker convention exactly how to strip the encryption from Adobe eBook files and redistribute an unlimited number of exact digital copies of any information contained in the files for free-as-in-beer over the Internet, ..." My goodness, there's a lot of presumtion in the way you said that. Are you a spin doctor for the RIAA or MPAA?

  22. Mac Support Coming Soon! .... sortof .... by gabe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, I'm a little peeved at that too. I'm a geek and I don't get to enjoy this project because for some reason they've neglected the NATIVE PLATFORM for the streaming product they're using.

    However, there IS a note stating that they are "explorting porting to the MacOS" I think they meant "exploring", and even if they do explore it, are they talking about Mac OS 9 or OSX?

    I want to play :(

    --
    Gabriel Ricard
  23. "We are streaming some very cool video" by tmark · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd be hard-pressed to call what they were streaming "cool". If they wanted cool, they should have been streaming video out cams hidden in the ventilation registers of good-looking coed's dorm rooms. Oh wait, I forgot, they're at Carnegie Mellon.

    Which reminds me of an old, old joke: Nine out of ten girls in California are good-looking. The other one goes to Stanford.

    1. Re:"We are streaming some very cool video" by MikeMc · · Score: 1

      CMU = "Chinese, married, or ugly".

      --
      Marco...that was Portugese.
    2. Re:"We are streaming some very cool video" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CMU = "Chinese, married, or ugly".

      Hey!! That's DEROGATORY!!! Moderator, mod the parent down!!

    3. Re:"We are streaming some very cool video" by Snorpus · · Score: 1

      So what are you looking for, a hot babe for a night or some geek-chick to support you for the next forty years?

      And I can assure you, having inspected the current crop of cheerleaders at my 30th Homecoming Reunion, the babe quotient has gone way up since the early 70s.

  24. Enjoy My Films by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I spent a lot of money making them, I hope you at least enjoy them now that they're going to be free.

  25. Cool i-candy by Doodhwala · · Score: 5, Informative


    Check out their overlay tree here. It shows how the current peer-to-peer tree of everyone viewing anything at that given point in time. Pretty cool.

  26. The problem with p2p multicasting... by TheMidget · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    ... what's to prevent some enterprising soul to retransmit this interesting video rather than the original content to his downstream clients...

  27. No Video on Demand? by hirebrand · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Here is the detailed schedule.

    Um, if I wanted to watch video on a schedule, I'd watch TV.

    1. Re:No Video on Demand? by tired-of-selecting-n · · Score: 0

      The main point is, they wanted to test their system under heavy load. How else can they do it other than fixing a time and inviting /. ers :)

    2. Re:No Video on Demand? by Sloppy · · Score: 2
      Thank you for participating in the TV reception load test.

      Our results were:

      1. TV reception did appear to work correctly, independently of the number of people receiving the broadcast
      2. Most people were wrong in their guesses about who shot J.R.
      We could not have done it without the help of viewers like you. Thank you.

      We also hope that you will participate in our next high-load performance test, the M*A*S*H series finale.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    3. Re:No Video on Demand? by Snaller · · Score: 2

      Um, if I wanted to watch video on a schedule, I'd watch TV.


      If you lived close enough to the transmitter to be able to receive the signal. No vision there boy.

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
    4. Re:No Video on Demand? by Degrees · · Score: 2
      On the one hand, you have a point. On the other, I missed the Cringley shows when they came across broadcast TV, so now I get to see them. If this is a running loop, then I get to tap in when I want - which is more than I get with TV.

      Further, I can't surf /. on my TV, and I get to help some researchers tweak / improve multicast. Seems like multicast is the hot topic at ACM SIGCOMM today - which makes me think we are in "internet-delivered-video-on-demand" infancy.

      Its funny, at the moment, Eric Schmidt is discussing his contemplation of the future, and multicast is not (yet) a part of his talk.

      --
      "The most sensible request of government we make is not, "Do something!" But "Quit it!"
  28. Standards! by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 2

    If they were using H.263 or MPEG-4, you should be able to use a variety of players instead of needing the Crossover hack.

    1. Re:Standards! by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      And if they were using WM8 then people could protect the content they worked so hard to create from gutless thieves and pirates!

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:Standards! by ChrisPalow · · Score: 1

      Our system would and does work with both of those.

      The problem is H.263 is pretty bad quality/bit rate ratio, so we went with sorenson. Mpeg-4 we just recently got a broadcaster for and didn't feel comfortable enough with it to use for this demo.

      Chris

  29. Some answers.. by ChrisPalow · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hi all, I work on the project and have been tasked with answering the slashdot communities questions. 1. Bright video: yes the video is too bright just has to do with the video capture we did of this particular video. Other videos look better, check the schedule. 2. Why codeweavers? Mplayer plays Sorenson 1 natively and Sorenson 3 using a binary codec, we can broadcast either. Unforutunately, Mplayer's RTP code doesn't support Sorenson 1/3 streams yet. When looking at the code, I couldn't tell if live.com streaming library didn't support it yet or, more likely, the interface between mplayer and live.com streaming library doesn't support Sorenson 1/3. 3. I'll answer more of how the system works and how its different then bittorrent and other system in a few minutes it's going to take while to type out. In the mean time check out some of our documents. http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~ESM-streaming/docs/ESM_Ph aseII.1.pdf is a bried overview. http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/cmcl-yhchu/ www.overlays/ has some of our earlier papers Chris Palow palow@cmu.edu

    1. Re:Some answers.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Why codeweavers? Mplayer plays Sorenson 1 natively and Sorenson 3 using a binary codec, we can broadcast either. Unforutunately, Mplayer's RTP code doesn't support Sorenson 1/3 streams yet. When looking at the code, I couldn't tell if live.com streaming library didn't support it yet or, more likely, the interface between mplayer and live.com streaming library doesn't support Sorenson 1/3.

      Clearly, you have good motives here and there aren't any kickbacks or marketing tie-ins, so I have to wonder: why do you use Sorenson (or any other proprierary codec) at all? Why don't you just use something that anyone can implement like DivX;-) or VP3 or something like that? Then almost all platforms would be supported and there would be a greater variety of software that works with your stream.

      It would then become more of a question of "what doesn't work with this?" instead of "what does work with this?"

    2. Re:Some answers.. by ChrisPalow · · Score: 1

      It can work with any broadcaster that uses RTP. So that rules out microsoft's solutions...

      We've broadcasted with H263/1 Sorenson1/3 we're sure it'd work with mpeg4 too (we bought a Mac just so we could broadcast mpeg4 in the future).

      Right now we believe sorenson 3 gives us the best quality/bit rate.

    3. Re:Some answers.. by Gropo · · Score: 2

      4. The Macintosh alpha should be ready for download around ______ from now.

      (pretty please? We OS X lUsers want to play too)

      --
      I hate Grammar Nazi's
  30. Answer me this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does the parent post or does the parent post NOT have interesting, factual content? If not, mod that way. If so, downmods are terrorism. It's that simple.

  31. Quite a Test by Bobman1235 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now we want test the system with a lot of more users and different user join patterns.

    Is this the first case of someone actually ASKING to be Slashdotted? I can't think of a better stress test... :)

    1. Re:Quite a Test by ChrisPalow · · Score: 2, Interesting

      yes we're asking to be slashdotted. We've been planning this for several months

  32. The best method by obsidianpreacher · · Score: 1

    Well, certainly the best method to stress-test any system is to post about it on Slashdot! Good job, Carnegie Mellon!

    --
    topreacher@signature.slashdot.org 1% rm -rf sig
  33. Same here -- by jhujoe · · Score: 1

    The video is way too bright. Fiddling with the Quicktime video settings doesn't help much.

    1. Re:Same here -- by smokin_juan · · Score: 1

      Does quicktime (the sorry piece of shit) use video overlay? If so, and you're using nvidia you should have a control for video overlay color in the control panel.

  34. Re:Unfortunately, this isn't a troll by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Troll
    Fortunately, it is. And an obvious one, at that. If this is the best the MPAA and RIAA(and their supporters) can come up with, then we KNOW they won't ever get a fucking clue!

    Of course, it could be a reverse-troll ... :-)

  35. Soviet sad man is saying: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i am sad that they state that they are using quicktime.. yet there is no support for Mac :*( . ?!

  36. Plead for Money by Shamanin · · Score: 3, Informative

    Every couple of minutes the screen blanks out with a message saying things like "Please send 24.95 for the full version to support starving programmers" for crossover.

    How annoying... they should've mentioned this.

    --
    come on fhqwhgads
    1. Re:Plead for Money by ChrisPalow · · Score: 1

      it's crossover's demo. that's their nag screen. I posted previously why we couldn't use mplayer

  37. Right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I liked this more when it was called Multicast.

  38. Oxymoron by mocm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Isn't peer to peer multicast kind of an oxymoron.

    --
    ***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
    1. Re:Oxymoron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no its not!

    2. Re:Oxymoron by ChrisPalow · · Score: 1

      multicast means one->many?
      why can't you do one->many without infrastructure (p2p)?

      Chris

    3. Re:Oxymoron by mocm · · Score: 2

      Ok, so like p2p2p2p2p2p2... -> p2m
      But when you already have the possibility for multicast, why not just add something to that, to ensure transmission in case of lost packages, like asking a host closer to the sender if it has the required data.

      --
      ***Quis custodiet ipsos custodes***
  39. Tell M$! by lennart78 · · Score: 2

    They finally have proof that TOC with Windows is lower than with Linux :)

  40. admit it chris... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you've tested it with pr0n.

  41. Re:QuickTime? No thanks. It Sucks. by smokin_juan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have NEVER seen a stable installation of quicktime and I'll be damned if I install it on my new machine.

    It's a damn shame too because I've been waiting for this idea to materialize for a while. Maybe the next bunch of folks who take a stab at it won't fuck it up.

    pfft. qucktime. what a fucking waste.

  42. I quote: by Amiasian · · Score: 1

    Do you support other media players, such as Real or Windows Media?

    QuickTime uses the standardized Real-Time Transport Protocol Suite (RTP/RTCP), which Real and Windows Media use proprietary protocols. It is unlikely that we will support Real or Windows Media in the near future.

    1. Re:I quote: by ChrisPalow · · Score: 1

      Real I think can use RTP. Windows Media obviously doesn't. We chose quicktime because its open protocol, so we could understand it and manipulate the RTP stream without having to worry about reverse engineering etc.

    2. Re:I quote: by CKW · · Score: 1

      .
      So if it's an "open" protocol and video stream format, then there should be an alternative to installing Quicktime itself. Can you please identify one?

      The last thing I need to do is sepnd my time fighting Quicktime for control over my own system's file associations.
      .

    3. Re:I quote: by Gropo · · Score: 2
      We chose quicktime because its open protocol, so we could understand it and manipulate the RTP stream without having to worry about reverse engineering etc.
      I suspect that the Darwin Streaming Server being Free-as-in-Premium-Lager - and that its author doesn't demand any 'server tax' to run it - helped in that decision as well?
      --
      I hate Grammar Nazi's
  43. Graph of the Slashdot Effect by SB5 · · Score: 2, Informative
    --
    If what you are reading sounds funny, or sarcastic, lame, or stupid
    it is because it is supposed to be. just laugh
  44. Didn't read the article by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 2


    How is this different from video teleconferencing software like CU-SeeMe, which has been around for about 8 years now?

    1. Re:Didn't read the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CU-SeeMe is a centralized statically configured server based solution with a set of
      mirror sites that are used to transmit the content. The scalability of CU-SeeMe is limited to the capacity of the mirrors.

      End System Multicast
      is a dynamic self organizing protocol based on the locations and performance of the end systems. Because we utilize the network resources of the end systems, we hope to show that this peer-to-peer based solution is much more scalable.

  45. Simple hack around by Shamanin · · Score: 2

    If you move the window slightly, the splash-beg moves to behind it. Still annoying, but manageable.

    --
    come on fhqwhgads
  46. Re:QuickTime? No thanks. It Sucks. by damiam · · Score: 1
    I have NEVER seen a stable installation of quicktime

    You've never used a Mac, have you?

    --
    It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  47. variation of the joke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Three college chicks gathered for a drink.
    two good looking and one math major,
    two smart and one arts major,
    two girls and one phys.ed. major.

  48. This is what happens when you get posted to /. by Bitmap · · Score: 0

    http://openarch.cmcl.cs.cmu.edu/images/Join.9811.j peg /. won't let you post an immage but you can still see it

  49. Interesting ... by SuperDuG · · Score: 4, Funny
    Problem MPAA and RIAA have far too much free bandwidth and DoS attacks are now the new "internet attack" preference.

    Step 1. Release story on highly visited website that will cause geeks to download before even realizing the trojan horse they have installed.

    Step 2. Get geeks to keep player on by telling them they will help the greater good of p2p video streaming.

    Step 3. When over 20,000 active nodes are on system begin largest DoS attack ever on MPAA and RIAA that will strike fear into the masses.

    Step 4. Profit^H^H^H^H^H^H Post story on slashdot about how slashdot users defeated the evil of the internet without even knowing it.

    It may seem highly unlikely, but shouldn't these freekin college kids be studying for finals??? Anyone else think this is an "odd" type of program??

    I could be wrong and I probably am, but it's a hypothetical that could be very true ...

    --
    Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
    1. Re:Interesting ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      you forgot:

      Step 6. Post a witty list of 'steps' on /. including the oh-so-tired "profit" item to appear ideaphoric and intelligent.

      Step 7. Mock said poster with two additional steps that ridicule his post.

  50. Bandwidth Concern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anyone know what bandwidth is like for this. The transfer rate is 300Kbps, max, but what if I serve 10 others with it? Is that how it works?

    thanks for help --- my univesity limits sustained bandwidth to 2MB/s, or I get kicked out.

    cha-cha-chears!

    1. Re:Bandwidth Concern by ChrisPalow · · Score: 2, Informative

      it's about 400Kbps down then 400Kbps up for each of your children. Right now the maximum number of children is 6 so.. 2400Kbps.
      For a total of 2800Kbps or 350KBps up + down

      Hopefully 350KBps doesn't get you kicked out (of school?!?) if it does drop me a line

      Chris

    2. Re:Bandwidth Concern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You will serve peers based on the network capability of your host. All of our data traffic is TCP-based and will not flood your link.
      Email us at esm-help@lists.andrew.cmu.edu if you have further concerns.

  51. Better Yet... by idontneedanickname · · Score: 1

    ...Let users make their own stations, then it would take off...

  52. Quick Feedback by namtog · · Score: 1

    I enjoyed watching the little dog robots.

    The basics, Covad DSL, Windows, located in Chicago. The install went smooth. Both the ems client and quick time started when I clicked on the link. I did get the "download or open box". I choose open from current location.

    The picture was somewhat choppy and the audio would cut out from time to time. As far as I could tell the ems client was receiving only. Maybe nobody likes me. Sniff.

  53. Re:QuickTime? No thanks. It Sucks. by smokin_juan · · Score: 1

    good god, i hope quicktime isn't their main selling point. ok,ok, actually i used one in high school and was impressed. but then again, it was the first gui i'd ever used so i had no choice to be impressed (comming from the c=64). regardless, quicktime on ibm sucks according to my previous experience. unfortunately, i have new experience as the temptation from the CMU project was too much and I dl'ed QT anyway. no crashes thus far, but you won't catch me holding my breath.

  54. Audio P2P running by Openadvocate · · Score: 2

    I have seen that Digitally Imported has a audio P2P option from allcast.
    I am not using it personally as I am listening to the shoutcast streams on my Audiotron, so I don't know if it's worth anything, but the idea is nice.

    --
    my sig
  55. Pay per MB around the corner? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm an ISP, I'll say that up front. The Internet was designed for bursty traffic like webpage downloads, email and chat. This meant that most the time people were *not* transfering data. ISP flat-rate pricing schedules relied on that fact - it let them oversell their bandwidth. The upside of this practice was that customers received fast connections at low prices. The ratio was something like 30 customers with 1 Mbit connections only required 1 Mbit bandwidth to the Internet on average. If you had, say, 1000+ customers this ratio method worked very nicely.

    Things are changing with p2p as many customers connections are transfering data continously. Add p2p streaming and the situation becomes even less *Internet-like*. So what is the solution?

    Paying by the MB is not unknown by any means. People with large websites pay by the MB of transfered data to their customers and always have. Is it time for all customers that want to run the server portion of their p2p programs to do the same? Or should ISP's block p2p to bring the economics back to reality?

    There is another alternative. Everquest caused many ISP customers to hang on their dial-up phone lines 24 hours per day. Now, a phone line costs $30 per month just to the telco, another $10 in equipment and cooling costs, plus Internet bandwidth, support people and so on. So for $20 they were using $50-60 worth of resources each month. As a result, many ISP's started cancelling the accounts of Everquest players and they made a lot of money doing it. P2p users are only about 5% of an ISP's customers, so axing them would not be a big deal - in fact the ISP will be laughing all the way to the bank.

    Virual ISP's are actually encouraged to ax people haning on phone lines. Some portal providers will lower the rates of ISPs who ax these customers - and the discounts for doing so are very generous.

    If I must make a prediction (and musn't I :), the RIAA, MPAA and such will not put an end to p2p. Economics will.

  56. Re:QuickTime? No thanks. It Sucks. by ncc74656 · · Score: 2
    I have NEVER seen a stable installation of quicktime and I'll be damned if I install it on my new machine.

    Knowing how to install an OS and apps would go a long way toward solving your QuickTime problems. Of all of the media players on the market, QuickTime is the one that's caused me the least grief. I currently run it on Win2K, and I've used it under different flavors of Win9x. (I also have a Quadra 610 with MacOS 7.5.3, but I've never tried to track down an older version of QuickTime to install on it. I'm not sure how useful it'd be on such a slow machine.)

    --
    20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  57. Need Testers? by thefluxster · · Score: 1

    Use Slashdot - talk about a great way to get a bunch of geeks testing your software real quick. :)

    --

    Ever notice how fast Windows runs? Neither did I.

  58. So does this mean... by Snaller · · Score: 2

    ... that american geeks will now start to stream all the new TV shows, and the rest of the world will be looking over their shoulders? (While the industry starts screaming in fury?)

    --
    If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
  59. It's called MBONE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    It's called MBONE BONEHEADS... This is a greatly improved effort to make it easier and more portable. It's still the same concept.

  60. hey! by commodoresloat · · Score: 2

    Step 5 is missing. There's no step 5. There's no Step 5!!!!

    1. Re:hey! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Step 5. click "Reply to this"

  61. Content is Very Interesting by tomcatru · · Score: 1

    The content is quite good, I watched the Cringley Series (saw them a while back, but still entertaining). The talk by Google's CEO is also very interesting. So kudos on the content selection.

    While I'm not a fan of Quicktime, the quality was berable and could be increased if you get some video people to do proper capturing, resizing, encoding etc. I and others would be more likely to use the p2p broadcasting if it featured.. say VP3 (supported through windows media player). But kudos for working on the video broadcast bandwidth problem, I look forward to seeing future revisions.

    --
    - Tomcat borism.net
  62. Yes its real VOD by systemaster · · Score: 1

    you pause play rewind...Time Warner is rolling the tech out in all markets. It works like a VCR...I'm tired of people making a big deal about it I'm going to write up a paper on it and submit it for a main story, for something so geeky, and appealing to lots of people on the user end, I'm supprised not more people here know that.

    --
    LinuxWorx
    Spelling errors are intentional as are gramatical error
  63. Unable to parse ESM config file by telstar · · Score: 2

    That's where my P2P video experience ended.

    Oh well ... NEXT!

  64. So, who's got the patent on this one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this really free, or are developers screwed already?

  65. Boring ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Peercast Bluefalcon Chaincast Allcast Vtrails Streamer ...yawn...

  66. Bandwidth, not connection type by Snover · · Score: 1

    One of the things I *hate* about streaming video sites is that they categorize things qualitatively instead of quantitatively. "Modem 28.8k", "Modem 56.6k," "ISDN", "Cable Modem/DSL" (aka Broadband), and "T1 or higher" are NOT good ways of calculating connection speed. Give us NUMBERS.
    This connection is for people capable of receiving 28.8Kbps. This connection is for people capable of receiving 56.6Kbps. This connection is for people capable of receiving 256Kbps. This connection is for people capable of receiving 512Kbps. This connection is for people capable of receiving 1Mbit. This connection is capable of receiving 2Mbps. This connection is capable of receiving 4Mbps, etc. You can get a 256Kbps DSL line, or you can get an 8Mbit DSL line. LOOOOTS of difference between the two, but still the same technology that would show up as "Cable Modem/DSL".

    --

    [insert witty comment here]
  67. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    Ooh, mommy, mommy, what I have now doesn't work in this extremely
    unlikely circumstance, so I'll just throw it away and write something
    completely new.
    -- Linus Torvalds

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...