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Helix Server Source Released
Rob Lanphier writes "RealNetworks just released the Helix DNA Server source code, the main engine powering the RealNetworks' Helix Universal Server (nee RealServer). Additionally,
the RealNetworks' Public Source License (RPSL) just became approved as an Open
Source Initiative (OSI) certified license. Speaking of which, the Helix DNA Server is available under RPSL (which
wasn't originally our stated intention). Ask questions via IRC during our live webcast at 11am PST (19:00 GMT) or just read the press release."
I think the crunch test will come when Debian assesses the Helix server for eligibility. Until then, I'm treating this cautiously based on experience with Real. Without free codecs, this is useless anyway so it'll be interesting to see to what extent they've embraced Ogg Vorbis and the other technologies from Xiph.
Now i'm just waiting for someone to do some kind of quantitative or benchmark comparison between this and Darwin Streaming Server.
It's all just RTSP... right? Do the two support any common codecs?
Are the RSPL and ASPL compatible? I mean, can we take code from Darwin and code from Helix and legally put it into the same app?
So we can use more than 1MBit/s for streaming now?
The 1year-testing-version is limited to this bandwith.
cheers,
liebesgruss
" or do they expect people from the OSS community to basically write their code for them?"
Why shouldn't they expect it?
They could just give the OSS world a free(tm) middle finger and be done with it. Instead, they're offering OSS programmers a chance to use their stuff.
Of course, that's not good enough for most of the people around here - they expect corporations to unexplainably cater to the smallest slice of the market, eh?
I guess the're just doing "the descent thing" (releasing the source) because they know that the OSS community will copy & improve it anyway if they don't. Also, it will help them gain market share, mainly as a result of the community porting their stuff to other (hardware) platforms.
My, what a fickle crowd we are.
Listen, back in the day, the Netscape Navigator was the number one "Internet" browser. By your logic, they should still be the market leader since they once were. Oddly enough, they aren't. You see, your statement that because something is a proven commodity guarantees that no other product will replace it goes against everything in business. I think you should apologize for not thinking this out thoroughly. Ogg vorbis could become the de facto standard with the right company behind it and the correct market conditions. Users will downoad "something else" if the market dictates that they have to or all their friends do it. Trust me, stranger things have happened.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Now I can, umm yeah, look at the source code for my helix server and, if I feel like it, make a monumental waste of time debugging it myself. Wow, that's great. I'm totally not being sarcastic.
Open source is overrated. When it comes to software, free as in beer is about 100x more important to the average consumer than free as in source code.
Repeal the DMCA!
Even with all those people out there who do give two damns about their privacy, this still doesn't detract from the fact that Real pretty much has been "beaten-down-by-windows-media-player".
To put it another way, Windows may not be the operating system of choice for many Slashdotters, but that still doesn't detract from the fact that it has 90% of desktop market share.
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I applaud Real for releasing their server in this fashion.
Now, when the client for Linux will actually work with Mozilla, will actually play content that is available without generating spurious "You need to be root to update this" messages, and is actually easily found on the main Real site without resorting to using Google, then perhaps I might get excited about this.
But a server without a client is nigh useless. And if you want to say "But the client for Windows works great" - yes, but then so does Windows Media Player, and it comes pre-installed.
www.eFax.com are spammers
Thats what it will do for you.
The money in streaming media is the server end, the clients are generally given away free or at very low cost - you want people to demand that companies install your server product so there is no point stiffing the consumer.
This was Real and Microsoft's approach - but of course Microsoft has a real adavantage [pun intended] because it can put a player on every desktop that it sells - so buisnesses in have to buy Microsoft streaming server software because of consumer demand.
But then people with Mac/*NIX/Set top boxes are cut out of the loop because MS doesn't do players for those platforms, and they won't release the codec details for others to use because then someone could code an alternative streaming server.
Real is fighting back by offering an open platform server - in this case anyone who wants to write support for thier player can look at the server code and write a plug in for it. The attraction for a buisness is they now potentially can install one streaming server and probably one set of master media files - they can stream media to any player on any platform.
This gives Real a commercial adavantage over MS becuase MS software needs to run on MS operating systems - and most big internet stuff is still the domain of various *NIX
Helix could be compiled for your particular choice of OS - thats a definate plus over the MS offering. Even if MS offered binaries for a number of OS's you still don't have as much choice.
Now what they want is everybody to install Helix as thier streaming server. They win by market penetration and you still have to license the codecs for thier RealPlayer series so they have a revenue stream.
Real are NOT going to release the codecs open source because that could allow anyone to write server software that works with thier free players and they are rapidly out of buisness - the only other option would be to charge for the players - but people would then use MS players anyway. Either route they are commercially dead.
So if you want to write TuxPlayerDeluxe then what you do is look at the Helix code and develop a plug in for your player - now you can get buisness to support you. You'll not get a commercial entity to install your homegrown server software on thier servers, but they may use your plug in if you get enough demand, so the success of Helix will help open source media player developers.
So the advantages are:
1) Real can offer an all in one solution and hopefully become the prefered solution to Microsoft
2) Real can continue to make money from licenseing codecs, rather than having to charge for the player.
3) Anyone can write support for thier favourite player/format
I mean to me this looks like a finely balanced mix of commercial sense and Open Source support such that Real can make money.
The good thing is if it works and big commercial streamers - for instance the BBC - switch to Helix then it actually will help the adoption of open source formats like Ogg Vorbis because it will so easy to support.
Alternatively if MS wins the server software war 90% of the net will not notice, but the rest of us will lose. Bare that in mind when worrying if the codecs are Open Source or not - they never will be - but kicking Real may just play into MS's hands.
I'm not a great fan of either companies buisness practises - but at least in this case Real is doing something that benefits our community - lets support them on this and maybe in a year or two's time they will do more to support open source.
And according to the news release, that apparently nobody read, you can stream Real and MP3 for free, non-commerically.
"Helix DNA Server streams MP3, RealAudio® and RealVideo®. RealNetworks intends to add support for MPEG-4 after the MPEG-4 systems license terms have been released by the MPEG-4 licensing body, MPEG LA. Developers can create extensions for other media types such as Windows Media and QuickTime, or they can license these extensions from RealNetworks through the Helix Community. "
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)