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RealNetworks Opens SMIL Implementation
Rob Lanphier writes "RealNetworks just released the source code to their SMIL 2.0 implementation (along with JPEG, GIF, PNG, and WBMP implementations) as part of the Helix Community initiative, under the OSI-approved RPSL. Some neat tricks to do with the code: superimpose images on top of video, or transition effects between videos, using standard W3C-defined markup. More tech details in the Helix community datatype project page, or look at the SMIL production topics page. A precompiled release with this code will be coming out very soon."
Does this mean I can play real audio/real video files without realone? I hate installing that thing on my computer. However, alot of stuff is only available in that format, such as live audio of nfl games and clips from my friends local hip hop group (www.psychoward.com, yes it uses flash too, I tried to tell him, but nobody listens)
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Squirrel
I work with SMIL files on a download platform and the biggest problem is the poor implementation by the manufacturers.
So far, the only phones that use SMIL's correctly are the SonyEricsson T68i, T610, P800 and the SAGEM MY X-6. Other SMIL capable phones either:
- Pop up a message "unknown format"
- Show you only the first frame
- Force you to manually advance through each frame by pressing a button (all Nokia's do this)
SMIL's will only get popular if the handset manufacturers can implement it correctly - and so far, they haven't.Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
http://www.mpeg-4.philips.com.
Windows and PPC only I'm afriad.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Some sample W3C-approved markup from an image:
...
<image type="image/gif">
<pixels>
<pixel xcoord="0" ycoord="0">
<phosphor color="red">15</phosphor>
<phosphor color="green">60</phosphor>
<phosphor color="blue">20</phosphor>
</pixel>
<pixel xcoord="1" ycoord="0">
<phosphor color="red">14</phosphor>
<phosphor color="green">60</phosphor>
<phosphor color="blue">20</phosphor>
</pixel>
</pixels>
</image>
Using this method, the Slashdot logo takes up over 500 kB. Maybe it will be reduced using gzip, but I'm not buying into it for now.
For more information, click here.
* = Only if user is retarded enough to enter a real email adress.
Hate me!
Real still offers the free player. They just make it hard to find on the site, as they always have. Typically, 99% of the site is a bunch of big graphics and text advertising their free services, and some font size=1 text with a link to the "Basic Player". I can't even remember a time when the Basic player was easy to find on the website. Here are the links to download the free player:
MacOS X
Windows
So yeah, it's there, you just have to look carefully. I'm not sure whether this is smart marketing or not, but they've always done it this way.
Vonal Declosion
Actually, I was shooting for "funny" by mocking the W3C's preference for verbose XML-based markup.
The fact that such an obvious fake was marked "informative" doesn't shock or surprise me.
For more information, click here.
Here's the thing: You don't have to give your credit card number. If you were asked for a credit card number, they tricked you. You were trying to download the trial version of the full RealOne player, not the free version.
To download the free version, you need to click the [incredibly tiny] text link near the upper right corner of real.com and not the big orange button on the page that says "DOWNLOAD NOW - FREE" (read the fine print..."FREE 14 day trial."). Then is takes you to a second page where they try to trick you into downloading the trial version. Don't be fooled, click the text link at the lower left corner "Download the Free RealOne Player."
Believe it or not, this is an improvement! They have taken about three clicks out of the process.
The only info you need to give them is a [fake] email address, [fake] first name/lasname, [fake] gender (of course), bday and secret question.
I'm not a huge fan of the player, but it does pretty well and is very widely implimented. The company sucks eggs and I wish nothing but ill on them.
bad sig...no donut.
To begin with, you will need to be able to read SWF files directly. After that, you need to implement a better renderer than Flash's vector engine. After which you need to mirror ActionScript's functionality in SMIL, probably as an extension. Finally, you need a content creation tool that's very much like Flash's IDE to have a smooth migration tool for Flash developers.
www.rexguo.com - Technologist + Designer
SMIL+SVG is the most logical output format and interchange format for Open source presentation programs. It would be terrific if they could get together to turn Mozilla into a standards-based multimedia presentation delivery platform.
I worked with SMIL on some Multimedia and E-learning projects. And I must say: Allthough Realplayer looks like someone did doo-doo on your screen and their interpolation algorithms and scaling was really crappy back then (and Flash ruled everywhere) the actuall intention and scope of this language is somewhat sophisticated. It goes from simple Text and Hyperlinks all the way thourgh to serious layering and Video output.
I'd actually trust SMIL to become the 'ogg' of multimedia data and Realplay with their opening Helix initiative seem determined to actually doing something usefull to the OSS community.
Let's hope it turns out well.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Note that this doesn't mean that it can play .SWF files, it merely provides more or less equivalent functionality.
The people of Kazaa Lite fame (if I am not mistaken) created this nice little package called Real Alternative which is Media Player Classic and the Real codecs package in one.
Play those nice Real movies without the cruddy Real player!
To begin with, you will need to be able to read SWF files directly. After that, you need to implement a better renderer than Flash's vector engine. After which you need to mirror ActionScript's functionality in SMIL, probably as an extension. Finally, you need a content creation tool that's very much like Flash's IDE to have a smooth migration tool for Flash developers.
First, SMIL is not intended to be a Flash replacement. The W3C set of standards are very modular so you would put several of them together to do the sort of things Flash does. SMIL alone is not even close. But then I doubt Flash is very close to SMIL. As far as ActionScript: SMIL is a Web technology. Of course you can use ECMAScript/Javascript with it.
A precompiled release with this code will be coming out very soon."
As soon as it finishes buffering.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly affected when you come and go, you come and go)
Here's the URL to the free player:
http://www.real.com/freeplayer/
No, we don't require payment for the player.
Rob
Folks seem to have a lot of bitterness towards RealNetworks. I certainly agree the download process is self-defeatingly difficult. But of the Big Three propritary formats, RealNetworks is the only one shipping a *NIX player. It's community supported only, but is really pretty good, and they provide downloadable updates to the latest.
Real also provides authoring tools for Linux, albeit command-line only.
Also, the Real codecs are really quite nice. RealVideo 9 is second only to Windows Media Video 9 in terms of compression efficiency, and performs better on lower end machines. The audio codecs are getting a little long in the tooth, but are still more than adequate for real-time streaming applications.
My video compression blog
Since I agree with much of what you say, the answer to your implied question: "I don't know what pull you have over there..." is "obviously, not a lot". ;-)
I will forward your comments on, though. One thing that would be very helpful is posting your comments on our official comment form.
Rob
Check out doom9.org forums, specifically, the "new A/V format" forum. THE Senior Codec Engineer of RealNetworks posts daily there. He does it on his own free time and even lets the forum readers in on pre-release fuctions and code.
Specifically, EHQ encode mode, RealAudio 5.1 audio, and the Animation DropDupe Pre-filter are all new capabilites being discussed there. EHQ mode gives upto 30% improved compression efficiencey and the DropDupe pre-filter provides for variable frame rate encodeing of animation/cartoons, that plays back as if encoded at 24/30 fps, so since repeated frames are droped instead of being encoded, you save diskspace.
The cream of the crop, so to say, though would be the DirectShow filter for RealMedia.
Also a lot of discussion has gone on about the marketing department of RealNetworks being utterly retarded, which from as a result of the forum and internal pressure, has been made to relize a lot of their faults. Version 3 of the RealOne player we are told will be really nice (as in getting rid of ads and such).
Just to add a note, if you're interested in authoring SMIL, but fear hand-editing,
http://www.smilgen.org/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/smilgen