« Introducing PPN: The Pulvermedia Podcasting Network | Main | Leaving for Spring 2006 VON in just two weeks: »
February 25, 2006
Multicast Finally is Happening! (At least in the UK):
Readers of my blog may remember my entry: I want my MTV! MBone (and Multicast): and some of the comments that it generated.
Well according to the website for the Multicast Technical Trial:
"The BBC & ITV intend to test the technical possibilities of streaming more
of their TV channels via broadband. We intend to Multicast these. This
should result in a higher quality viewer experience. We are running this
technical trial to seek some feedback about the quality and availability of
these TV channels. Please check the two steps below to take part in the
Multicasting trial."
After more than ten years in the making, inside the ever evolving world of "Video on the Net", it is great to see the BBC and ITV push forward and help make Multicast a broadband broadcasting reality.
And while the trial is only open to UK residents, the real limitation is fact that the service is limited to people who subscribe to the following Multicast-enabled ISPs: JANET, C & W (but not Bulldog), clara.net, NetServices Plc, PlusNet, Zen Internet, KeConnect Internet, InterVivo.
By working with these ISPs, the BBC and ITV have implemented their own commercial MBONE of sorts. The success of this trial may encourage other broadcasters around the world to consider similar collaborations between themselves and the ISP community.
While these days a lot of attention is being given to Peer to Peer distribution platforms like BitTorrent, I still hold out hope that the original vision of the MBONE can also become an internet reality.
Tags: multicast, mbone, BBC, VON, Video on the Net, disruptive broadcasting, Jeff Pulver
(c) 2006 Jeff Pulver. All Rights Reserved.
(This blog posting is copyright protected by Jeff Pulver. Portions of this blog posting may be quoted or abstracted if attributed.)
Share this post:
Digg |
del.icio.us |
Reddit |
Newsvine |
Google Bookmark |
Yahoo MyWeb |
StumbleUpon
Posted by jeff on February 25, 2006 09:51 AM | Permalink
Additional resources: Watch PrimeTime TV Shows | Watch the Jeff Pulver Show | Jeff's Qik Videos
Comments
Jeff, I don't see it. Mbone violates the end-to-end principal. It's building complexity into the network rather than handling the complexity at the edges (as Bittorrent does). There are already a variety of P2P streaming TV sites in China, so you can do bittorrent-like sharing of real time content -- more info here: http://blogs.nmss.com/communications/2005/11/endtoend_overta.html
Posted by: Brough Turner at March 11, 2006 09:03 PM