The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th Wave, Inc.
Issue #725 9/26/97
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CONTENTS

725.1 Quick News
725.2 Intervox Announces Details of Emerging Webcasting Market
725.3 Media Streaming Formats Proposed
725.4 Pinnacle Systems Launches ReelTime
725.5 ZDNet Reports DVD’s Luster is Not There
725.6 Security Holes in ActiveX, Java Blasted

725.1 Quick News
By Christina Person, Jonathan Sunberg, and Malisa Burkeen

Dell Rolls Past Compaq
(September 11)

According to International Data Corp. Dell Computer passed Compaq Computer Corp. to become the largest supplier of desktop personal computers to large and mid-sized U.S. companies. The corporate desktop market accounts for 30% of all PCs. In the second quarter, Dell had 18.4% of the market for desktop PCs in companies with more than 100 employees and Compaq was No. 2 with 16.5%, followed by Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp. Dell also ranked first in desktop unit sales to federal and local governments.

http://www.dell.com/
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Micronics Announces AGP System with SIS Core Logic
(September 10)

Micronics announced the Cylone motherboard, in the NLX form factor. It supports Intel's Pentium and AMD's K5 and K6 processors. Performing at speeds up to 233MHz support is also present for MMX technology as well as Ultra DMA/33 IDE hard drive protocol (up to 33Mbytes/sec transfer rate). Based on the SIS 5597 chipset Cyclone supports SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) memory and up to 512K Pipeline Burst SRAM external cache. With features that also include integrated 16-bit Yamaha sound and onboard 64-bit graphics, the Cyclone is also the basis of multimedia desktop system.

http://www.micronics.com.

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Xybernaut Puts on Wearable Computer
(September 11)

The latest Mobil Assistant is the Xybernaut 133P that sports the Intel Inside Label and is the first wearable computer to support the 32 bit PCMCIA cardbus. The computer comes standard with a 133 MHz Pentium processor, 32 MB of EDO RAM, a 1.4 GB hard drive, a full set of standard ports, a built-in pointing device, an Infrared Data Acquisition (IrDA) port, integrated speech recognition software, and two Type II or one Type III PCMCIA cardbus slots and lithium ion batteries which deliver 4 to 8 hours of continuous service. The miniature headmounted VGA display (HMD) presents information as if it were being viewed on a 15" monitor from 2 feet away. Xybernaut also announced the "Quick Start" program for early adopters. The price of the Xybernaut l33P is available at a discounted price of $6,495 through September 30, 1997.

Impress your friends with the Intel label.

http://www.xybernaut.com

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Autodesk Focuses on Design World for its Conference
(September 11)

Autodesk has announced that its Design World, held from October 4-8, 1997 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will combine Autodesk Partner Summit and Autodesk University. Autodesk Design World. It is expected to draw more than 4,000 Autodesk users, resellers, developers and distributors for technical classes on design and to see more than 130 exhibits from developers of design, engineering and multimedia software and computers. Also included will be a hands-on look at the next generation of computers and design software for 3D graphics and visualization. Members of the Autodesk executive team, including Carol Bartz, chairman and chief executive officer, and Eric Herr, president and chief operating officer, will host discussions with customers and partners to detail the company's vision and plans for the future. Autodesk Design World will also include the eighth annual meeting of Autodesk User Group International, which recently changed its name from North American Autodesk User Group to reflect its growing worldwide membership and support.

http://www.autodesk.com

http://www.ktx.com

----
Tri-Star Rolls Out AGP Systems without 3D
(September 10)

Tri-Star Computer has introduced two new 300MHz Intel Pentium II processor based systems that use the Intel 440LX chip. These are the StarStation AGP and StudioStation AGP models available in single or dual 300MHz Pentium II processors. No 3D support was announced.
http://www.tristar.com ---- IWERKS Sells 3D Theater to Kansas City (September 10)
Iwerks Entertainment announced that the Kansas City Museum Association and the Union Station Assistance Corp. have chosen Iwerks to provide a large-screen, 3-D movie theater for the museum's Science City project. The contract is worth approximately $2.3 million. The 450-seat theater is scheduled to open in late 1999 when the Science City project is completed. The theater will house Iwerks' 15/70 (15 perforation, 70 millimeter) projection system and films will be shown on a screen 60 feet high and 80 feet wide. Moviegoers will watch films through special glasses that give the picture a three-dimensional effect. The theater will be equipped with an advanced six-channel digital sound system, providing an extremely lucid audio component. Science City will be centrally located in downtown Kansas City in the historic Union Station. The museum anticipates 800,000 to 1 million visitors annually.

http://www.iwerks.com/

http://www.kcmuseum.com/

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Red Storm Entertainment Announces Politika
(September 11)

Red Storm Entertainment and the Attitude Network will premier 'Tom Clancy's Politika' a conversational game of intrigue in Post-Yelstin Russia. Tom Clancy will chat online with gamers about Politika, his first political game, on Oct. 8, 1997, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm EST, the eve of Attitude Network's expected launch its Happy Puppy and Games Domain sites. Politika is one of the first interactive games to combine multiplayer gaming with online conversation. Further, because spying has been a component of political negotiation, the game allows espionage where players can eavesdrop on each other. Politika is the first online multiplayer game developed using IBM's Java-based software technology, code-named InVerse, which supports the performance requirements of Internet games.

http://www.redstorm.com

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Chips & Technologies is Selected for Compaq Armada 1500
(September 11)

Chips and Technologies has been picked to supply its HiQVideo 68554 graphics accelerator for the Compaq Armada 1500 Value Notebook Family. The accelerator supports 2MB of EDO DRAM and a PC Card ZV (Zoomed Video) Port for direct video-stream input to the graphics controller.

http://www.compaq.com

http://www.chips.com/

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E&S Supports Softimage 3D Windows NT-Based Virtual Sets
(September 12)

MindSet, the Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. virtual set technology, has an application programming interface (API) to Softimage 3D modeling software on the Windows NT platform. Now it is possible for models and scene elements created in Softimage 3D on Windows NT workstations to be downloaded, managed and manipulated in real time by Mindset's FuseBox virtual set production management software. FuseBox software integrates the creation of virtual sets with all phases of production, including composition, animation, storyboard and scene-management previewing, and set development, all using a standard Windows interface. Through the API, FuseBox also will manage the formatting and conversion of Softimage 3D-created models and existing model libraries to produce MindSet virtual sets. FuseBox is expected to be available by the end of 1997.

http://www.es.com

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Discreet Logic Announces SMOKE On-line, Nonlinear Editing System on SGI’s OCTANE (September 12)

Discreet Logic Inc. has a new product SMOKE for on-line, nonlinear video editing for the Silicon Graphics OCTANE workstation. SMOKE combines the basic editing toolset associated with an analog suite with the productivity of a nonlinear system. The user interface is based on FIRE. SMOKE is a complete on-line finishing tool. Optional modules may be selected to enhance the baseline editing capabilities of SMOKE to include the creative effects capabilities of FIRE: a retouch module, extended versions of the baseline color correction and keying tools, a sophisticated 3-D DVE environment, as well as more than 250 plug-ins available via SPARKS. Discreet Logic's WIRE software utility enables SMOKE to be networked to other Discreet Logic systems using a picture-based interface for asset relocation.

According to Emma Shield of Discreet, "SMOKE will eventually be sold as a base, pure editor with add on effects modules (such as tracker, re-touch and upgrade from 2-4 layers of DVE). At launch we are selling SMOKE fully loaded only (SMOKE plus all modules, OCTANE and 2 x 16 minutes of STONE storage)." SMOKE will sell for about $300,000 in the US. SMOKE is expected to ship in the fourth calendar quarter of 1997.

http://www.discreet.com

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Tektronix Announces First System to Measure the Quality of Compressed Digital Video (September 12)

Tektronix, Inc. has announced the first commercially available system to measure the quality of compressed digital video images, such as those associated with satellite or High Definition Television (HDTV). The new product, the PQA200 Picture Quality Analysis System, is claimed to be a practical and verifiable tool to analyze compressed digital video. Television equipment manufacturers and content providers will be able to consistently and objectively verify picture quality which will be needed to comply with the U.S. federal directives for advanced television standards for HDTV. The Tektronix' PQA200 is the first in a line of products designed to provide objective measurements that strongly correlate with human viewer trials. The product and testing methodology does this by using a human vision system model based on decades of research from the Sarnoff Corporation - a leading communications and television research group. A single numeric value of picture quality called Picture Quality Rating (PQR) is reported. In addition, an animated map, whose intensity is related to the perceived differences will aid in the evaluation and optimization of the compressed image. The PQA200 is U.S. list priced at $49,900 and will be available in Q1/1998. An analog NTSC/PAL input and output option will also be available for $7,600.

http://www.tek.com

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Truevision will supply DVCPRO-native TARGA 2000 RTX to Avid
(September 12)

Truevision announced that Avid Technology has selected the DVCPRO-native version of Truevision's TARGA 2000 RTX for use with its upcoming DV-native Avid NewsCutter NT system. DVCPRO is Panasonic's compact digital videocassette format that forms the basis of its popular new product line. The DVCPRO-native TARGA 2000 RTX is the result of a previously announced development agreement between Matsushita and Truevision. The Avid DV NewsCutter NT system will feature compatibility with DV cameras and decks that are already installed and thus provide broadcasters with an integrated, all-digital environment for managing and airing news.

http://www.truevision.com

http://www.avid.com/

---- Truevision Ships MADRAS Real-Time Studio Transcoder (September 12)
EMADRAS, Multiformat Analog/Digital Rackmount Adapter System, is one element of the Truevision’s digital studio integration strategy. It is designed to work with Truevision's new TARGA 2000 SDX and serves as an intelligent hub for interfacing audio and video signals to and from the TARGA-based non-linear editing workstation. MADRAS transcodes all standard analog and digital input signals into 4:2:2 SMPTE 259M for internal processing and interfacing with TARGA 2000 SDX. Maintaining an all 4:2:2, 259M internal signal path ensures delivery of the highest possible signal quality when laying video back out to tape. MADRAS supports the following I/O formats: IEEE 1394 DV compressed bit stream, SMPTE 259M Serial Digital Video, AES/EBU Serial Digital Audio, YPbPr/GBR Component Analog Video, Balanced Analog Audio, Composite & Y/C Video, and Unbalanced Analog Audio. The TARGA 2000 SDX can then be used for authoring at visually lossless quality with the final work laid off to any video tape format including D1, D3, D5, DigiBeta, DVCPRO, DVCAM, Digital S and Betacam SP.

http://www.truevision.com

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DVD-ROM Drive Manufactures Are Offering Machines at Prices at or Below Cost (September 12)

CMP's Electronic Buyers' News reports that due to product delays and sluggish sales, makers of DVD-ROM drives have begun offering drives at prices at or below the manufacturing cost. Electronic Buyers' News Associate Editor Mark Hachman reports that analysts speculate that for some drive makers the price cuts reflect the fact that the industry took so long to overcome the roadblocks of content-scrambling licenses and to persuade Hollywood to develop content. While none of the companies will admit to selling drives at a loss, according to the publication, analysts believe prices have fallen far faster than expected. Instead of the $325 to $250 per drive many had forecast, some vendors are pushing them out the door for as little as $100, a markdown not anticipated until mid-1998. Like CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives were originally introduced at the same speed grades as commercial CD or DVD players. These 1X DVD drives have already begun to give way to higher-margin 2X drives, offering about twice the performance. Yet one 2X DVD-ROM drive from Hitachi America Ltd.'s Storage Products Group is being sold to OEMs at "less than $200," said Werner Glinka, Director Of Marketing for Hitachi, Brisbane, Calif. Although Glinka said Hitachi is making money on the drive, he declined to reveal the company's profit margin. Analysts and industry executives say they are hearing anecdotal reports of older 1X drives being sold for $100 to $150--an amount that not only approaches the material cost of the device, but also that of the mass-market CD-ROM. "The key issue is how DVD-ROM-drive and CD-ROM-drive pricing compares," said Ray Freeman, President of Freeman Associates Inc., a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based market research firm. "As they near parity, that's when you'll see the crossover occur."

http://techweb.cmp.com/ebn/942/daily/091397news6.html
http://www.ebnonline.com
http://www.CMPnet.com
----
Cirrus Logic Gains IBM Design Win for Audio (September 15)
Cirrus Logic, Inc. won a position in the next-generation IBM Aptiva multimedia computers. Specifically, Cirrus Logic’s SoundFusion PCI audio accelerator (CS4610) and ISA audio codec (CS4236B) will be key components of the new IBM Aptiva S and L Series machines. With this PC audio implementation, Aptiva becomes the first PC to feature Cirrus Logic’s digital-signal-processing (DSP) technology paired with state-of-the-art speaker systems from Bose Corporation.

http://www.cirrus.com/
http://www.us.pc.ibm.com/athome/
---- Emultek Introduces Rapid SIMULATION 4 [September 23]
Emultek announced that they would ship Rapid SIMULATION 4 in October. The latest version of Rapid, a software solution for point and click interactive simulations, offers six new or improved features;

Debugger – line by line logic as the application runs in the prototype module. Also pauses at specified breakpoints. In addition, the current contents of an object can be inspected at any time. Find and Replace – search for logic statements that contain specified string or strings that reference a specified object Verification Test – performs basic check on modes, transitions and objects in the application logic. Outputs detected problems. Internet Plug-in – Netscape plug-in Commlink Object – communication link to manage serial data transfer between the application and an external device (using RS232 serial cable). Mouse & Cursor Objects – allows mouse tracking and control during run time.

Rapid SIMULATION prototyping software solution’s primary function is to train maintenance personnel and end users of complicated interactive systems.
http://www.emultek.com
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IBM Extends Home PC Line with E, L, and S Series (August 6)
IBM Consumer Division announced eight new home PC models, ranging from $1,199 to $3,299, in Aptiva’s E, L, and S series. The E series represents an affordable PC for the first or second-time buyer. The L series offers second-generation processors up to the 300MHz Pentium II. The L series comes with a custom-designed Bose audio system, DVD-ROM II, EZ Buttons Keyboard, and ScrollPoint. Three new S Series offer the latest in multimedia, which includes: second-generation Intel Pentium II, SDRAM, ATI 3D Rage Pro, DVD-ROM II and a custom designed Bose audio system. The Aptiva S series also comes with voice-enabled Netscape Navigator.

http://www.ibm.com
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Rendition Announces Its New V2100 Accelerator. Selected by Diamond Multimedia for their Stealth II (September 15)

Rendition has announced the V2100, which supports bilinear and trilinear filtering, MIP mapping, alpha blending, fog effects, z-buffering, anti-aliasing and triangle setup. The V2100 accelerator is available immediately for evaluation in a 256 PBGA package. In Q1 1998, the V2100 will be available in a 208 pin package in large quantities. The V2100 will be priced under $20 for high volume motherboard applications by mid-1998.

3D WinBench(TM) 97 test suite scored 187 WinMarks. Testing was performed under Windows 95 using Intel 440fx chipset on an Intel Pentium II 266MHz w/MMX CPU with 512K cache, 32MB SDRAM and a 1.6GB hard drive. Scores based on in-house testing using Ziff-Davis' 3D WinBench 97 version 1.0 at 640x480x16bpp at 75Hz.

Diamond Multimedia has announced the Stealth II, Model S220 that uses the Rendition V2100. This card, PCI only, will begin shipping later in September for an estimated retail price of $119.95 (including a game sampler CD).

http://www.rendition.com

http://www.diamondmm.com/

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Digimation Announces Support for 3D Studio MAX 2.0
(August 5)

Digimation, Inc., the largest developer and distributor of plug-ins for 3D Studio, announced that it would fully support 3D Studio MAX 2.0. Digimation plans to have all of their plug-ins compiled for 3D Studio MAX 2.0 by the time it ships.

http://www.digimation.com

http://www.ktx.com

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CNET to be Available on @Home
(September 12)

@Home Network announced that its users would have access to CNET's news, audio, video, software download and commerce services. This includes CNET's TV.Com video broadcast site, CNET Radio, and CNET Central. Users will also be able to access downloadable software products from Download.Com, electronic games from GameCenter.Com and news about the Internet and computers from News.Com. @Home currently claims more than 12,000 subscribers in select North American cities through cable operators including Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc., Rogers Cablesystems Ltd., Shaw Communications Inc. and Tele-Communications Inc.

http://www.home.net

http://www.cnet.com/

---- HP Rolls out MPEGscope for MPEG & DVB Testing (September 12)
Up to 850 separate standards compliance tests can be run with just a few mouse clicks using HP's MPEG/DVB compliance verification test suites on the HP E6277 MPEGscope Plus analyzer platform. HP's new test suite offers drill-down capabilities to check transport, video- and audio-stream syntax and semantics, perform table-consistency checking and even validate buffer models. More than 450 tests are available for checking system layer compliance -- including testing of DVB tables -- while an additional 380 tests are available to verify video streams, audio streams and such DVB extensions as teletext and subtitling. Transport streams at speeds up to 60 Mb/s are supported. Base pricing for the E6277A MPEGscope Plus starts at $58,000.

http://www.hp.com

http://www.hp.com/go/tmdir

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John L. Archdeacon Joins Quantum3D
(September 12)

A leading industry figure in benchmarking, John Archdeacon, has joined Quantum3D. At the same time, OpenGVS, a real-time scene management API, for $2,495, is now being marketed exclusively by Quantum3D. John wrote the WAVE Report that the test suites, gvf and gvr, are application level benchmarks which run on the PC. These are available at:

http://www.opengvs.com/rwb

Versions are available for Intel, Digital UNIX, SGI, and Sun.

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3Dlabs Works with Silicon Graphics and Texas Instruments to Hold OpenGL Programming Labs (September 16)

A two-day seminar series on OpenGL will tour America and Europe during September and October. The technically intensive two-day seminars are designed to provide detailed, hands-on instruction and programming experience using the OpenGL API (application programming interface) to develop interactive 3D applications on PCs running Windows NT(R) and Windows(R) 95. The locations and dates are: San Jose - September 29-30 & October 1-2; Los Angeles - October 6-7 & 8-9; London, UK - October 16-17 and Dallas - October 21-22 & 23-24. The attendance fee for the seminar, including breakfast, lunch on both days, and dinner on the first day is $150.

http://www.opengl.org/News/Lab/Lab.html

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LSI Logic Licenses PowerTV's Multimedia Design for Next Generation Set Top Boxes (September 15)

PowerTV, Inc. has been selected by LSI Logic to develop a modified version of its Eagle ASIC to be called Falcon. This multimedia processor will provide high quality text and graphics, overlaying of graphics with live video, photographic quality image display, video in a window capability, and hardware graphics acceleration optimized for TV applications. The target market is set top-box manufacturers.

http://www.powertv.com

http://www.lsilogic.com/

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NDS and Adaptec Show Working Data Broadcasting Network PC Satellite Receiver Card (September 15)

NDS, the provider of the Data Broadcasting Network (DBN), is highlighting a receiver card by Adaptec. The card has been manufactured to NDS specification for DBN broadcasts data to the PC user's satellite dish, the content is then directed to the consumer's PC via a coaxial cable connected with the DVB compliant Adaptec Satellite Express receiver. Smart card-based technology is built into the PC satellite receiver which utilizes NDS conditional access technology to integrate with the subscriber management system, ensuring that revenue is credited to the broadcaster and the content provider.

DBN uses a DBS broadcasters' extra satellite transponder space to broadcast content into the home via the consumer's DBS 18-inch satellite dish. The content from the DVB compliant satellite receiver goes to the PC, once decoded, onto the hard disk for later review. Interaction is accomplished with a return loop via a PC modem.

NDS is being used by 18 of the 30 current and planned digital satellite and terrestrial broadcasting systems worldwide. Systems include DIRECTV, INTELSAT, Galaxy Latin America, NetSat and Innova. Over 8 million subscribers around the globe use NDS conditional access systems to receive PAY-TV satellite and cable services.

http://www.adaptec.com
http://www.intel.com/intel/idf
----
Dataquest Assess Impact of Dell on Computer Market
(September 15)

Dataquest reports the United States personal computer industry is going through a rare cyclical transformation that will change the competitive landscape in the PC industry. Because of Dell Computer's rapid growth, and the emergence of the "Dell Business Model," manufacturing and distribution model strategies for other PC vendors are changing. These changes will eliminate some PC vendors from the U.S. marketplace. "All PC manufacturers are struggling to incorporate some of the successful attributes of this model into their plans while working within the confines of their existing structure," said Scott Miller, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's Computer Systems and Peripherals program. "Implementation of inventory efficiency programs by large vendors will negatively impact the second-tier vendors in the market. "Branded PC manufacturers that cannot demonstrate financial and marketplace success will find it increasingly difficult to negotiate acceptable just-in-time (JIT) contracts with suppliers and thus will not be capable of closing the price gap." The market is currently in a position to repeat itself. "One of the lessons learned early during phase one and two of the PC revolution is that being stuck in the middle results in disaster," said Miller. Dataquest classifies two other waves of industry change for the PC market. The first occurred in 1985 when the IBM PC became the industry standard. During this time, Microsoft and Intel established the foundation for the market. Companies that did not innovate around DOS and a few emerging I/O standards failed. Apple Computer was the exception. The second wave of change occurred in 1992 with a shakeout around hardware. Wide scale adoption of Windows and the x86 architecture resulted in a market where most of the hardware technology innovation rested in the hands of Intel and a small group of component manufacturers

http://www.dataquest.com

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Up to 25m Video Game Consoles to Ship in 1997
(September 15)

InfoTech projects worldwide shipments of next generation video game consoles above 25 million units in 1997. Based on strong international sales, combined shipments of 32-bit/64-bit video game consoles are on track to exceed 25 million units worldwide in 1997 and should achieve wider market penetration than any preceding video game console generation, according to a new InfoTech report, Optical Publishing Industry Assessment, Ninth Edition. With this success, revenues for console-based game titles now exceed those for PC CD-ROM games in a number of markets, including the US, Japan, and the UK. But rather than signaling a fundamental change in market dynamics, this shift appears to conform to long-established cyclic patterns of rapid penetration, saturation, and decline, according to InfoTech Chairman and CEO, Julie B. Schwerin. "The PC CD-ROM game platform accelerated just as the previous 16-bit console generation peaked and has, in turn, been eclipsed by the popularity of next generation game systems. However, past console hardware cycles have peaked within five years of launch, suggesting that the current hardware generation may turn down after 1998." During 1999 DVD-ROM equipped Pentium II PCs with 56K modems, accelerated 3D graphics, and MPEG-2 video capabilities are expected to be the high volume shipment configuration worldwide, making the home PC newly attractive to gamers and publishers alike. The study recommends that publishers begin preparing to migrate flagship titles to PC DVD-ROM even as the current console generation continues to set sales records. The report is available for $1,250.

http://www.infotechresearch.com

---- Trident Rolls out Mobil AGP 3D Graphics (September 17)

Trident Microsystems, Inc. announced Cyber9397DVD a 3D-multimedia accelerator including DVD playback acceleration that supports AGP and LCD flat-panel displays. To support the DVD playback function, the chip includes full-motion compensation hardware, full-motion video and AC3 decoding on the chip. Other features include dual hardware windows for videoconferencing and multiple monitor support. The chip allows both 66MHz and 133MHz AGP with sideband support and a setup engine offloads up to 50% of the graphics processing from the CPU. The Cyber9397DVD will be sampling in Q4 1997 and is scheduled for production in Q1 1998, with a suggested price of $40 per 10,000

http://www.tridentmicro.com

----
ELSA Teams with NTT Soft for Virtual Reality Software
(September 15)

ELSA Inc. announced a bundling agreement with NTT SOFT to allow users of the ELSA WINNER 2000/Office graphics accelerators to access NTT SOFT's InterSpace, a multi-user virtual environment that allows users to communicate within shared 3D worlds using avatars that capture voice and facial expressions in real-time. The InterSpace VR software runs over the Internet using a 28.8 modem. ELSA's WINNER 2000/Office comes equipped with 4MB SGRAM (upgradable to 8MB) or 8MB SGRAM and offers texture mapping in hardware, texture decompression, bilinear filtering, color dithering, fogging, 16 bit Z-buffering and color keying. The video acceleration supports X and Y scaling and mirroring, interpolation and color space conversion.

http://www.ntts.com
http://www.elsa.com

---- 725.2 Intervox Announces Details of Emerging Webcasting Market (September 11) by John Latta
Intervox Communications, Washington, DC gave a presentation entitled "Broadcasting from Internet to Satellite, A Global Vision" at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom Interactive 97 conference, on September 11, 1997 on the development of the webcasting market. Webcasting, which is only two years old, has become a growing force in broadcasting with more than 700 webcasters transmitting either live audio and video information on the Internet in 12 countries 24 hours a day.

Some of the highlights of the talk include the assessment that Push will incorporate audio and video streaming media, and streaming media will become intelligent merging the two technologies. Intervox heralds this as the beginning of the merger of interactive TV to the Internet. Most of the new webcasters are radio and TV stations, but unique is the 65 new Internet only broadcasters. In a span of 18 months, radio webcasters have jumped from under 50 to over 700. Progressive Networks Real Audio, for streaming media, commands nearly 90% of the market on audio streaming on the Internet. According to the presentation, Microsoft's Netshow has shown the most extensive growth since July following Microsoft and Progressive Networks announcement to collaborate on streaming media.

Summary of the talk is available by email at intervox@intervox.com.

Intervox Communications has made alliances with United States companies, Ultimate TV and BRSRadio, to provide monthly updates on the state of webcasting. This will be supplemented through Intervox's partnership with the VooDoo Agency, Paris, to research and track webcasting events in Europe. MediaManager Singapore will provide information originating in Asia.

http://www.intervox.com/
http://www.ultimatetv.com
http://www.brsradio.com/
http://www.mattheij.nl/voodoo
http://www.mediamanager.co.sg/

Interested WAVE readers may also contact the International Webcasting Association

http://www.webcasters.org

---- 725.3 Media Streaming Formats Proposed (September 10)

Microsoft, Progressive Networks, Intel, Adobe Systems and Vivo Software released a draft version of a specification to standardize streaming media formats in audio and video for the Internet. At a public design review in August in San Jose the Advanced Streaming Format (ASF) was released along with a request for comment.

Progressive Networks has announced it will make ASF the primary and default file format in future releases of its RealAudio and RealVideo products. Nearly 40 companies participated in an ASF design review, and over 20 companies have actively contributed to the specification, including Adobe, Asymetrix Corp., AudioNet Inc., Avid Technology Inc., Cakewalk Music Software, Digital Lava Inc., Digital Media Technologies, Digital Renaissance Inc., The Duck Corp., Ephyx Technologies Ltd., FhG Thomson, ImageMind Software Inc., Intel, Liquid Audio Inc., MGI Software Corp., Midisoft Corp., Precept Software Inc., Progressive Networks, Sonic Foundry Inc., Starlight Networks Inc., Syntrillium Software Corp., Telos Systems, VDOnet Corp., Vivo, Xing Technology Corp. and others.

Microsoft will make ASF streaming an integral part of the NetShow(TM) server product, as well as future versions of products that use the DirectX media architecture.

The final version of ASF is scheduled to be released on Sept. 30.

The draft specification of the Advanced Streaming Format, the live proceedings of the ASF public design review and instructions on how to provide feedback on ASF are available to the industry at
http://www.microsoft.com/asf

For online information: visit the Microsoft Site Server Web site at

http://www.microsoft.com/netshow/

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725.4 Pinnacle Systems Launches ReelTime (September 10)

Pinnacle Systems as introduced ReelTime, a dual-stream desktop video capture card with on-board real-time special effects. ReelTime will be bundled with Adobe Systems' Premiere and retail for $4,995. ReelTime's open architecture will enable third-party video applications. Designed for the professional a ReelTime solution in a Windows NT can cost $10,000 or less. ReelTime supports dual audio and video stream playback, and data rates as high as 13.4 MB per second for lossless M-JPEG compression with this it becomes possible to use Adobe's Premiere in a render-free world of real-time editing. The card comes with 130 real-time transitions, along with real-time chroma, luma, linear keying, and titling. A Genie RT option enables picture-in-picture motion and one hundred 3D effects including page turns, ripples, spheres, hourglass, and bumps. Composite, Y/C, and component I/O are standard on ReelTime's professional rack-mountable breakout box. Optional ports include 601 serial digital, and DV/1394. When used with a DV camcorder, the DV/1394 option allows an editor to capture and edit content in a totally digital environment. Other features include:

Full frame and field NTSC (720 x 486) and PAL (720 x 576) resolutions Simultaneous full screen SVGA and NTSC/PAL playback Analog component, Y/C, and composite I/O DV/1394 kit (optional, $1495) Dual-Stream M-JPEG lossless compression 16-bit PCM uncompressed audio, 4KHz to 48KHz Real-time mixing of two stereo audio tracks with independent volume Balanced and unbalanced audio I/O Hardware audio/video synchronization Single PCI card Professional breakout box Rack mount kit (optional, $295) Adobe Premiere version 4.2 with plug-ins for real-time Play, Scrub, and Effect-O-Matic

http://www.pinnaclesys.com

---- 725.5 ZDNet Reports DVD’s Luster is Not There (September 10) by John Latta
DVD is facing a number of obstacles including a DVD audio format that now seems farther off than originally thought. Rewritable DVD now faces the prospect of competing standards. And as for the DVD format itself - the players and drives now on store shelves - sales have been far slower than expected.

Freeman Associates, a research firm in Santa Barbara, Calif., has lowered initial forecasts for DVD-ROM drive sales for computers from 3 million in 1997 and 22 million in 1998 to 500,000 in 1997 and about 11 million in 1998. Jim Hamilton, an analyst with the firm, says DVD is stumbling from a lack of titles for the format, which in turn stems from major studios' fears that they are opening up their major money making properties to piracy. The lack of titles means less reason for consumers to enter the DVD arena, with its entry fee of $500 and up. And manufacturers, seeing a slow demand on the part of consumers, won't rush lots of DVD-ROM drives and players to market.

http://www.zdnet.com/
---- 725.6 Security Holes in ActiveX, Java Blasted (September 10)

ZDNet News reports from the Information Warfare Conference in Washingtion, DC, that there are significant security holes in both ActiveX and Java. Speakers slammed Microsoft's plug-in language for the Internet, the software called ActiveX, and allowed that, while Sun's Java language is better - from a security standpoint - that language, too, has a ways to go.

"ActiveX has no security model whatsoever," said Dr. Gary McGraw, a research scientist with Reliable Software Technologies, one of the speakers at a seminar on malicious code. "If you believe that just because you know who wrote it, you can trust a piece of ActiveX code, you will be in for a surprise." McGraw referred to ActiveX's Authenticode signature model, which requires the author of an ActiveX plug-in to digitally "sign" the piece of code, as a system of trust - not security. "Once that code is on your system, it can do anything," he said. "Most likely, the first thing it will do is erase its tracks."

Sun's Java language also came out of the sessions with quite a few bruises. While viewed as better, security-wise, the write-once-run-anywhere technology still has a few kinks to work out. "Java may have security built in," said Dr. David Stang, evangelist for Quarterdeck's Anti-virus Research Center, "but the attacker just has to be a bit more clever to bypass it." McGraw, who co-authored a book on Java security called "Java Security: Hostile Applets, Holes and Antidotes," also stressed that Java fell short of the mark. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "Java is technically cool, but don't believe the marketing guys - it is not 100 percent secure.

The key is risk management." In order to browse the Web with some degree of security, users need to know about the security problems. McGraw threw all attacks into four classes: system modification (changing or deleting files and other data), invasion of privacy (stealing passwords and personal information), denial of service (by crashing or confusing the Java browser) and antagonism (displaying obscene pictures or playing sounds). Java has strong defenses against the first two, which are more serious, but is weaker against the others. The best defense is to avoid contact. "I rarely enable Java from my browser at work," said MrGraw. Paranoid? Maybe. Secure? Definitely.

In addition, the Java in the two major browsers - Netscape's Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer - has been specialized enough to cause each browser to react differently to a specific flaw. A flaw discovered in February allowed attack applets to report a server's IP address from behind a firewall - a rather minor problem - under the Netscape browser, but allowed the applet to report much more specific information under Microsoft's Internet Explorer. With ActiveX, plug-ins exist that will shutdown a user's computer remotely, or download Quicken information to automatically transfer money to someone else's account without requiring a user's personal identification number, experts said. "These attacks are not easy to do," said Michel Kabay, director of education for the National Computer Security Agency, "but tools are already appearing to automate the exploitation of holes."

Why has ActiveX garnered so much popularity? Stang maintains the answer is people's desire for style over substance, saying that ease-of-use and cool features will win over security and ill-defined threats to privacy any day of the week. People just don't think about security. "Face it," he said. "even though most links will not say, 'Click here to kill your system,' if they did, 5 percent of the users will do it." And that is where the problem is -- with the user and the companies creating the products. "If you think that security is the first concern when putting out a product in Silicon Valley, you have another thing coming," said RST's McGraw. The security researcher explained that short development cycles are causing rigorous security checks to be placed on the back burner. Even so, countered Kabay, users want the fast, easy and exciting. Approve every cookie, applet and plug-in that the browser wants to download? No way. As long as users think so, security will remain elusive on the Internet. Microsoft was not available for comment by press time when ZDNet News released this story.

http://www.zdnet.com/
http://rstcorp.com/rst_home.html

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