Topic awaiting preservation: black-magic Java: interactive streaming video?

I may or may not be posting in greater detail about this, but right now I'm just wondering if this is possible at all. I might be interested in making a multi-user web-delivered Java application that plays a continuous video stream assembled on the fly from a clip library based on user input. Right now, my client is just curious if it can happen at all, at any workable quality; if it's at least possible, I might be coming back for some more specific suggestions.

Using the term black magic has confused the hell out of me, so I am just going to ignore those two words, and answer the question on the basis that those words were not part of the title.

I can tell you that anything is possible right off the bat, it just depends upon how much work you are going to put into it. I know that it is possible as many companies offer these type of services.

Here is the kicker. Current networking technologies make it pretty difficult to do this, I am sure it can be done, I am not sure of the quality. It would depend upon the buffer and such things. You can look to CNN.com as they stream many of their stories online.

It can be done, now figuring out how to do it will be a bit harder.


Me

Black magic: "the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world". Since I've never seen interactive streaming video controlled by a Java app, I figured it qualified as black magic (the code being the "magical spell").

Anyway, I guess that's all I wanted to know right off the bat. Video quality wouldn't be a huge issue with this particular project; an oversized postage stamp could suffice.

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Not Java but I'm pretty sure this is possible with Quicktime too.

Quicktime is a really powerful little system, though rarely utilized to the best of it's abilities.

Also in terms of creating playlists. Real, Quicktime and I think Windows Media Player all have some level of support for SMIL (similar in structure to HTML) which should give you a relatively simple ability to do this type of interactivity.

Oh and I guess while I'm at it I should mention that this can be done with Flash MX too I think



.:[ Never resist a perfect moment ]:.

[This message has been edited by bitdamaged (edited 06-17-2003).]

Thanks InI -- I was searching for "Java streaming video" and didn't get anything remotely relevant. I'll take a look at SMIL, too, bitdamaged, but since this is probably going to be a full-featured web-delivered application, Java seems like the best total choice.

Right now, of course, it's in the dreaming stage. I've still got 2/3 of a Java book and 100% of a JSP book to slog through before I can even start the trial-and-error newbie phase of Java programming, much less create a professional product. But then, this is the Asylum: we're supposed to have crazy dreams, and sometimes we make them happen!

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P. Thunder

Are you set on Java? Or can you move to alternatives? I might have your answer.

Thomas Chase Gullett
tgullett@elinkdesign.com

I'm set on pure cross-platform, ideally with a widely-accepted standard. Anything .NET, for example, would be out of order. What's your suggestion?

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