InternetWeek Makes History With First Successful Long Distance HDTV Over the Internet

Innovative Transmission Tests Video Image Quality, Bandwidth and Multicast Capabilities; Offers Clear View of Internet's Future

PRNewswire
MANHASSET, N.Y.
Mar 29, 2001

CMP Media's InternetWeek today announced the first ever high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast over the Internet. The groundbreaking transmission marks the first time that HDTV images have been sent over an IP network to a location thousands of miles away.

The multicast data stream, which featured crisp underwater video images, was sent from the Advanced Network Computing Lab at the University of Hawaii's Manoa Campus to the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California, using software and hardware from 2NetFX. The test was conducted as a part of the InternetWeek Lab Test on Enterprise Infrastructure. The success of this broadcast by InternetWeek is important because it opens the door to new opportunities. For instance, the top medical experts from around the world can share highly detailed images allowing them to interact in real time, diagnose and discuss the best course of patient treatment within a virtual environment. Other applications for HDTV broadcasting include areas such as biotech, the physical sciences, and more.

Significant factors of the pioneering transmission include the remarkable clarity of the video and the use of multicast, the protocol that allows many viewers to request a program without adding to the burden on the server or the server's network. Multicast allows virtually any number of viewers to watch the program while requiring only the original amount of bandwidth, making meetings, conferences and symposia via the Web possible in the most technologically-demanding areas.

"Traditionally corporate Internet connections have not been configured to be able to handle multicast data from the public Internet due to misconceptions about the technology," said Brian Chee of the University of Hawaii's ICS Department. "This demonstration shows that 'normal' data and high bandwidth video can coexist peacefully even on a public Internet."

"The transmission demonstrates the future of content delivery over the Internet," said Wayne Rash, editor of events at InternetWeek, who coordinated the HDTV effort. "Each year, we see more information reach our customers' desktops. The ability to deliver such images over an enterprise network-and eventually the Net-means that vastly more information can be delivered in a way customers can use it. "

"The video program was used to demonstrate the capabilities of high- capacity network routers in the InternetWeek Lab Test," said Curt Franklin, managing editor of technology at InternetWeek. "The fact that it could be seen for the first time across some 3,000 miles of trans-oceanic cable brings the Internet a step closer to converting hype into the promise of reality."

For additional details on this historic event, please see the "Rash's Judgment" column in the March 26 issue of InternetWeek or http://www.internetweek.com/columns01/rash032601.htm.

InternetWeek

CMP Media's InternetWeek http://www.internetweek.com/ is the news and analysis source for 275,000 IT and corporate managers applying Internet technologies and strategies to transform their businesses. With a history of innovation and thought leadership, InternetWeek is the only newspaper with an Internet/IT editorial focus-meeting the informational needs of e-business stakeholders charged with delivering results and driving business to survive in today's competitive marketplace. According to the most recent Simmons and IntelliQuest readership studies, InternetWeek delivers the most powerful audience -- it is the best-read and maintains the highest reader loyalty of all newspapers in its category.

CMP Media Inc.

CMP Media Inc. http://www.cmpnet.com/ is a leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum-the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, tradeshows and conferences, custom publishing, testing and consulting.

CONTACT: Gail R. Griffen of CMP Media Inc., 516-562-5634, ggriffen@cmp.com; or Erin Brown of Horn Group, Inc., 781-356-7141, ebrown@horngroup.com

SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

Contact: Gail R. Griffen of CMP Media Inc., 516-562-5634,
ggriffen@cmp.com; or Erin Brown of Horn Group, Inc., 781-356-7141,
ebrown@horngroup.com

Website: http://www.internetweek.com/

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