All things related to multicast

["Richard Mavrogeanes" <>]

I wanted to give the group another update as a result of several questions I 
have received:
 
1. The video has been up and operational for several weeks. It is running at 
3M video with a total b/w of about 4M.
 
2. The "dropout" you see has nothing to do with you or with multicast.  It is 
the result of a problem router in Rhode Island and affects unicast traffic.  
We hope it is fixed on Monday (the feed may be down during this operation).
 
3. I have received many messages about the fantastic quality of the video, 
and of course the compelling content.  Viewers range from Alabama to 
California to Virginia to Maine.  I have knowledge that Congress staffers 
have seen it, and at least one state Governor.
 
4. Recording of the video has been disabled if you are using 
StreamPlayer...the video is owned by Mystic and no one should redistribute, 
copy, etc.  For questions about content rights, contact them.
 
5. I cannot tell viewship figures.  However, I'm sure several people on this 
list could help us make a reasonable guess.  I'm looking for help here....
 
6. The unicast video on the www.expedition.org web site is MPEG-4 and is also 
multicast.
 
7. High level connectivity map can be seen here: 
http://www.expedition2003.org/images/technology/eds2v2.jpg
 
 
Regards,
 
Rich Mavrogeanes
 
 
 
 

        -----Original Message----- 
        From: Richard Mavrogeanes 
        Sent: Sat 7/19/2003 10:59 AM 
        To: 
        Cc: Kevin C. Almeroth; 

 
        Subject: The Black Sea Project
        
        

        Folks,

        I need your help. But first some background:

        On or about July 25th, we will begin broadcasting live MPEG-2 and 
MPEG-4 audio/video from a research ship in the Black Sea.  This is part of a 
$5M project to explore the fantastic underwater treasures of human history 
that have been preserved under hundreds of meters of oxgen-free water.  The 
research is being conducted by Dr. Bob Ballard (who discovered the Titantic, 
PT-109, etc), and is sponsored by the National Geographic among others.  You 
can learn more about the expedition at www.expedition2003.org.

        The significant part of this project is that viewers will be able to 
witness the discoveries live, as they occur.  The video is sourced from the 
ship deck, but more importantly from the Remote Vechicle's cameras as it 
makes discoveries.  This promises to be truly compelling, although I would 
anticipate long periods of "not much".

        This event has made national press, and I suspect will be on the 
evening news at some point during the project (July25 - August 25).  Dr. 
Ballard promotes the Internet-2 in almost every talk he gives. As a result, 
the multicast traffic on Abilene may reach record levels (or not).  

        The video signals originate at the ship, are sent via satellite to an 
earth station in Portland Maine, travel via DSL to Plano TX (EDS), then 
travel via I2 to the University of Rhode Island where they are displayed on a 
specially built console.  The video signals are then encoded into MPEG-2 at 
6Mbps and MPEG-4 at 200 Kbps by a VBrick and presented to the URI campus 
network and Abiliene.

        Several institutions have built large venue theaters to exhibit the 
live video.  Others are using StreamPlayer to view the live videos at their 
desktops.  In theory, virtually every I2 participant should be able to view 
the events live, but we know that the penatration of multicast in the campus 
networks is not what it might be.

        The videos are sent via multicast, and I can see it listed at several 
of the SDR monitors . As you would imagine, this is not without issues since 
the source campus network was not configured for IGMP (CGMP in this case).  I 
do not have I2 access in my office, so I cannot monitor the video in real 
time.

        As a matter of interest, the MPEG-4 video is also sent from the 
VBrick via RTSP unicast on the public Internet, and will appear on the 
project web site during the mission.  

        For the last few weeks, we've been multicasting on  233.56.12.14 and 
233.56.12.114, and will may bring up another stream next week.  You can see 
the video as "Black Sea Project" in both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, and you can get a 
free player (if you don't already have it) from the VBrick web site. 
Currently, the video is just a very cheap camera pointed out the window, but 
it will switch to the Black Sea audio/video on July 25th. As of this message, 
we are not sending but it should be back up on Monday although it will up and 
down as we make changes during the next few days.

        Now for my request for help. I'm looking for someone to work with 
with good access that I can call with a regular "can you see it now?".  On 
Monday, for example, the the good folks at URI (who are unfamilar with 
multicast) wish to prove to themselves that the bandwidth requirement from 
their campus stays the same regardless of the number of viewers (as I said, 
unfamilar with multicast).  Beyond this, it would be most useful if I could 
find someone with the time to assist others troubleshooting.  I am 
handicapped by not having local I2 access, and further handicapped by 
marginal backbone knowledge and familarity with the tools.

        Thanks in advance,

        Rich Mavrogeanes

        VBrick Systems

        1-203-303-0200