Streaming video in SL

I want to speak about a big problem and an error of strategy from Lindenlab to use only quicktime format for streaming, let me explain.

We are a RL swiss media company, streaming now for many year cross reality events for entertainment, eLearning educational program for European community, and much more, and we change all the technical structure in our compnany for using flash streaming, it's begin not possible to invest for only Second Life in quicktime streaming, technical use of this format begin to be a total mess and don't respond to the normal use for end user, if nothing is doing inside SL for opening format for streaming we think seriously to use other platform for all our metaverse activity.

If it's a problem of rights why don't let only company island owner, to have the possibility to use other format than quicktime, rl media company pay rights for broadcast, that's can be a solution ....

Jean Francois Réveillard DBC GmbH
JfR Beaumont

I think I can understand LL's reasoning for choosing only one player format since it elevates compatibility issues through exclusion. I think the only real issue now is that Quicktime X10 is only available on OSX v.10.6 and apple may continue with this trend in the future which could lead to issues overtime as earlier versions are not supported. I would think considering a switch to something like VLC which is available for Win, Mac and Linux and supports a greater variety of media formats might be a better option.

I don't think that VLC is a container, possible to include inworld but maybe yes i don't know, the question is, did LL want to let Medias company and all content video producer, go away ? the limiting number of people viewing an event inside is so poor that it's a big error to do not open the streaming video format more larger, many contents can be share in SL if more format like flash is open, all the socialnetwork, streaming solutions like Livestream, Justin ect... are more easy to use than quicktime encoding system, this is not a futuristic view to stay like this ... When we broadcast an event we have more than 2500 viewers on web for only max 50 60 on SL, it's not possible to block like this video stream format for such poor number of viewers, and i repeat if it's a question of rights give this to company or people who can proof rl activity and rights agreement with institution it's not so much complicate, the law is the same for metaverse and for the web, more contents = more viewers interested = more people subscribing, it's easy to understand ....

JfR

I am totaly agree with this request.

That's not their strategy. This is their strategy: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Media_Rendering_Plugin_Framework

It's not because they have a strategy without any consideration for end user and content producer that it's say *it's a good strategy* ... World is always under progress, and the hability to react quickly is a key in digital media, it's a sign of illness when a company don't listen to is customer ... In fact this strategy say *do the job and we think about if it's good or not for the public ... SL is not a free open source platform, it's cost a lot and we can ask for more possibility for such amount of money, even if it's the best virtual platform at this time, LL is a hoster, and a hoster need to upgrade when there is technology evolution, imagine a streaming hoster with a bizness model only based on Quicktime ....

JfR

Hi,

I'm sure that it would be the good time to give to second life a "new life" since a lot of company are stopping there SL Experience because there is too much restriction for the broadcasting from Real World to Second Life. Allow the end user to use the technology he already has would reduce costs and attract new companies in Second Life. For exemple, i had contact last year with a PR company located in Dubai, they just decided to not use SL because they were forced to use a quicktime for the live streaming and they were already using another technology for live-streaming across the web 2.0.

All the marketing that LL do around E-conferencing, is not so easy to apply for someone who use an other techonology than QuickTime and could be expensive.

So I totaly agree with this request.

Rhianna Arkin
3Shadow Studio

Go talk to the Lindens. Call them on the telephone. Visit them in San Francisco. Make deals.

Is this place is made by Linden Lab for dialogue ? communication with customer ? or it's only a tank for red fish talking to red fish ? We speak about features and problem for content providers and company searching solution for upgrade and future, but maybe we are wrong, and we speak on another virtual unicentric inworld club for happyfew. I am not sure that all company in Europe having problem with SL make the travel for speaking ten minutes with marketing management, they prefer to cut and go away than to spend ticket price for a meeting, if Linden Lab want to speak with is customer can be great to do it here, BTW biggest company than DBC have trying to have a simple phone call without success for your information, it's remembering me a broadcast that we have do, for one of the most important worldwide company here in Switzerland, and LL have scheduled a rollup, we never have anybody for speaking during all days of preparation... This company is away now and have build is own virtual platform... We use digital media for making the buzz, i think it's the best way for trying to say *HEY ! there is company behind your financial results ! and we have a problem *. We support and we believe that SL is the best platform, we do the best advertisment by using it, but when we need something it's necessary to say it and to have response and not a simple guru style blog article or wiki student style of strategy point of view...

JfR

Ignore Lee Ponzu. Read his posts, Look at his profile, ALL sarcastic and useless. He obviously knows nothing and makes As$#nine comments because of his insecurities. He is useless and knows it. People like that should be banned making comments. (Bet he is one of those in SL that makes trouble with traps in sandboxes!).

Ignore Lee Ponzu. Read his posts, Look at his profile, ALL sarcastic and useless. He obviously knows nothing and makes As$#nine comments because of his insecurities. He is useless and knows it. People like that should be banned making comments. (Bet he is one of those in SL that makes trouble with traps in sandboxes!).

I feel that way too. I do not like Quicktime. Quicktime takes over file associations, runs updates even if you turn them off. And rarely seems to work without tweaking first. Quicktime is almost a Malware. I have not see a video work in SL in a while but quicktime works on my browsers.

But I see the needed to pick one to support,

Look at how many addons you need to play media on web sites, Quicktime, shockwave, flash, real player (another malware), Java, MS silverlight, adobe reader, and the list goes on.

I work in a college and have to make the computers work for all what the instructors ask. So I understand why Linden picked one media player, too much maintenance to support more than one, but why Quicktime?

Casandra Kumsung i am agree with you, Quicktime was a solution at one moment for answering about complexity, now it's finish, and for all EduTools, Cross media interface, connection with web ect,,, it's clearly a big problem, streaming is growing everywhere and video is a key on all digital-media exept now inside Second Life...

Thanks for advice about the Troll ^^

JfR

Is there anywhere to find information about the media plug-ins being developed right now? The ability to do that is very new, but one would think that there's already a number of projects in the works. Dev mailing list?

Also things like:
https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-7970

Media API is very cool. It has a mail list but that is quiet. I think that coders are too busy coding to say anything! This is Aimee Trescothick's VNC plugin demo but VNC is not all to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtHO4AtVSwc

I remember seeing that on NWN in this article:
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/09/recursive-life.html

Thanks for link, this sort of solution is for expert, as a media, we cant say to people ok download this and this and go there to have a wiever ! it's simple to understand, there is two world the public end user and the expert end user, Second Life is most of time very difficult for using it for the first time if you make more difficulty it's the end of opening the platform to the most large number of user ! And to explain for all user that you can't see something without download this and this and use this it's sure that they go away, only to explain for newbies how to click for dancing it's take a long time, imagine for explain that they need to download this and this to see something... We need clear, integrate solution for opening metaverse to the media and to use it in a google way for educational program. Linden Lab need to do somthing all the solutions seems existing, they need to act !

I could never figure out why they didn't just go with Flash video. Something ridiculous like 95% of computers have the plugin installed anyway and it's reasonably light weight. I would love to see the ability to embed FLV videos in SL.

Oh no this is not only for experts! The plugins will be refined and work like web browser plugins when they are done. Some will ship with Second Life and some will be a little download. It is new, it needs a little time to bloom!

Cerise Sorbet, we have try it, test and no success, it's impossible to use that for public, this need to be integrate in the main viewer, try to make explanation for using it inworld to people coming in a venue for a concert, a conference or teaching ... If you have a simple solution don't hesitate to say and describe it !

Waouh !!! Linden Lab take care of is customer no doubt.... NO answer, no communication nothing, nada, pay and close your mouth, that's marketing point of view of Linden Lab, EXEPT if you spend hours and days on geek wiki, be a part of guru style life inworld, and spend hours and hours on collaborative free help because you have no job outside Second Life, and of course if you pay for showing your avatar in conference where Linden Lab give you the dream of being a *solution provider* Hey guys do you know how a RL company make bizness ? do you know that employee are not pay for spending time in your world ?

When we see your *results* millions of Dollards etc... If really it's so important invest IN RL COMMUNICATION.

Don't call this thread Feature Suggestion call it Dream suggestion... You dream of it ? Linden Lab don't do it !

JfR

I believe the people building snowglobe have created a media plugin which should make it possible to use other formats than quicktime.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Media_Rendering_Plugin_Framework_Technical_Overview

edit:
Nevermind, I didn´t read the whole thread before replying

Know what is funny? I wanted to make a topic praising VLC while bitching about Quicktime. My guess is that Steve Jobs is an investor in Linden Labs.



Wait, what about all the in-world video players that play youtube? I had an avi file on an ftp server which I could stream in VLC, but not quicktime. I converted it to .flv as per someones suggestion, VLC could steam it, quicktime couldn't. I converted the file once again to .mov, which more than doubled the size of the file. Charter seems to keep dropping my connection every time, forcing me to start my 4 hour download again(I am using fireftp, which doesn't seem to have a resume function).