[opendtv] Mac artistes, get with the times
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 10:53:07 -0400
Strange to think of IEEE 1394 as an ancient protocol that ought to be
retired. It just goes to show how much of this business is based fickle
fashion and hype.
This column also questions Apple's interest in its Mac product line. I'm
wondering whether it is being set up to intermarry with PCs, sort of
like the Norman invasion of 1066.
Bert
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Mac artistes, get with the times
Apple development community has nothing to lose in an IP/Ethernet world
but its FireWire obsession
Loring Wirbel
(05/01/2006 9:00 AM EDT)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D187001786
Communications service providers, from the CEO on down, understand the
ubiquity of Internet Protocol and Ethernet. They may not have solidified
their plans for moving today's networks from the hodgepodge of analog
circuit switching and RF streaming to the nirvana of IP, but they have
no doubt about the direction they want to go. Successive visits to the
annual shows of the wireless-operator, cable TV MSO and broadcaster
communities reinforce that message.
At last week's National Association of Broadcasters meeting, the weak
link in the digital-content delivery chain was all too apparent. The
artists and visionaries working in digital editing and postproduction,
proud of their mastery of Apple FinalCut Pro for polishing HD video
creation, were sorely lacking in their understanding of preparing
content for IP/Ethernet delivery. And that's an inexcusable blind spot.
I could waste energy and ink pointing out that the Avid/Apple developer
crowd is conformist in its nonconformity--an army of creative types
sporting a uniform of shaved head (pastel hair streaks for women), body
piercings, goatee and goth attire--but the more pertinent issue is why
this community of envelope pushers appears stuck in a yesteryear of IEEE
1394 (aka FireWire), Infiniband and Fibre Channel.
Remember, many of these cognoscenti were instrumental in pushing video
to the Internet. They not only understand TCP/IP protocols; they
understand the practical problems in mixing on-demand IP streams, IP
clipcasting and broadcast-like real-time channels in a format users will
enjoy. So why do they cling to archaic transport standards?
The segregation of digital editing and postproduction from the
mainstream of networking is partly to blame. But the problem may
originate with Apple and its corporate leaders' single-minded focus on
the iPod. The vagaries of networking the Macintosh with the mainstream
computing community have slipped so low on Apple's priority list that
its name is now off the rosters of most IEEE and ANSI meetings.
The Apple third-party developers closest to the OEM server communities,
such as Aja Video Systems, should be acknowledged for their role in
reminding digital editors that the rest of the world is leaving 1394 and
Fibre Channel behind. Also to be applauded are the broad-based
infrastructure specialists, such as NTT, that have turned out
interesting tools to translate 1394 HDV and native HDTV streams to IP
transport and are working to offer coherent end-to-end network tools to
carriers.
But grand visions from on high require pushes from below, and few seem
to be coming from the grass roots of digital editing. At Small Tree
Communications, chief executive officer Corky Seeber has been banging
the drum for 10-Gbit Ethernet awareness among Macintosh developers but
says lower-level developers appear to be in a fog.
Those who should be out front talking about TCP/IP and Ethernet haven't
embraced that role. Thus, in this instance it may be the suits, and not
the artists creating FinalCut digital video that can't be translated
into any common protocol, who may be the envelope pushers.
All material on this site Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights
reserved.
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