Why do we need a HD Internet?

Opportunities and dangers

For Internet2 Universities Artur SerraCenter for Internet Applications- UPC i2cat Projectartur@ac.upc.esUCAID Fall Meeting , L.A.. Oct 2002

i2CAT project,www.i2cat.net

from research networking to networking research

A consortium- like model project.Universities, regional and local authorities and

companies. An strategic project for Catalonia.UPC, the regional technological university,

keeps the leadership.Our service research network , the Anella

Cientifica, also is a member of i2cat

i2CAT members

i2cat Goals

Developing an advanced Internet network, its technology, midleware an applications for the R&D community at large

It is an experimental network like VTHD in France, Vraiment Tres Haut Debit,http://www.vthd.org

But also the regional service network, the Anella Cientifica, the catalan part of Red Iris, is part of i2cat.

UPC Leadershipwww.upc.es

Five UPC departments participate in i2CAT project:

– Arquitectura de Computadores. Network Technologies.

– Llenguatges i sistemes and FIB. Applications.

– Telemàtica. Middelware and Access networks.

– Teoria de la Senyal i Comunicaciones. Optical Communications.

Project structure

• Working groups Structure (Clusters)

International Connection

STAR TAP

BARCELONA

•An active participant in the global i2 community

•Limited Connection on demand through Red Iris-Geant

Connections among telecom operators and GigaCat located at UPC

Gigacat: i2CAT GIGAPOP (1999-2000)

WDM Optical Rings Project (2001-2002)

• Two optical rings• Throughput a 2.3 Gbps.

GE Network Access project• GE at home scenario

““Houston, we’ve got a problem!”…Houston, we’ve got a problem!”…

The Network is not the Computer…It is faster ¡¡

Optical Internetworking is the new research breakthrough.

Optical networking revolution

• Dense Wave Division Multiplexing supports many 10 or 40 Gbit/s Lambda’s per fiber, so where fiber is available, capacity is virtually unlimited

• Optical equipment development is progressing rapidly, despites the economical dip in the telecom market.

• Network is now faster than the computer

• New network paradigm shift looks unavoidable

StarLight

710 N. Lake Shore Drive, ChicagoAbbott Hall, Northwestern University

StarLight is an experimental optical infrastructure andproving ground for network services optimized forhigh-performance applications

Funded by the NSF StarLight Assists $32M (FY2002-3) in experimental networks (I-WIRE, TeraGrid, OMNInet, SURFnet, CA*net4, DataTAG)Director, Joe Mambretti

Towards a new applicationsparadigm?

• Is there any S-curve ahead of us in the application side too?

• What kind of applications can make use the unlimited capacity of the optical networks?

Thinking about an HD Internet

• Imagine a peer to peer high quality bidirectional global HD platform for the Research and the Educational communityHD uncompressed channels over lambdasHD on demandHD videoconferencingHD teleimmersion and virtual laboratorisWireless HD ????

First of all, thanks a lot to the Application Area of UCAID for

starting the HD Internet… • October 1999, Seattle, UCAID Fall meeting.

Application public demo at the UoW theater. “Wooo¡ This is new stuff and I like it”This is like putting together a classroom, tv,

theater,cinema, videoconferencing technologies producing something new

A real “many to many” experience. The general public became actors,teacher,supporters,critics…

Specially thanks to Amy Philipson and the Research Channel team. The HDTV over IP was great

i2cat Digital Media Cluster(2001-2002)

• HDTV Internet project, Opera Oberta• New Digital Media Portal, Dexvio• MedConference, a son of

Megaconference for the biomedical community

• City-based Wireless lan video (e-Gotic)

Òpera Oberta Project (2001)Uncompressed HDTV over fiber

i2CATMedia

Gate way

HDSDI

SDI MPEG2

(10 Mbps)

CINESA Diagonal

UNIVERSITATS (UPC, UdG, UdL)IP Multicast

HDSDI (1,5 Gbps)

LICEU

Òpera Learning Project• Create an IP channel TV ofering live Opera from Opera HouseParticipants: Liceu, Techno Trends, UOC, UPC i CIRENE.

First lessons• Opera Oberta has been the most i2cat

publized project.• HDTV Internet partnership is possible but

difficultUniversities like computer graphics but ignore tv,

at least in Europe We still keep the old fashioned vision:

tv=commercial broadcast channel=dummy contentWe need commercial partners, but if the

commercial sector leads = major copyright issues= danger of stopping again the content creation and use

We need good quality and open content: The Research Channel leads in that approach. Thanks

The Gaudi Projecta first transcontinental HD transmission

over IP, September 2002

The Gaudi HD Project

• A first intercontinental transmission of studio quality HDTV production over IP.

• Researchers sent a HDSI compressed video over IP between Seattle and Amsterdam at 270 mbps.

• It was taped by the UPC during the Gaudi Year 2002

• The networks used was a 10GE lambda between UCAID and Gigaport, offered by Tyco Telecom

VTR

CODEC SONY

HDCAM

HDSI contents

video Server

projection type:-plasma screen-cinema screen-videowall

-PC-Sotfware-Adquisition board

IP Sdti270mbps

  

 

CODEC SONY

Gaudi Project HD Internet Scheme 

HDSI1,5mbps 

Sdti270mbpsHDSI

1,5mbps 

Credits

• ResearchChannel• Ovide Broacast Services• UPC

Centre of Media ProductionsDepartment of Telematics EngineeringCenter for Computer Applications in

Architecture (CAIRAT)

Preliminary conclusions

• Optical networking needs, and allows, high quality video services

• An HD Internet can be a good option for such kind of service,

• It can be explored in different ways:HD liveHD on demandHD videoconfencing, HD teleimmersion (integration HD and 3D)even wireless HD Internet….

Solved and Unsolved problems• Solved:

HD open content taped by the UPCThe ResearchChannel technology workedGood international teamwork.

• Unsolved:High cost of HD equipment (cameras, encoding,

editing,projector…)How to develop a business model.

Some opportunitiesfor Internet2 Universities

• Universities and research institutions can become the key actors in the initial content creation in the HD Internet.

• Only one condition: being not only a publication machine but also a digitial media producer on our own Keeping the rights Open the content . Producing better quality images than the traditional media:

HDTV Internet channels and programs with image-lovers professionals (architects, medical, artists, designers…)

Developping a peer to peer approach. Every professor and every student is a research and educational actor at a time.

Collaboration with the private sector but under open media approach

Bringing to table to the public sector (NSF, NASA,EU,…) Establishing a global HD Net Project with US, EU, Asia

Pacific,L.A….

Thanks a lot

Artur Serra i2cat

artur@ac.upc.es