MULTIMEDIA AND GRAPHICS SEMINAR Eric Hoffert Apple Computer, Inc Date: April 14,, 1995 Time: 2:30-3:30 Room: 405 Soda Hall Apple Computer recently announced QuickTime Conferencing, a system extension to the Macintosh operating system, and an additional component building upon the original QuickTime architectural framework. QuickTime Conferencing (QTC) is both an end-user and developer technology, focused on multimedia networking and collaborative applications. The developer technology consists of a set of open API specifications for multimedia networking, which allow application, software, hardware and network developers to easily add media conferencing to applications. QTC is compression, transport, protocol and media device independent. QTC allows for support of both standards based protocols (such as the worldwide teleconferencing standard H.320), along with proprietary protocols. The software allows for both multiparty conferencing and broadcast type applications supporting point to point, multipoint and multicast connection models. QTC runs on a variety of networks, such as Ethernet, ISDN, Token Ring and ATM, and initially uses the AppleTalk and TCP/IP network protocols. The QTC technology brings with it some new elements, such as a software based H.261 codec for PowerPC, and extensions to the AppleTalk protocol for multicasting on enterprise networks. The end-user component of QTC is a software application, called Apple Media Conference, which allows users to engage in multiparty conferencing, share and annotate multimedia data, broadcast digital audio and video on to a network and to record conversations into QuickTime movies. Via support of the H.320 teleconferencing standard along with an AV plug-in card, QTC users can video conference with users of H.320 systems in the PC and PC compatible world, allowing for cross-platform video conferencing interoperability. QTC is considered a software foundation on which interoperable conferencing applications can easily be built. These applications can stay the same, as the underlying network quality of service guarantees improve and the evolving information highway gets wider and faster digital pipes. ------------ This seminar will be broadcast on the MBONE starting promptly at 2:30. 405 Soda Hall is a relatively small seminar room (approx. 25 seats). Folks at Berkeley might want to attend the seminar by watching it on your workstation, if it can receive MBONE transmissions. For further information on accessing the MBONE contact see the FAQ (/usr/sww/doc/faq/mbone.faq).