Newsgroups: comp.parallel
From: frank.kargl@rz.uni-ulm.de (Frank Kargl)
Subject: Re: Oracle Media Server
Organization: University of Ulm, Germany
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 16:00:22 GMT
Message-ID: <3ejfdc$m3m@wega.rz.uni-ulm.de>

Kim Nash (ksn@cw.com) wrote:
:>i cover databases for computerworld. am interested to know how interested 
:>MPP users are in Oracle's Media Server, which oracle is billing as a 
:>video and text server that handles full motion video, cd-quality sound, 
:>etc. etc. bell atlantic and others are using it to develop interactive tv 
:>applications. currently media server runs on ncube. oracle has said it 
:>will port it to other parallel platforms, but hasn't yet. 

I have been working a little with the Media Server on nCUBE Plattforms with
a Macintosh Quadra 840 av as frontend. As far as I know it yet works also
with HP-PA.

There's one big problem with this software. There's no suitable frontend.
Up to now only an integration in Apple's Hypercard System. No DOS, no Unix,
nothing. To me it seems, Oracle just wants to go in the Settop market,
using nCUBE and the MediaServer only as server for the Video on Demand
market. We asked Oracle for support, as we eventually planned to integrate
the Media Server into the WWW and Mosaic System. The response was negative,
no support will be given for such projects.

But as a system which is planned to work only with Settop Boxes on TVs i
don't think such a System is of any interest to people working with
parallel systems. What shall anyone do with who isn't a developper at
Oracle or Bell Atlantics. It seems, the time of proprietary systems isn't
yet over, although WWW should have showed to everyone, how to install a
good working information system.

:>is this a product mainstream IS groups care about? what about 
:>universities? scientific organizations? and is ncube sufficient, or would 
:>people like to see media server on other platorms? 

:>i may use this info in an article -- and would love to get feedback from 
:>this newsgroup. thanks!

And I would like to now, if Oracle changed their oppinion in any way.

Ciao ... Frank

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