MMF Demo: Skinkers

Best start to a demo EVER:  "Skinkers has been doing for the past few years what everyone else forgot to do.  We picked up where PointCast left off."

Company is now focused on P2P media delivery for media companies via its livestation development platform.  "the equiv of a sat networking over IP."  Company is ambitiously trying to send live video signals over peer networks.

We got to view a "pre-alpha" (another great term).

From Skinkers:

Based on peer-to-peer technology originally developed at Microsoft Laboratories in Cambridge in the UK, Livestation delivers remarkable quality audio and video using a simple software application.

With conventional streaming services, each stream is typically delivered from central servers or using a special content distribution network. Every additional user receives their own stream, which places enormous demands on the distribution infrastructure and ultimately limits the number of users that can be simultaneously supported.

In some cases it is possible to use multicasting to deliver a single stream to multiple addresses. Unfortunately, many networks do not currently support multicasting.

A peer network approach offers many of the benefits of multicasting, without requiring a multicast network. Effectively, it enables an overlay network to be created using the combined intelligence and network capacity of the computers of its active users.

In a peer network, each node functions as both a client and a server, sharing its data with other users. This helps spread the load to the edge of the network, so that capacity grows with demand.

Livestation works by splitting a stream into multiple stripes, each of which can be shared with other users. This allows users to share some of a stream with other users, without having to relay the whole stream. This dramatically reduces the central serving capacity required to deliver live audio and video to very large numbers of users.

The net result is actually more robust than receiving a single stream from a single source. A level of resilience is built into the system making it more resistant to general network traffic congestion.

As with any broadband service, the quality is ultimately limited by the speed of the connection of each end user. With faster networks, even high definition television could be delivered in this way.

Livestation delivers a range of live radio and television channels to your computer over a broadband network.

There is no need to install a tuner, aerial, or any additional hardware. Livestation works anywhere with a basic broadband network connection. Simply download the free Livestation player to watch television wherever you are, whenever you want.

You can watch television on your desktop, or on your laptop, at home, at work, on the move, or in a hotel room, provided you have a broadband internet connection or wireless access.

Unlike video-on-demand or download services, Livestation delivers live broadcast channels, so you can watch news, sports or live events as they happen.

Livestation offers an integrated player that allows you to choose from a number of channels and continue listening and viewing while using other applications. You can watch in a window while you work or play, or view full screen.

While you are listening or watching, Livestation shares some of the stream with other users. This allows Livestation to serve a very large number of simultaneous users.

Livestation is designed to be able to serve millions of users without many of the limitations associated with traditional online streaming services.

Hugely ambitious project.  Uncertain if it will work in production.

Beyond the technical challenge, major business challenges with cable operators.