News Releases

DANTE contributes to iGRID 2005

October 6, 2005 - DANTE’s engineers have been working with CANARIE (the Canadian Research and Education Network) and i2CAT to support an application that will demonstrate multistream High Definition Television (HDTV) at iGRID 2005, in San Diego, USA. DANTE’s engineers will establish lightpath connections on GÉANT, to enable a demonstration that will see HDTV data transferred between San Diego, Ottawa and Barcelona.

GridON is an application that converts high-resolution broadcast video into MPEG2 format, thereby reducing the file size and resolution. The application then uses a user-controlled light path (UCLP1) to create an on-demand, end-to-end connection to access remote computers. The converted MPEG-2 files can be distributed much faster and further than the source files to these dispersed computers, for reassembly into the higher resolution format. The gridof computers is far more powerful than a single machine, and allows the data to be reassembled quickly and efficiently. Once the film has been fully re-assembled the GridON application automatically switches off the end-to-end connection, freeing up space on the network. The HDTV signal is then ready for broadcast.

Many research fields already use high quality audio and visual monitoring as an essential tool for their studies. For example, biological monitoring of the effect of forest fires, coral reef damage and wildlife behavior all make use of surveillance video cameras. An application such as GridON can make the monitoring, data transfer, analysis and archiving process much more efficient. In the future the method may also benefit commercial broadcasters, allowing them to quickly establish telecom links to transfer footage relating to breaking news stories.

For further information on the demonstration partners and to read a more technical briefing visit the CANARIE website at: www.canarie.ca/canet4/uclp/igrid2005/demo.html

1 UCLP allows end users to establish end-to-end lightpaths and change the configuration and topology of these without involving a central network management facility.

These news items and comments are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the CANARIE board or management.

Bill.St.Arnaud @ canarie.ca