Department of Computer Science and Technology

Technical reports

OPERA
Storage and presentation support for multimedia applications in a distributed, ATM network environment

Jean Bacon, John Bates, Sai Lai Lo, Ken Moody

April 1993, 12 pages

DOI: 10.48456/tr-295

Abstract

We are building a display platform for multimedia applications above a multi-service storage architecture (MSSA). This style of application needs high speed ATM networks and suitable protocols and operating systems; an infrastructure that exists at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.

An open storage architecture gives flexibility and extensibility. Conventional files, audio, video and structured objects are supported within a common architectural framework and composite objects, such as a display representation, may have components of any of these storage types. The two-level hierarchy of servers provides storage media and a byte-segment abstraction at the low level and a variety of abstractions at the high level. Quality of service guarantees, which are essential for continuous media file types, are supported by sessions and tickets. These are arranged via the high level servers and used directly with the low level servers.

A platform for the creation and interactive display of multimedia presentations (IMP) is being developed. A script language allows a multimedia presentation to be specified in terms of objects, the relationships between them and the (composite) events that drive it. Presentation data is stored on the structured data service of MSSA and component objects are stored on appropriate servers, and accepted and retrieved at guaranteed rates. The presentation requirements of an application are managed by applying a script to the data representing the presentation to create a display.

Full text

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BibTeX record

@TechReport{UCAM-CL-TR-295,
  author =	 {Bacon, Jean and Bates, John and Lo, Sai Lai and Moody, Ken},
  title = 	 {{OPERA : Storage and presentation support for multimedia
         	   applications in a distributed, ATM network environment}},
  year = 	 1993,
  month = 	 apr,
  url = 	 {https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/techreports/UCAM-CL-TR-295.pdf},
  institution =  {University of Cambridge, Computer Laboratory},
  doi = 	 {10.48456/tr-295},
  number = 	 {UCAM-CL-TR-295}
}