Wireless Multimedia Forum to Test Interoperability
The Wireless Multimedia Forum (www.wmmforum.com) announced on Monday, that interoperability testing will begin this week for multi-vendor equipment that supports streaming video and audio content over wireless networks. The Wireless Multimedia Forum (WMF) released its Recommended Technical Framework Document (RTFD) Version 1.0 in late January, and this document will serve as the foundation for the tests.
The RTFD Version 1.0 document specifies technologies to be used in the delivery of streaming multimedia applications, which include both on-demand and live streaming using voice and video as the primary media types. Future versions of the RTFD will recommend quality of service (QoS) technologies for use in mobile networks and technologies for handling downloadable multimedia content.
"The goal of the WMF is to speed the deployment of interoperable products and new services in mobile IP networks. We want to get as many vendors as possible implementing the recommendations in the RTFD and to participate in the interoperability tests,'' said Martin Hall, chairman of the WMF. "Doing so paves the way for exciting new Internet services on a variety of mobile handsets across a broad set of interoperable network infrastructure equipment.''
According to Hall, five stages of early interoperability testing will take place over a period of about three months. Each stage will test a different function recommended in the RTFD. The first stage, for example, will involve encoding/decoding bit streams across a mobile network. Other stages will test the distribution of streaming file formats between media distribution servers and end user wireless terminals; parsing and decoding of streams packetized using the Real Time Protocol (RTP); and interactive testing of the Real Time Streaming Protocol/Session Description Protocol (RSTP/DSP) for real-time IP voice conversations.
The first four testing phases will comprise "virtual'' interoperability testing using an FTP site. The final stage will entail "face-to-face'' equipment testing among multiple vendors' equipment and will be overseen by a third-party organization. Results of the initial testing will not be made public.
The WMF's goal is to standardize the set of delivery, billing, copyright and management technologies used in wireless IP networks so that the various end user devices will all be compatible with the infrastructure, allowing for clear business models to arise and content creators to encode once using MPEG-4 . The WMF's membership is comprised of international mobile device manufacturers, carriers, application software vendors, and network hardware manufacturers, but two prominent streaming companies that are noticeably absent are Microsoft and Real.