Sun Microsystems Inc has introduced its Java Media Framework 2.0 application programming interface roadmap, a specification that will form a good part of the software development environment for important Sun projects, such as the Microprocessor Architecture for Java Computing (MAJC) chip and the America Online Inc AOL TV joint venture.
Sun is proclaiming the JMF API 2 – jointly developed by Sun and IBM Corp – as a general-purpose media player that eliminates the need for special plug-ins in a Java environment. The specification will support compression and decompression (codecs) formats such as MP3, Flash and IBM’s HotMedia. The framework will also include Java-based audio and video capture and compression and transmission functions.
However, there are problems using the API for multimedia streaming. Engineering manager for the JMF, Michael Bundschuh, said that applets took a lot of time to download on a low bandwidth connection. However, he said that Sun was working on overcoming download problems and expected that the increased take-up of broadband would help speed up multimedia streaming.
Sun needs to have a multimedia API framework that rivals Microsoft Corp’s DirectX and Direct3D offerings in place as it rolls out future silicon and consumer projects. The company has already worked on consumer MP3 applications and needs to ensure that developers will be able to easily access multimedia functions in Java as it rolls out consumer devices in partnership with AOL and Netscape Communications Corp.
Sun is reluctant to talk about future uses of the JMF API or the Java3D API. However, Ken Tallman, senior product manager for the Java3D API, confirmed that his developers had been working closely with the team that developed the MAJC chip architecture. This architecture is expected to be used as the basis of a new breed of information appliances, such as future generations of AOL TV advanced set-top boxes. As such, developers would need a Java development environment able to support networked multimedia streaming and 3D graphics. The final release of the JMF 2.0 API is expected to be available this fall, a beta will be available next week.
