Internet phone inventor VocalTec Inc, has followed Xing Technology Corp and Progressive Networks Inc into the real-time market with Internet Wave. The Northvale, New Jersey company is making beta versions of both server and client software available free at its Web server, www.vocaltec.com. The server end compresses data from Windows or Unix files. An as yet unpriced real-time compressor for live feeds is also available. The client is currently available only for Windows, but the company is making big claims for the audio quality. A 9.6Kbps modem connection is claimed to offer AM radio-type quality, while a 28.8Kbps user will hear audio of almost FM-quality. The compression algorithms used are similar to those developed for VocalTec’s Internet Phone, launched in February. The number of connections to the server is limited only by the server. With Xing’s StreamWork’s and Progressive Network’s RealAudio carving up the US radio-on-Internet market, the firm is going to find the going tough, unless it can offer demonstrable quality or bandwidth benefits.
