The team responsible for the original Mosaic browser, from which Netscape Communications Corp’s Navigator was derived, have turned to multimedia with a series of new audio and video streaming products that are now hitting the market. Vosaic LLC, spun-out last year from video Web research at the University of Illinois, has launched a $250 Java based streaming audio system which eliminates the need for users to download an audio player. Vosaic – it takes its name from video Mosaic – is pushing its Audio for Java at both broadcast and one-to-one communications markets. Using global ITU International Telecommunications Union and GSM Groupe Speciale Mobile standard audio, it is compliant with major browsers. By pointing and clicking on an Audio for Java enabled HTML Web page, users can connect directly to the audio source. Vosaic claims that most competitive audio streaming technologies, such as Real Audio from Progressive Networks Inc, need a player to be downloaded by the user for decompressing the files, while Vosaic sends the files uncompressed. The stream quality depends on the line conditions. Over the next few weeks, Vosaic will also be introducing Vosaic Stereo for Java using Dolby Laboratories AC3 codec, and Vosaic Radio for Java, a unicasting and multicasting audio streaming system for live events. Vosaic says the next logical step is to develop a Java-based streaming video product, targeting the growing market for intranet-based training.
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