[advocacy] is this list active?

[Arc Riley]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:18:10AM +0000, Daniel James wrote:
> >  I also don't think icecast is really a core
> > part of the "Xiph mission".
> 
> I thought codecs and server were entirely complementary - it's what 
> marketing types call an 'end to end solution', isn't it? I don't 
> think we can rely on proprietary streaming media companies to provide 
> full Ogg support.

I think you're also missing the point that Icecast still does MP3. :-)

What I know about this is my experience with the public.  Last year I 
probobally streamed 40 or 50 hours of live events, almost all of which 
in a pedestrian mall in the center of Ithaca (called The Commons).  Live 
music, political rallies, talk shows, anything and everything.

The system we were streaming with wasn't marked with any Xiph-related 
logos, just a small poster stating that we were streaming live.  *SO* 
many people, especially teenagers, came up and were asking about our 
setup.  Many of them had used Icecast before, either as a broadcaster or 
a listener, and some of them had specific questions about 
latency/buffering issues with streaming over WIFI and about which stream 
source software we thought was better.

Only a small minority of the people who were curious about the stream 
setup had ever used Ogg before, in fact I think just one had used it (a 
Quaker member).  However, them asking about the setup gave me a shot to 
promote Ogg, telling them that we use it because it's better quality 
than MP3, and how it's not encumbered by patents so we can use it 
freely.

Also, from my experience with various radio station techs, almost 
everyone in the industry (atleast the small, local, community-based part 
of the industry) knows of Icecast.  Ogg simply doesn't have that same 
"brand recognition".

I think it's better to work towards making "Ogg" synonymous with 
"online multimedia" the way MP3 has gained that status with online 
music.  I don't think that's an unrealistic goal, either.
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