[icecast-dev] Server-side streaming roundup

[Vincent-Olivier Arsenault]

Hi Icecasters!

I'm trying to gather information about the open source streaming scene 
(server-side) and, well, I consider three contenders (am I missing one?) 
for the "best streaming architecture". They are (in no particular order)...

- (Vorbis's)? Icecast 2.0 + Ices
- Apple's Darwin Streaming Server (Quicktime Streaming Server) 4.1
- Real's Helix Platform

My study being in its earliest stage, I have some basic questions for 
you folks.

1. Why is the community that fragmented? I know that those 3 projects 
have different goals and provide different features, but if you abstract 
to the level where they are all streaming architectures, wouldn't it be 
beneficial for all if there were a little more cross 
code-protocol-format-etc sharing-forking-branching-extending-whatever?

2. I look at the DSS 4.1 module API docs, at the RTP, RTSP, RTCP, and 
SDP RFCs, and at the MPEG-4 spec, and I just KNOW what I am dealing 
with. So where are the shoutcast / icecast protocol specs? Is there any 
architectural overview of the icecast system, somewhere? I looked at the 
libshout docs and old icecast manual.html already.

3. What do you people think of Apple and Real's initiatives, both 
technologically as well as socially (politically?)?

4. What do you thing of my icecast wish list (and gee, are some of them 
already implemented, planned?) :
Helix-like Marketing ;-)
DSS's docs, management interface and standard adherence
Transparent content negotiation
Structured metadata (An XML app would be great)
Advanced playlist support (cues, cuts, external metadata, permissions, etc.)
On-the-fly downsampling, and cross fading (between playlist elements)

<p>Yeah, I know some of those features fall under the ices scope, but I 
just wanted to gather everything under the same "product".

<p>vincent

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