Great stuff in and linked to your post, Gus. Read it all.
One thing that strikes me from your material--especially from Red Herring and the Ray Dolby bio--is that today, the action really is *audio,* not video.
Here's a line that stayed with me:
<<"One thing I do know is that more Web sites will use more audio," Dolby says. "I finish playing with RealAudio and go to a Weh site that's silent, and it's dull by comparison.">>
Since audio is the genesis of Ampex (and bandwidth constraints will remain the scourge of Internet video for the time being), it seems that--at least for now--Ampex ought to be rolling out an Internet audio initiative. Perhaps in conjunction with others (again, BCST comes to mind), it should be showing corporate America how to put audio broadcasting to work (and sell subsystems and services along the way). And to build consumer mind share for the future, it should get its logo emblazoned on everybody's Web site, and on RealPlayer and Media Player, not to mention some proprietary software tools as well.
Let's face it, Internet sound is still terrible, and it's more than just a bandwidth/compression issue. There's no user flexibility or "post production" control. And buffering is all messed up. Microsoft and RealNetworks obviously need help. The MP3 thing is a tempest and up for grabs and--as flickerful emphasizes--Dolby seems to have nothing (visible) going. Meanwhile, Ampex is just sitting there with its hands in its pockets?
What am I missing?
BAM
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