Java Live | June 25, 2002 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 9/3/2002
Last Visited: 9/3/2002
Guest Speakers: Gary Ginstling and Michael Bundschuh
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Our guests are Gary Ginstling, who's the Java Media Technologies Product Manager at Sun, and Michael Bundschuh, who's the Java Media APIs Engineering Manager at Sun.
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Gary Ginstling: We used the term "JMF-Lite" for early prototype versions of the new MMAPI.The final version, while very much JMF-like, is not a proper subset because, in order to design an API to run on the CLDC/MIDP stack, it's necessary to break compatibility.One reason for this is the lack of floating-point support in CLDC.
razvan: Do any of the major mobile phone manufacturers plan to implement MMAPI in their phones?
Gary Ginstling: While we can't talk about the specific product plans of other companies, I think the best way to answer your question is to look at the expert group for JSR 135, which was the JSR for MMAPI.Nokia was the spec lead, and others include Motorola and Siemens.So we're hoping to see the major manufacturers implement MMAPI.
Mohsin Ali: Can we send SMS through current MIDP specs or MMAPI?
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Gary Ginstling: First off, I want to remind you that this is not a new version of JMF.MMAPI is designed specifically to provide multimedia support in resource-constrained devices, so it is a distinct product from JMF.But to answer your question, MMAPI does allow video capture.As long as the device has a camera to capture video, you can access it through MMAPI.
JRS: I've noticed some mention about RTP in the implementation but it doesn't seem to be a part of MMAPI in the first release.Is this true, and when will you have an RTP that can receive broadcast from JMF?
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Gary Ginstling: Good point.As long as Nokia implements MMAPI on the 7650 (and I sure hope they do -- it's a very cool phone), you can access the camera and capture images using MMAPI.
sclu: Will this version of JMF support MIDI playback?If so, how many notes polyphony is it?
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Gary Ginstling: MMAPI is flexible enough to support audio and video playback, streaming, and capture.So it will allow you to access whatever native multimedia services are available on a device.And that, by its very nature, is one of its limitations as well.Remember, MMAPI is really just a thin Java layer, so you are ultimately dependent on whatever native mulitimedia services are available on the device you happen to be targeting.You can read a more comprehensive overview of MMAPI at: http://wireless.java.sun.com/apis/mmapi overview/
Frezer: I have read that the MMAPI will be released by Summer 2002.
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Gary Ginstling: The proposed final draft of the spec is already available on the JCPSM web site.The final approval ballot is underway, so you can expect to see the release of the spec pretty soon.And once that happens, you should see the reference implementation released through the Sun Community Source License program shortly thereafter.
mobman: I assume that QuickTime is a supported content type.What other video formats are suppported by this API?
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Gary Ginstling: Actually, both Nokia and Motorola were involved in the expert group for MMAPI.And the important point to remember regarding MIDP 2.0 is that -- while it does contain the "audio building block" portion of MMAPI, that doesn't mean that Motorola won't implement the full MMAPI on top of MIDP 2.0. In fact, we hope to see that.So MMAPI will be available on more than just Nokia phones.That said, you do ask an important question."Write once, run anywhere" is certainly going to have its limitations in the wireless space, given the number of devices, range of functionality, and so forth.We are working hard to ensure that developers have a common set of APIs to write to.However, I think we all recognize there will always be a certain amount of porting, testing, and configuration that one will need to port apps to different phones, with different screen sizes, color depths, and so on.
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Gary Ginstling: It's important to remember that MMAPI is flexible enough to support a wide range of features and native multimedia services.So Nokia may choose to ship phones with an implementation of MMAPI that allows you to access the camera.But that in no way means that Motorola must support native camera access on their devices.They can utilize MMAPI to access whatever functionality they desire.For instance, they can ship phones with MP3 support and allow you to access that via MMAPI.Nothing is mandated by the API.
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Gary Ginstling: There are already over 20 million Java-enabled devices available today, and we expect that number to more than double by the end of the year.So the phones are out there already!
mobman: What's the memory footprint for the MMAPI (e.g., the RI)?
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Gary Ginstling: OK, here's a question for everyone out there today: What types of applications are you thinking about writing that might utilize MMAPI?And what types of devices (phones, high-end PDAs, and so forth) are you targeting?We'd love to know...
razvan: One category of applications we're considering here is "environment-aware applications."We plan to use the digital camera on high-end phones to "read" the surrounding environment and allow the user to communicate to his/her environment.
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Gary Ginstling: While I'm not sure I completely understand what you mean by a "complete data network solution," I can tell you that there are many carriers implementing Java services today, from provisioning to billing to client-side support.And many more have plans to do so in the near-term.So you'll continue to see more and more carriers with programs in place that will allow developers to create applications, provision them, bill for them, and so on.
MDR-EdO: Well, we've come to the end of our session.I'd like to thank all of today's participants -- I thought we had a nice range of questions.And of course I'd especially like to thank our guests Gary and Mike.
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Mike Bundschuh: Gary and I thank you for your time, questions, and feedback.
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