11 Feb 2008 11:08 AM EST

In recent years, we've seen widespread adoption of video streaming in the enterprise. Typical uses include employee training and corporate communications. In this 10-minute video, Citrix engineer Aureliano Lopez-Martin demonstrates SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration and explains how Citrix's RAVE (Remote Audio & Video Extensions) technology delivers video streaming with excellent quality -- including High Definition -- and very high server scalability.

To set the stage, consider the two basic alternative approaches to delivering streaming media from a centralized application or desktop delivery system. You can either render the video centrally and send it in a standardized compressed format to the client, or you can decode the native compressed media stream on the client device using the appropriate codec. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages.

Recently, I posted a video of Vista Aero Remoting, a technology currently being developed under project Apollo. The Apollo Vista Aero Remoting technology takes a generic approach to delivering whatever appears on the user's virtual desktop. The beauty of that approach is that it delivers a "full fidelity" user experience for whatever the user needs to view on the screen, whether it is a Flash or Windows Media video, a next-generation Windows application written in WPF or Silverlight, or any other application technology.

The RAVE technology behind SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration is an optimization specifically for streaming video and audio. It leverages client-side resources to increase server scalability (the number of concurrent users) and thereby reduce the cost per user. Take a look at this video and you'll learn about the advantages and requirements of the RAVE approach and get a glimpse into the future of this innovative technology. 

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

(Click to hear Aureliano Lopez-Martin explain the RAVE technology behind SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration)

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How far along is RAVE?  Any release date yet?

Posted by Jason Tedrick at Feb 13, 2008 00:03 | Reply To This

RAVE is already part of Citrix Presentation Server (now "XenApp"). The SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration feature which uses the RAVE technology was introduced in Presentation Server 3.0 back in 2004. The Media Foundation enhancements that Aureliano speaks about for Windows Server 2008 will be part of the upcoming Delaware release.

Derek

Posted by Derek Thorslund at Feb 13, 2008 14:17 | Reply To This

How will this work on thin clients that don't have a powerful processor or graphics chip?

Posted by Anonymous at Feb 13, 2008 05:47 | Reply To This

If the required codec is not included on the client (e.g. because the device doesn't have the horsepower to adequately handle streaming video), then the system will automatically revert to server-side rendering. You or your thin client vendor might deliberately omit a codec (such as a High Definition video codec) from the client if you find that the performance of local rendering is inferior to server-side rendering.

Several enhancements to Queuing & Tossing introduced in Presentation Server 4.5 (now "XenApp") improved the smoothness of server-side video playback, increased network efficiency, and reduced server CPU consumption. So, server-side rendering provides a fallback if the client cannot support RAVE. But if you can leverage the client for local video rendering, you'll find that the user experience is superior and server scalability is much higher.

Derek

Posted by Derek Thorslund at Feb 13, 2008 14:57Updated by Derek Thorslund | Reply To This

I noticed this was running on a win32 client. Are there plans to get this technology working on Thin Clients....

 Specifically in my case the WYSE V10L  http://www.wyse.co.uk/products/hardware/thinclients/V10L/index.asp

Brian

Posted by Brian Thornton at Feb 13, 2008 06:49 | Reply To This

Take a look at my blog post on Wyse TCX Multimedia. Wyse has done a great job of complementing SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration with a streaming media solution for Thin OS.

Derek

Posted by Derek Thorslund at Feb 13, 2008 15:05 | Reply To This

I looked at this video and I guess I must be missing something...  From what I understand Speedscreen Multimedia Acceleration is the process of "Streaming" data to the local client (PC for example) to be rendered by the local media player.  In the Video, that does not seem to be what is happening. 

I appears to me that the media player is opened via Program Neighborhood and then a video is played form the media player on the server.  At no time did I see a local instance of the media player open....

A better demo would have been to open IE and click a video link which would then open a local media player (yes?) by which the media would be rendered.  The demo I saw in the video does not look like it demonstrated Multimedia Acceleration.  In fact, Darek, at one time you mention that "Wow, it looks like it running locally!"...isnt that the purpose of the technology anyway?  To stream the content for "local" rendering?  If everything was working as the way I understand it it would look like it was running locally because it would be actually be running locally.

Am I on the right or wrong on this one?

Posted by Anonymous at Apr 25, 2008 10:18 | Reply To This

After doing some digging and testing...I guess I just understand this all that well...  Is it the movie is played "On Top" of a sever side media player from the local side?  Is that how it works?

Posted by Anonymous at Apr 25, 2008 12:02 | Reply To This

The published media player application (e.g. Windows Media Player or RealPlayer) runs on the XenApp server. But our RAVE technology intercepts the rendering that would normally occur on the server and streams the media content to the ICA client. The ICA client renders the media stream (video and audio) using the client's CPU and the appropriate local codec. The rendered video is displayed in a rectangle that exactly fits on top of the video window of the media player application. Likewise, the audio is decoded locally. Therefore, RAVE is capable of delivering High Definition video and full fidelity multi-channel audio with very little impact on server scalability.

Posted by Derek Thorslund at Apr 25, 2008 13:33 | Reply To This

What about support for OpenGL based applications?

Posted by Anonymous at Jul 07, 2008 07:27 | Reply To This

RAVE is for streaming media (video and audio). It has no bearing on the delivery of OpenGL based applications. To learn about Citrix's Pictor technology for delivering 3D graphics applications based on OpenGL, check out the Citrix Virtual Design Studio blog. Virtual Design Studio adds graphics hardware acceleration to the XenApp platform to deliver OpenGL applications like Dassault CATIA. Another relevant Citrix technology is Apollo Accelerated Bitmap Remoting (ABR). Apollo ABR is a XenDesktop-based technology for delivering DirectX and OpenGL 3D graphics applications and Vista Aero desktops.

Posted by Derek Thorslund at Jul 07, 2008 09:53 | Reply To This