The Support Forum for our HDX MediaStream for Flash trial release recently included a post that raises some interesting concerns about how client-side rendering fits with the server-based computing model. To paraphrase the post:

"Citrix has always been the server-based computing company that wanted everything moved into the datacenter. That includes all code execution. Now, with HDX, some of the code is executed on the endpoint, which means it's not SBC all the way anymore. Moving execution code to the endpoint means you will create application dependencies at some point. It's not only KVM that's sent to the endpoint anymore. My opinion is that SBC should always be client platform independent."

A great impetus for me to shed some light on Citrix's strategy for HDX and multimedia virtualization...

Although the term "server-based computing" is no longer in vogue, there's no denying the tremendous benefits of centralizing the complicated stuff in the data center where it's easier to manage. And strategically, we view server-side rendering of multimedia content (including Flash) as a critical, core capability. This is the foundational technology that covers all the bases. Server-side rendering works whether the content is Flash or Silverlight or Windows Media or QuickTime or whatever. Server-side rendering works regardless of whether the user device (client) has the applicable media player (e.g. Adobe Flash Player) installed on it, or the applicable codec. And it works with all operating systems for which we offer our client or Citrix Receiver online app plug-in. Therefore, we've continued to invest in improving the delivery of server-rendered multimedia content with new codec technology and other technological advances.

But client-side rendering can be used opportunistically to great advantage when it fits. In those cases, offloading media processing to the endpoint reduces the load on the server and helps improve overall server scalability (number of concurrent users), sometimes by as much as an order of magnitude. Eliminating rendering and recompression on the server also generally results in less network bandwidth consumption since the native media format is already highly compressed.

My view is that there's a fine line here. Running a browser plug-in like the Adobe Flash Player on the endpoint may be about as far as many customers would want to go with client-side media processing. Why? As you go farther, you increase the complexity of managing the user device and could lose a key benefit of the virtual desktop model (although client-side virtualization technologies can certainly mitigate that). 

So it all comes back to HDX Adaptive Orchestration, which is the key to our multimedia virtualization strategy. HDX Adaptive Orchestration includes SmartRendering, which intelligently and dynamically evaluates available resources (user device, network, server) and determines whether to stick with the foundational technology of server-side rendering or opportunistically leverage the endpoint device. Administrative policies factor in, too, especially when there are security and management considerations.

With upcoming improvements to frame rate (already 20 fps in XenDesktop 3 FP1) and audio quality (see my video on project Ulysses), server-based multimedia delivery keeps getting better. But even though it can deliver an excellent multimedia user experience, that will always come at the cost of server capacity and network bandwidth. So a multi-dimensional solution that can leverage client-side resources if they're available provides the best of both worlds. 

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist & Sr. Manager, XenDesktop Product Management

In case you missed it, here's a very short video by Michel Buis that showcases the performance of the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash in delivering a Flash animation.

I posted a high-level training video (webinar style) about the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash on Citrix TV (the Underground channel) a few weeks ago. Meant to blog about it sooner, but now you know!  

Derek

P.S. If you've had a chance to evaluate the trial release, please complete our brief survey.

Multi-tab Browser Support

One of the limitations in the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash is that only one tab per browser process can be accelerated. This is a bigger issue in Internet Explorer 7 where all tabs run in the same process. In Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) some tabs run in different process.

But there is a way to force IE8 to run all tabs in separate processes. Follow this link to learn more about how to configure IE8 in such mode.

In the final release of HDX MediaStream for Flash, multiple tabs will be supported in both IE7 and IE8 out of the box.

Is HDX MediaStream for Flash running?

HDX MediaStream for Flash is so seamless that you may not even know it's running. Of course, that's by design. There are, however, a number of ways to know if it is running. My personal favorite is looking at a cyan block of color where the Flash player is shown. The cyan color shows for a little bit before the Flash player shows up.

We also created a diagnostic tool for HDX MediaStream for Flash. This tool can tell you if it is running correctly and if not, it can tell you what could be wrong. The information it collects can be easily sent to our support email alias to help our engineers assist you with your questions.

This tool is open source and can be downloaded here.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

The Citrix Receiver desktop plug-in or Desktop Receiver (both used with XenDesktop) allow scaling the remote desktop to any viewable size. HDX MediaStream for Flash supports this scaled mode as well. The Flash content can be scaled to the appropriate size with minimal impact on performance. It even allows you to play videos in scaled mode without affecting the frames per second. Check this feature in action below:

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

With HDX MediaStream for Flash, the flash content is rendered on the client device while the player is rendered on the server side. This makes application management easy for administrators but poses some challenges for our engineers when it comes to preserving the "like-local" user experience. One such challenges is what happens when the user changes their volume locally.

We found a way to synchronize the volume of the Flash player on the client with the volume settings on the server. When the desktop is muted, the Flash player running on the client will be muted as well. HDX MediaStream for Flash even allows granular volume control by synchronizing the individual volume setting for each browser window with the Flash player instances on that particular browser. That means you can have a different volume setting for each browser running on the server and have the Flash players on the client respect each browser's volume setting.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

It has been a few weeks since we released the trial for HDX MediaStream for Flash and I would like to share a few tips about this feature as well as highlight some of the capabilities in the trial release. First on the list is Window-less Mode.

Windowless mode allows web pages to overlay HTML content over the Flash player. This is important in certain scenarios like navigation menus that show on top of the flash player. Without windowless support, those sites would not be very usable. Here is an example of MSNBC.com with and without windowless support:

Flash content in windowed mode	Flash content in windowless mode

Notice how the Flash ad on the left side covers part of the navigation menu while the one in the right does not. Flash in windowless mode allows the browser to do this. HDX MediaStream for Flash supports this mode even though the Flash player is rendered on the client while the browser is rendered on the server. Logic would dictate that since Citrix HDX renders the flash on the client device, any flash would always show up on top of any content in the browser. But not so. Here at Citrix, we've figured out how to retain this functionality so that users get a seamless experience.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Follow me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

A key component of Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop, HDX MediaStream technology ensures that users receive a smooth, seamless experience with multimedia content as part of their virtual desktop (VDI) or virtual applications. To accomplish this, HDX MediaStream determines when it is best to leverage the processing power of the endpoint device to render the multimedia content.
Flash is one of the most pervasive technologies on the web. It is used for interactive content, video streaming and rich internet applications. But delivering Flash-based applications and media via a virtual desktop or virtualized web browser leads to lower user density in the data center, higher bandwidth usage when compared to native flash streams and, in most cases, a degraded user experience.

That's why Citrix has developed HDX MediaStream for Flash. The goal of this technology is to address the density, bandwidth and user experience challenges associated with virtualizing Flash media and Flash-based applications. With HDX MediaStream for Flash, Citrix has solved this problem by moving the execution of Flash content to the client whenever possible. While the browser remains in the data center, Flash content is redirected to the client and executed using the resources at the users end point device. The server is no longer responsible for decoding and compressing HD videos, executing animations or fetching the media content from the web servers. All of which require processing power and distort media in some way.

Moving the Flash execution to the client also enables Flash applications to access local resources like webcams and audio devices to provide a local-like user experience for rich internet applications like web-based collaboration solutions. Even with this local execution, however, HDX MediaStream for Flash lets administrators centrally manage delivery while taking advantage of available processing power on the users device. Check out the demo of HDX MediaStream for Flash below.

How can you get the Trial Release?

To use the HDX MediaStream for Flash trial release with XenApp you'll need XenApp 5.0 for Windows 2003, XenApp 5.0 for Windows 2008 or Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 for Windows 2003 (You might want to consider using the XenApp Evaluation Virtual Appliance if you don't have a test environment of your own). To use HDX MediaStream for Flash trial release with XenDesktop, you'll need Citrix XenDesktop 3 running on Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 (may include XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1). Both with XenApp and XenDesktop, Internet Explorer 7 or 8 and the Flash 10 plug-in for Internet Explorer are also required. The trial requires the 32-bit versions of the software but support for the 64-bit platform is planned for the version 1.0 release.

On the client side, HDX MediaStream for Flash trial requires the Citrix Receiver 1.0 for Windows and the Flash 10 plug-in for Internet Explorer.

Download the trial release today and let us know what you think. Need to learn more, check out the release notes. Still need more information? Check out the support forum or comment below for a response from me or my team. Stay tuned for another post within a week or two where I'll be asking for your feedback via a quick poll.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Juan
Follow me on Twitter

Have you had a look at the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash yet? Early feedback has been very positive. Jason Langone of Infinite Group / Systems ArchiTECH.com wrote this of his experience with HDX MediaStream for Flash: "The first time I walked by a XenDesktop virtual instance playing a video on YouTube I had NO idea it was a virtual desktop. Yes, it's that good." Check it out! The benefits of HDX are clear.

Here are some of the comments we've received so far from folks evaluating HDX MediaStream for Flash:

• "It works great -- just like watching it on the desktop."
• "Very impressive!"
• "Wow, quality looks great!"
• "It works really well. I have compared performance with and without it, and it is pretty impressive."
  

So give it a try and let us know what you think!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

[May 20: This post originally contained the video by Michel Buis that is referenced in Jason Langone's recent article as being "indicative" of the results he experienced with HDX MediaStream for Flash, but since Michel's video shows Windows Media Player rather than Flash, that created some confusion and I have removed it. I'll write a new post shortly with a video of HDX MediaStream for Flash playing YouTube content, which is the experience that Jason wrote about. Meanwhile, you can see this technology playing a high definition Flash video in my earlier blog post with David Stone.]

XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1 is now available for download, and with it, a Trial Release of HDX MediaStream for Flash. The trial release (downloadable here) also supports XenApp on Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

Try it out! Here are some cool websites that highlight the superior performance of this new technology:

• StarTrekMovie.com
• MarkeTrac.NYSE.com
• 007.com
• FreedomAndPartners.com
• Tokbox.com (video chat)
• IKEA.com 

Enjoy!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

The upcoming release of Feature Pack 1 for XenDesktop 3 in early May marks two significant steps forward in the delivery of Adobe Flash content from XenDesktop.

First of all, a Trial Release of HDX MediaStream for Flash is being introduced that offloads the rendering of Flash content to the user's Windows PC or Windows XP Embedded desktop appliance. This results in a "high definition" user experience when using Internet Explorer to access Flash content including animations, videos and applications. And it reduces server and network load, resulting in higher scalability. The Trial Release, suitable for "proof-of-concept" evaluations, will give the market an early look at the industry's first and only Flash acceleration solution for virtual desktops.

Comments from customers who participated in our alpha program for this new technology were extremely positive. One wrote: "It's a lot of fun impressing my co-workers with the performance, especially with our training content. Another way I like to 'flex the muscles' of Flash acceleration is to go to www.gametrailers.com, open a high definition Flash video in a published IE instance and watch it run with super smooth performance with nearly no impact on the Citrix server. It's jaw dropping to those who are familiar with the old limitations of Flash and Citrix." Some people have even been using this technology for Flash-based video conferencing (yes, you can plug in a webcam!) and to run Adobe Flex applications. And by the way (I'm sure Sridhar will blog about this), the Trial Release supports XenApp, too!

Secondly, Feature Pack 1 also introduces improved performance for server-side video rendering. This is valuable for customers unable to run the Flash Player on the user's access device. With Feature Pack 1, you'll notice a marked improvement in video quality thanks to an increase in frame rate and other optimizations. Besides benefiting server-rendered Flash content, this improves QuickTime and Silverlight video playback, too. In fact, it also delivers a better experience with PowerPoint animations and similar effects. And even when available network bandwidth is less than ideal, XenDesktop continues to deliver a decent video experience while other solutions degenerate into a "slide show".

81% of Citrix customers surveyed need to deliver training videos and eLearning courses to their users, and many of these are Flash-based. Add to that the widespread use of Flash on web sites and the growth of Flash-based applications, and there's no doubt that these two big advances in Flash content delivery will be a hit.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

Interested in Multimedia Virtualization? Here are some new capabilities that we are now announcing:

• HDX MediaStream for XenDesktop. HDX is a set of technologies designed to deliver a high-definition user experience for virtual desktops and applications. HDX MediaStream accelerates the delivery of a variety of multimedia formats including WMV (and WMV HD), WMA, MP3, and MPEG-4. This is done by leveraging the power of the endpoint device to render the multimedia content. HDX Adaptive Orchestration (see my SmartRendering blog post) provides for automatic fallback to server-side rendering if the client is not equipped for local rendering.

• HDX MediaStream for Linux. Version 11.0 of the Linux client will soon be available for download, introducing multimedia acceleration just as in our Win32 and WinCE plug-ins. This client supports both XenDesktop and XenApp.
  
  

Also, the new 11.1 version of the Citrix Desktop Receiver, introduced in conjunction with XenDesktop 3, offers improved performance for LAN users by making better use of available network bandwidth. This enhancement, part of HDX Broadcast, is especially valuable when working with graphics and multimedia.

And there's more to come . . . I just need more time to blog!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

Remember the impressive demo that David Stone gave at Synergy in Houston showing how Citrix's RAVE technology is being adapted to improve the delivery of Adobe Flash content? Perhaps you caught the video on Synergy Underground. David showed a graphics-intensive 3D Flash animation of a shark and fish swimming in the ocean. It was far beyond the typical Flash animations found on corporate web pages yet the quality was "just like local". Since then, the Apollo Multimedia Virtualization team has continued to make excellent progress enhancing SpeedScreen Flash Acceleration with our RAVE technology. I met with Dave recently and we recorded this video to show how RAVE can deliver a high definition Flash movie complete with HD audio. The user experience is amazing and server CPU consumption is extremely low. Sorry, no dates have yet been announced for beta trials or general availability. But I think you'll be amazed at what the Apollo team has already achieved. RAVE (Remote Audio & Video Extension) is a strategic technology for Citrix and a key piece of our SmartRendering vision - the intelligent combination of server-side and client-side rendering based on factors such as the particulars of the application, the capabilities of the client and the server, and the characteristics of the network connection. RAVE is already used in XenApp's SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration feature, which is now being ported to XenDesktop, to deliver high quality video and audio from hosted media players based on DirectShow, DMO or Media Foundation technology. Many customers have been asking Citrix to enhance SpeedScreen Flash Acceleration with RAVE to improve the delivery of Flash-based eLearning applications and corporate communications videos. So take a look and let us know what you think. How will this technology help your organization? What are your most important "use cases" for delivering Flash content using XenApp or XenDesktop?

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization