Summer of Code 2008
This is our ideas page for Google Summer of Code projects with Xiph.org and Annodex. The two projects participate jointly this year under Xiph's name.
Students please use the template at Summer of Code Applications when applying for a GSoC position.
Mentors please visit Summer of Code Mentoring and help us prepare our application as a mentoring organization.
Current Ideas
We need a primary and backup mentor volunteer for any project that is to become an official proposal, but submit something and we'll see who we can round up. :)
Project ideas go here
- Transcode/Tag/Upload tool for Theora et al. (ideally as a firefox extension so web cms integration is easy)
- Theora encoding support in GIMP
- Speex support in IceS
- Better stream source gui for dvswitch
- Multiplexing support (so one can play audio from video files) in ogg123
- Isn't this already done with the vorbisfile support in 1.2.0?
- At first, I thought it wasn't but that's because I tested with a 2.3 GB film and it didn't work. Smaller files work just fine, which makes me believe there's a bug somewhere that needs to be found. Anyway, we can remove this entry.--Ivo
- 2.3 GB is just above what can be represented as bytes on a signed 32 bit int - clue to the bug ? --Ogg.k.ogg.k
- At first, I thought it wasn't but that's because I tested with a 2.3 GB film and it didn't work. Smaller files work just fine, which makes me believe there's a bug somewhere that needs to be found. Anyway, we can remove this entry.--Ivo
- XSPF support in ogg123 and oggenc (playlist creation)
- Initial support for OggPCM in some of our tools
- OggMNG tools
- Is this really necessary? I mean, OggMNG seems to have gone nowhere and serve no niche.--Ivo
- php_annodex: wrapper to libannodex or liboggz for doing media stuff (Silvia)
- ruby_annodex: wrapper to libannodex or liboggz for doing media stuff (Silvia)
- ROE implementation for files: using ROE as the input format to a generic multi-track ogg authoring tool using skeleton (Silvia)
- ROE implementation for network: using ROE in a client-server negotiation to dynamically request a specific multi-track ogg file using skeleton (Silvia)
- ffmpeg improvements for Xiph.Org codecs:
- add Speex support
- add Ogg Skeleton support
- fix seeking bugs involving Ogg Theora
Detailed Project Description
Mv_Embed: Accessibility and [re]usability:
Mentor: Michael Dale, Anna (EngageMedia)
Existing Feature Set: Mv_Embed is an existing javascript library that takes html5 <video> tag and rewrites the video tag for to support in-page ogg theora playback in contemporary browsers. MV_embed supports may browsers and plugins including: native browser support such as firefox 3 video builds, oggplay plugin for firefox2 in win, mac, linux ; VLC activX/plugin for win IE, firefox, and mac, linux firefox; mplayer & totem for linux; and java cortado for microsoft, sun, apple java VM for IE, firefox & safari. Mv_embed maps all these plugin javascript systems to a ~near~ html5 spec api enabling web application developers to take advantage of a uniform javascript API for video control and interaction without having to worry about the underling plugin systems. Mv_Embed is used as part of the metavidWiki Project (screen cast).
Proposed Development: Mv_Embed will be enhanced around two goals integration into prominent open source Content Management Systems and better accessibility of close captions and associative video metadata.
Mv_Embed will integrate into existing CMS video extensions for quick "one-off" ogg theora support.
- FilmForge (Drupal)
- ShowInABox (Wordpress)
- Plumi (Plone)
Additional server side components like transcoding to theora, generating thumbnails, and exporting metadata will also be developed. Where time / resources permit server side hooks into ffmepg2theora (for transcoding) and mplayer (for generating thumbnails) will be developed for the CMS systems as well. As OggPusher matures simple hooks will be added to the CMS's to support direct ogg theora clip uploads.
Accessibility & CMML Accessible components of mv_embed consist of obtaining the metadata and putting it into the dom as a child of the video element. Mv_Embed will offer a reference javascript interface for client interactions with that metadata. The metadata will be structured in Continues Media Markup Language (CMML). CMML is a part of the annodex technology set and can either be muxed into the ogg stream or be requested separately via XML. Mv_Embed will negotiate a transport method for the metadata that will work for the given plugin type.(Currently only oggplay plugin supports ogg-skeleton and exposing muxed CMML tracks in the ogg stream).
Mv_Embed is part of MetavidWiki enables community authored transcripts and exposes these multiple layers in CMML. Proposed work on Mv_Embed will generalize these development efforts taking place in the metavid project for other CMS's and improve the usability and accessibility of these metadata layers in javascript based interfaces and mutil-plugin playback environment.
OggPusher
Mentor: Michael Dale ... or anyone else with more experience with firefox extensions/ffmpeg2theora ?
Abstract: OggPusher is a proposed cross platform packaging of ffmpeg2theora as a browser extension. This exposes JavaScript hooks to web applications enabling easy client side transcodes from high quality source originals such as DV or MPEG2 and uploading into web based content management systems.
Sample Application Flow: is as follows: A user visits a oggPusher enabled web service. The firefox user is prompted to install a browser extension via firefox's .xpi extension framework. Once enabled, the web service upload interface does a call to the oggPusher to expose a "open file" dialog box on the client. The websevice access the oggPusher api to set the requested transcode bitrate and other transcode options (such as interlace, number of audio channels, resolution etc). The client selects the high quality local file and begins transcoding to a temporary location on local disk. If there is an error in transcoding the upload is aborted and an error is exposed to web application. Once the file is done transcoding, the web interface has the client issue a POST of the transcoded file.(if the server supports more efficient PUT than that can be used). The amount of the file that has been transcoded and the amount uploaded are exposed via javascript hooks so that web application javascript interface can update the client on upload progress. If the the upload connection is reset a ajax request on the client can request "bytes upload so far" from the server and have oggPusher begin uploading from that point in the temporary local ogg file. A local file hash could be rechecked to insure the local file has not changed. The server can then do a simple join on the uploaded pieces, enabling reusable uploads over existing http protocol. If the server does not support resumes the file will be uploaded from the start.
Features for initial Release:
- A .xpi extension based on ffmpeg2theoa that supports uploading of local files of any type that ffmpeg accepts.
- Supports two modes of operation
- zero server side config where oggPusher just gives the option of uploading theora video where it finds a form file input type.
- server side config where the server/service hooks into oggPusher for extra functionality, like resuming transferrer and status updates integrated with the web application.
- A simple javascript api for controlling ffmpeg2theora encoding options. These options will be pre-demerited and javascript input will be scrubbed to avoid client side security risks.
- A set of javascript hooks for oggPusher that expose upload progress, encoding progress and transcoding errors.
- A sample server side implementation using php/html/javascript for grabbing ogg files from oggPusher.
Future Feature RoadMap:
Once the basic implementation has been deployed the following features will be targeted for future versions:
- Integration with popular open source CMS's first target is mediaWiki.
- Hooks for connecting into "live" interfaces such as firewire digital video input or USB web cams.
- Extend oggfwd and server side components for in browser live streaming to web services.
- Extend to support ffmpeg2Dirac and future open source media codecs.
- Enable javascript hooks for grabbing highquality jpg or png screen grabs from the original source to be uploaded alongside the encoded video.
- Enable Bittorrent uploads
Guidelines for Applying
Remember that many people will apply to work on the Summer of Code.
Keep in mind that those of us evaluating your application do not know you, we do not know what kind of experience you have, we do not know what you have done in the past and we have to pick the best people suited for a particular task.
Hence, it is very important that you tell us in your email why you should be considered to implement a particular project. Please use the application template at Summer of Code Applications as a starting point.