When a company like Intel puts out something as seemingly simple as a format for three-dimensional images, the politics of PCs and the Internet industry quickly come to the fore.
On Tuesday, the company announced MetaStream, a new file format for 3D objects. All well and good, but a consortium working on standardizing that very technology would prefer that Intel work within the system.
What makes the format special, Intel said, is that it's capable of detecting the processing power available and rendering the three-dimensional resolution of an object accordingly. The higher the processing power, the more detailed the 3D image.
"This format lets you create an extremely detailed 3D image," said Intel spokesman Joshua Weinberg, "one that would carry you through generations of PC processors, but at the same time scale down."
Intel said it will openly publish the specification so developers can freely create MetaStream content, applications, and authoring tools. Specifically designed for the Intel architecture, MetaStream will be co-developed by Intel and MetaCreations, the company that created it.
But its scalability is also what makes MetaStream well-suited to delivering 3D content over the Internet, where information can flow in a relative trickle. "Objects appear instantly as the data streams in and the quality increases," Weinberg said.
MetaStream solves some of the "fundamental impediments preventing 3D from becoming truly successful on the Internet," declared a press release.
Here's where things get sticky. There's already a similar, high-profile effort under way at the VRML Consortium. The consortium is a nonprofit industry group promoting and developing an existing open standard in 3D content on the Internet. Known as VRML 97, it is already established and recognized by the International Standards Organization.
A group within the consortium is working to incorporate streaming 3D through low-bandwidth connections into VRML 97. This is the main point of the consortium -- to standardize new technology for the benefit of all. With this accomplished, companies can then compete with interoperable software and hardware products that use the standard, which helps float all boats.
The CEO of one company active in the working group, Intervista, said Intel should work through the standards process like everyone else.
"Whatever they do for streaming delivery, they should propose to the consortium working group," says Intervista CEO Tony Parisi. "... Anything they do to confuse those issues [to position] their own technology is ultimately going to create confusion in the marketplace and slow the progression of 3D."
Though Intel didn't say anything about submitting its file format to any standards body, Weinberg said the company has no intention of preempting any standards process. Furthermore, he said the technology only partially pertains to work going on at the consortium.
"This is an additional [format] with additional new capabilities and it's not Web-only," Weinberg said. Because the format would apply to 3D content in games and other non-Internet-specific applications, Intel felt that the format was relevant to a broader market than the one that the VRML Consortium targets.
Weinberg said Intel simply wants to drive the 3D capabilities of its architecture, on current and future Pentium processors -- and sooner rather than later. "This is something that's usable now," Weinberg said.
But it is also this Pentium-focused aspect of MetaStream that motivates Intel to push the technology. Even as the company pitches MetaStream as an openly available specification, Tuesday's announcement positions it as a Pentium-focused technology, designed and developed especially for the Intel architecture.
"We want people to have a Pentium II system and go to a Web site and get a great 3D experience," Weinberg said. "We also want that same user ... to get an even better experience [after upgrading that system]. This is the kind of technology that can deliver that." It wasn't immediately clear whether the specification could be implemented across different platforms, but after consulting with Intel personnel, Weinberg said it could.
Actually, what Weinberg's inter-generational Pentium scenario speaks most clearly to is Intel's overall interest in 3D. "Intel is bullish on anything that promotes multimedia computing. The reason should be obvious," said Intervista's Parisi, referring to the technology's potential for processor demand.
"Intel would love to drive more and more people to the high end of the Intel processor base," added 3D consultant Robert Pearson. The company's cost margins are now under pressure, Pearson said, and the high end of the company's processor line needs consumer motivation. "They definitely want to see these things coming out so people see that their processors are slow and [they'll] upgrade."
So Intel leads the cheerleading for new efforts in 3D technology -- from Microsoft's plans for building 3D capabilities into its operating system (Chrome), to the technology of the VRML Consortium.
"They're (Intel) extremely big supporters of VRML," notes Intervista's Parisi. Neil Trevett, president of the VRML Consortium, agrees. "I think we all share a common goal" Trevett said.
So, is MetaStream seen as unwelcome competition by the consortium? Not necessarily, Trevett said.
"I think we can avoid a competitive situation." Trevett even sees the advent of MetaStream hastening the consortium's work on the file format.
But if the two technologies did become competitive, Trevett said, VRML has the upper hand. "VRML is an established [International Standards Organization] standard," he notes. "VRML has a large lead in terms of installed base and momentum."
But for now, Trevett and others are conciliatory. "I see the endorsement of MetaStream as the kind of thing Intel does because they're supporting multimedia," said Parisi.
"If MetaCreations and Intel can find a channel out there for their technology using VRML as a carrier ... then both sides can benefit," Trevett said. "I'm hopeful that can be the path forward."
It's premature for standards talk, Intel's Weinberg said, but the company is keeping an open mind. "We're not setting out to say this will be incorporated into a standard. If there is a desire to incorporate it, we'll be very open to it."
