Focused Technology Advances Series Scalable Video Coding for Telepresence in the Performing Arts

With the development of broadband networking technology, the focus in the new media and performing arts community is shifting towards distributed telepresence performance (also known as telematic performance) – a scenario where two or more groups of performers, located in geographically distant sites, are able to perform interactively for the audience located at either site, or in an independent venue. For a number of years, universities and research centers in North America have been linked with gigabit optical networks whose high bandwidth makes such performances feasible. Yet, we are not seeing many of such events available to the wider audience. Part of the reason is that the traditional performance venues, theaters and music halls, are not linked to the high-bandwidth research networks and therefore cannot accommodate the high bandwidth requirement associated with these events.