Java and Time Based Media: A Short History

Although the Java platform (standard edition) is a powerful tool for many applications, including some aspects of multimedia, its support of time-based media has never been strong. Until recently (SDK1.3), the only class within the core Java platform that dealt directly with time-based media was AudioClip, a relatively simple class that supported the loading and play of (Sun) AU audio files, and little else.

The Java Media Framework was designed to extend the functionality of Java into the arena of time-based media. It has gone through two major versions with the current release number being v2.1.1.

JMF v1.0 was known as the Java Media Player and provided playback functionality. Two reference implementations were released: one for Windows and one for Solaris. Version 1.1 was a platform independent (or Pure Java) release. Version 1 of the JMF API was developed by Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, Inc., and Intel Corporation.

JMF 2.0 dramatically extended the capabilities of JMF 1.0 by adding streaming, multiplexing and demultiplexing, media capture, transcoding, a unified processing framework, and an extensible plug-in design. It was designed by Sun Microsystems and IBM. Three implementations of JMF2.0 were released: a Pure Java Reference version, as well as an optimized version for Windows and one for Solaris. Version 2.1 of the API added support for Linux as well as increasing support for various streaming video servers. Version 2.1.1, current as of the time of writing, has improved the RTP API as well as added support for the H.263 codec.