Sights And Sounds

Most Web integrators are pretty quiet about it, but there is plenty of ongoing R&D focused on uses for audio and video technology on the Internet.

Inforte, Chicago, is working with portal giant Yahoo on a broadcast-related project to create applications that could be used for corporate communications or training, among other things. Likewise, Capita Technologies has a strategic alliance with a Chicago-based organization called Draft Worldwide, which studies how communications can be improved on the Web, says Christian Mouritzen, director of marketing at the Deerfield, Ill.-based group.

"Most of our sites include audio now. That is going to be a regular entry. In six months, no site will be built without sound," Mouritzen says.

Logical Design Solutions is studying how 3-D graphics and streaming video can help its client, Face2face.

With Draft's help, the solution provider is studying how streaming video may be used in training and knowledge transfer applications, although there is little activity on the B2B side.

Still, interest in audio and video is building. In part, this was the inspiration for the launch earlier this year of Graphics Gem, a San Mateo, Calif.-based ASP that extends existing Web sites with interactive 3-D graphics capabilities.

Logical Design Solutions, Morristown, N.J., is starting to see video and audio considered for updates of Web sites, says Bob MacAvoy, vice president of client services at the company.

"In the B2B arena, video and advanced multimedia are usually used for information that is time-critical or where visuals really enhance the user experience," MacAvoy says.

Uses for streaming video are mainly limited to sites constructed for major media and entertainment companies, says John Harne, chief creative officer at Lante, Chicago. But animation, including VRML technology, is increasingly being studied by corporations looking for collaborative design tools, such as engineering firms that are developing new products and have development teams in disperse locations.

"We're able to create an environment that simulates real environments. All of a sudden, applications are there," Harne says.