This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will study the feasibility of creating a cross-platform authoring environment for consumer multimedia. The rapid expansion of the multimedia installed base and the increasing number of hardware configurations have produced a strong need for methods of efficient and flexible cross-platform multimedia programming. The proposed environment will consist of both a script level and a higher level graphical interface, and will allow efficient and flexible control using buffering, caching, advance interfaces, and other features not available in other authoring environments. Furthermore, the development of a detailed design methodology will allow for efficient and effective portability across multiple platforms with a variety of hardware configurations. This Phase I project will begin with the analysis, design and specification of such a system. The project will include the development of a prototype system under Microsoft Windows, which will serve as a tool for benchmarking and studying issues of time-slicing and multi-tasking. Finally, the proposed project will research several target consumer multimedia platforms and study portability and design methodology issues. Upon completion of the Phase I project, a full implementation of the cross-platform authoring environment can begin.
