2010 Second International Workshop on Education Technology and Computer Science
Distance Education of Digital Piano Based on IP Multicast and Streaming Media
Technology
Kun Li
School of Music
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou, China
Email: likun705@163.com
Chao-gang Wang
School of Music
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou, China
Abstract—Based on the studies of present computer distance
education and digital piano, to realize computer distance
education of digital piano by IP multicast technology and
streaming media technology has great significance for
improving, perfecting and promoting present piano
education.
Keywords-digital piano; computer distance education; IP
multicast technology; streaming media technology
I. COMPUTER DISTANCE EDUCATION AND DIGITAL
PIANO
A. Connotations, characteristics and advantages of
computer distance education
The essence of computer distance education is learning
guidance which is based on network and compared with
main bodies separation with each other in the space.
Computer distance education is a new education approach
which is used for knowledge transmission and knowledge
learning and is based on computer technology, network
technology and communication technology. Its network
information resources from the aspects of the quantity,
structure, connotation, type, distribution, propagation
range and transfer means, etc., are obviously different from
traditional information resources. It has technical innate
advantage that combines the modern educational
technology with the practical idea.
The characteristics of computer distance education can
be mainly shown in the following aspects: Ł The flexible
learning time and location. ł The random arrangement of
study schedule. Ń The full question-answering time. ń
The expanded communication range. Ņ The betimes of
relevant information sharing and feedback [1].
Computer distance education also has the advantages
that can not be replaced by any other education forms [2].
Firstly, the high performance and large capacity
multimedia storage technology that can make the service
process of the network distance education be stored by
digital system, so that the educational service is made to be
visible and stored. Secondly, the scale breaks through the
restriction of campus enclosing wall that the present scarce
resources has to be recombined and optimized with the
opening attitude through the Internet. Thirdly, it is
beneficial to integrate education market, realize
educational resources sharing and raising the efficiency
and benefit of education. Fourthly, the learning time and
location are optional, the individualized instruction and as
individual as the person of the teaching rules are fully
reflected.
978-0-7695-3987-4/10 $26.00 © 2010 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/ETCS.2010.330
Sha-sha Zhang
School of Music
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou, China
Dan-qing Sun
School of Music
Northwest Normal University
Lanzhou, China
B. Definition and characteristics of digital piano
Digital piano is also called electronic piano which the
pulse code modulation technology is adopted that not only
has the total functions of mechanical piano, but also has
the functions of special multiple timbre, storage memory,
tone sandhi, audio mixing and metronome as well as the
interface of MIDI, headphone and microphone. Thus the
traditional piano manufacturing technology and this
method are perfectly combined to become more
fashionable.
Digital piano has the MIDI function. MIDI is digital
interface which a kind of hardware connection between
computer and MIDI equipment as well as to control of
real-time music transmission, digital coding of time
information and regulation of the hardware for the coding
transmission. Digital piano is connected with other
facilities by MIDI interface, so that the function of digital
piano is extended.
II. CORE TECHNOLOGY OF COMPUTER DISTANCE
EDUCATION OF DIGITAL PIANO
Computer distance education communicate mainly by
means of various intermediary interpersonal
communication and simulated interpersonal
communication in the materials. Therefore, the important
factors of distance education courses are composed of
interaction and media.
A. IP multicast technology
1) Conception of IP multicast technology
IP multicast technology is a kind of TCP/IP network
technology which allows one or more hosts (multicast
source) to send single data packet to more hosts. The
network composed by IP multicast technology allows
routers to copy data packets to multi-channel. Single
server can send continuous data to hundreds of thousands
clients without delay by multicast. The multicast can make
one or more multicast source only send data packets to
special multicast groups, such only adding the groups that
hosts can receive data packets. The IP multicast is
to-multipoint communication that one of effective methods
to increase network availability.
2) Precondition of realizing IP multicast
Realizing multicast transmission, multicast source,
receiver and the underlayer between them must be
supported by multicast. It includes the following aspects:
Ł The TCP/IP of host must be supported by sending and
receiving IP multicast. ł The network interface of host
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must be supported by multicast. Ń There is a group
management protocol for editing, exiting and searching,
that is IGMP(v1 ,v2). ń There is an IP address allocation
strategy and the third layer IP multicast address can be
mapped to the second layer MAC address. Ņ The
application software supported by IP multicast is necessary.
ņ All of the routers, hubs, switches, TCP/IP protocols and
firewalls must be supported by multicast. At present, IP
multicast technology has wide supports from hardware and
software manufacturers, the IP tunneling technology is a
transition scheme to the intermediate routers that without
IP multicast technology. The above shows that the
application environment of IP multicast technology has
been basic available.
B. Streaming media technology
1) Conception of streaming media technology
Streaming media technology is the technology that
transfer multimedia data stream on the Internet. Such
streaming transmission mode which compresses and
analysises the whole multimedia files into several
compression packets and real-time transmit them to clients
sequentially is adopted that users can decompress and play
the received compression packets as they can download
the subsequent compression packets, so that the time is
saved.
2) Characteristics of streaming media technology
Streaming media technology adoptes the strategy that
downloading, playing and discarding can be made at the
same time. It has following remarkable advantages: Ł The
startup latency is greatly reduced. The users need not to
wait for the download completion of the whole files. ł
The need for capacity of system cache is greatly reduced.
Making up for the effect of delay and jitter with cache
system at client, to ensure the correct of data packet
sequence and the continuous output of media data.
Although streaming transmission mode still needs cache,
but as there is no need to download the whole huge
contents such as animation, video and audio into the cache
as well as to discard the played data. Therefore, the need of
cache capacity of client is greatly reduced and the disk
space of client is saved.
3) Realization principle of streaming media
transmission
Streaming transmission process is usually that there
will be HTTP/TCP between WEB browser and WEB
server to exchange control information after the user
selected so that the necessary real-time data can be
searched from original information. The A/V Helper
program of client’s WEB browser is started and the related
parameters searched from sever by HTTP are initialized to
Helper program, the parameters include directory
information, encoding type of A/V data and server address
related by A/V searching. RTP/UDP protocol is used for
transmitting A/V data to A/V client program by A/V sever
(the client program is usually the same as Helper program).
The A/V client program can not play and output until the
A/V data arrive [3].
C. Realization of computer distance education of digital
piano
1) Conditions of software and hardware
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Digital piano is composed of keyboard system,
phonetic system, projection system and operation platform
system. It has strong compatibility with network education
system. The students call and ask the teacher through
calling device as well as the teacher communicates with
the students by phonetic system. All the teaching activities
will not affect other exercising students. When the teacher
teaches, the students can not only listen to teacher’s
demonstration but also watch the teacher's gesture and
playing posture by video system, so that they can learn the
playing technique and listen concrete acoustics [4].
Based on the realization condition of IP multicast
technology mentioned above, in order to establish such a
network distance education electronic classroom, a server
supported by IP multicast protocol is necessary, or host as
the server and the TCP/IP of host must be supported by
sending and receiving IP multicast. The network interface
of host must be supported by multicast. There is a group
management protocol for editing, exiting and searching,.
That is IGMP (v1, v2). There is an IP address allocation
strategy and the third layer IP multicast address can be
mapped to the second layer MAC address. The application
software supported by IP multicast is necessary. All of the
routers, hubs, switches, TCP/IP protocols and firewalls
must be supported by multicast.
2) Application of computer technology in distance
education of digital piano
The purely auditory is expanded to audiovisual by
computer distance education of digital piano and the
abstract and unreal music is getting more clear and
specific.
The students will profoundly realize the infinite charm
through many kinds of feelings such as vision, auditory,
imagination and sensation, etc. Thus the students' study
interests are greatly improved. Teacher is the master of
electronic classroom who can control the mode switching
of starting, stopping, teaching and answering, etc. by
means of control equipment as well as the teaching
organization. The teachers can listen to and guide any
student’s play by console and teach purposefully according
to every student’s reaction. The students can learn and
adjust his image or sound by means of controller, as
showed in Fig.1.
Figure 1.
III. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER DISTANCE
EDUCATION OF DIGITAL PIANO
A. Transmission process
Digital piano is connected to computer with MIDI
cable by digital technology, the voice of piano can be
immediately transmitted without A/D transformation.
Computers compress and encode the received digital
signal and then send them to server through signal channel
by data packet as well as to make up the effects of delay
and jitter by system cache in order to ensure the correct
sequence of data packet. So the media data can be
continuously output and the teaching voice, data and
image, etc. can be transmitted real-timely to the distal
student’s desktop. The distance learners can study
real-timely like the students at school as long as the they
join the IP group, as showed in Fig.2. All kinds of teaching
content which are converted to streaming files are stored in
the streaming media and the permission of sever is set by
managers that students can share the contents on sever and
control the learning process themselves. So, the teaching
resources sharing and better teaching effectiveness have
been realized. Because the system permission is set, the
user who is not distance education can not visit the website
or when the individual student needs additional guidance,
the other users can not visit.
Figure 2. Transmission diagram
B. Transmission method of video and audio
At present, the method of realizing video and audio
transmission on IP network is to stack a network for
treating media stream on IP broadband network and to
realize the function such as to-multipoint multicast, media
stream router and multi-point injection, etc. by overlay
network. A typical transmission process of media stream is
as showed in Fig.3. From the figure, we can see that after
original video and audio stream are encoded and
compressed, the storage of media file is formed (the
direct-seeding is no need to store file) and then the media
file (or direct-seeding media stream) is transmited to client
media player by media server according to the user request.
The agent server for media content distributing and
forwarding is may necessary in the media transmission.
Figure 3. Transmission process of media stream
In order to realize the better realtime play of stream
media, taking into consideration all the steps of media
stream transmission is necessary. The three most key
factors which affect transmission quality among the steps
are performance and efficiency of encoding and
compressing, performance of media server and quality
control of media stream transmission. Digital video and
audio belong to stream media transmission. To realize
video transmission by IP multicast, the video is usually
real-time video compressed first according to the MPEG-1
coding technology, then compression signal is sent to
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forwarder. The video forwarder mainly sends video signal
from sender to video receiver or lower video forwarder by
IP network, the process is completed by forward computer
which is the core of video signal transmissionby IP
multicast. The video signal is forwarded by IP multicast
and finally received by multimedia terminal equipment of
the user who is in support of IP multicast. Such a
forwarder is controled by video control system that can
establish and manage the transmission of IP multicast data
group at forwarder. The control system has to complete the
data sending to requirement user and monitor video
transmission quality and other parameters of network by
computer at the same time as well as to adjust bandwidth
automatically. Whether the computer real-time control is
good or bad will directly decide the effect of IP multicast
[5].
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The requirements of computer distance education of
digital piano for network are wide coverage, large capacity
of trunk optical and high transmission rate, for bandwidth
are real-time interactive distance education, real-time
video and audio data information transmission. But the
requirement is more than 100M bp/s bandwidth in this way.
Because of the restriction of bandwidth, modern distance
education requirement such as real-time teaching,
real-time answering, etc. still can not be satisfied on
technology, such partial computer networks are not
supported by IP multicast technology that multicast
function need to be optimized and improved.
Such computer distance education of digital piano is
the new thing of music teaching that the education system
and practice still need to be improved and developed, but
as the effective piano education form for improving the
piano teaching teachers, the shortage of site, the teaching
efficiency and teaching level. Its potential and prospect are
worth to expec, we should believe that after continuous
efforts and practice, computer distance education of digital
piano will be the indispensable important content of
modern music education.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank everyone who directly or
indirectly offers his or her help to this study.
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