News Release: World Wide Web Consortium Releases SMIL 2.1 as a W3C Recommendation

Based on cooperation with leading Mobile Industry associations, the W3C 
has published Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL 2.1) as 
a recommendation, setting a new standard for mobile multimedia and 
introducing new features for multimedia authors. For more information, 
please contact Janet Daly at +1 617 253 5884 <janet@w3.org> or the W3C 
representative in your region.

World Wide Web Consortium Releases SMIL 2.1 as a W3C Recommendation
Multimedia Technology Ready for Mobile Devices

Web Resources
This press release
   In English: http://www.w3.org/2005/12/smil-pressrelease.html.en
   In French:  http://www.w3.org/2005/12/smil-pressrelease.html.fr
   In Japanese: http://www.w3.org/2005/12/smil-pressrelease.html.ja

Testimonials from ACCESS Co., Ltd. | CWI | INRIA | KDDI R&D Laboratories 
Incorporated | NRCD Research Institute
   http://www.w3.org/2005/12/smil-testimonial

The SMIL 2.1 Recommendation
   http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/REC-SMIL2-20051213/


http://www.w3.org/ -- 13 December 2005: The World Wide Web Consortium 
announces the publication of Synchronized Multimedia Integration 
Language (SMIL 2.1) as a W3C Recommendation. Thanks to enhancements in 
SMIL 2.1, W3C is well on the way to making multimedia presentations on 
mobile devices a reality.

"Today with SMIL 2.1, W3C makes good on the promise of first class 
multimedia presentations for the mobile Web," explained Chris Lilley, 
Chair of W3C's Hypertext Coordination Group. "Many vendors have already 
voiced their support for SMIL 2.1, in addition to the 3rd Generation 
Partnership Project. "

SMIL Already Adopted by 3G Mobile Vendors

The new features of SMIL 2.1 are the result of strong coordination 
between associations of users and the Synchronized Multimedia (SYMM) 
Working Group. Building on the experience of the 3rd Generation 
Partnership Project (3GPP) deploying SMIL 2.0 on mobile devices, the 
SYMM Working Group has standardized the SMIL 2.1 Mobile Profile. The 
SMIL 2.1 Extended Mobile Profile has been defined to include all modules 
of the 3GPP2 "SMIL Language Profile, revision A" and some additional 
modules of SMIL 2.1. W3C looks forward to continued work with 3GPP2 to 
converge on a single profile in order to promote the interoperability of 
technologies such as the Multimedia Messaging System (MMS).

SMIL 2.1 Modularization Facilitates Profiling, Reuse, and Implementation

SMIL (pronounced "smile") is an XML application that enables simple 
authoring of interactive audiovisual presentations. SMIL 2.1 has been 
redesigned as a series of composable modules based on the framework 
provided by the W3C Recommendation Modularization of XHTML. A "profile" 
of SMIL 2.1 is a set of modules.

The SMIL 2.1 Recommendation defines three new profiles, useful for a 
broad range of applications: SMIL 2.1 Language Profile, SMIL 2.1 Mobile 
Profile, and SMIL 2.1 Extended Mobile Profile. The Mobile and Extended 
Mobile Profiles have been created to match the capabilities of a wide 
range of mobile devices, with animation and enhanced layout and timing 
features being the primary additions to the Extended Mobile Profile.

SMIL 2.1 also explains how to define additional profiles. Dividing 
features into modules makes it easier for markup language designers and 
implementers to incorporate those features into new markup languages in 
a consistent and effective manner.

SMIL 2.1 Makes Authoring Easier, Enhances Transition and Layout Features

SMIL 2.1 augments the toolbox of the multimedia presentation designer, 
including full-screen transitions, enhanced visual layout capabilities 
such as background image tiling, and enhanced audio layout capabilities, 
including fade-in and fade-out.

The new Recommendation also allows authors to predefine sets of 
parameters that may be referenced multiple times in a presentation, and 
across presentations. This reuse not only makes it easier to author and 
maintain content, it also reduces the size of SMIL presentations, 
another factor that can improve performance on mobile devices.


Testimonials for SMIL 2.1 Recommendation

These testimonials are in support of SMIL 2.1 as a W3C Recommendation.

In English: ACCESS Co., Ltd. | CWI | INRIA | KDDI R&D Laboratories 
Incorporated | NRCD Research Institute

     As a co-editor of the SMIL 2.1 specification, ACCESS is very 
pleased that SMIL 2.1 has been successfully reviewed. ACCESS has long 
been an active supporter of open Internet standards, and we will 
continue to contribute to leading global st W3C to ensure the 
development of future open standards. SMIL is an excellent mobile 
multimedia technology that enables exciting new mobile services. 
Certainly for 3G the combination of SMIL 2.1 and full Internet browsing 
will play a key role in delivering advanced, media-rich mandards 
organizations likeobile services. ACCESS has already shipped its own 
NetFront SMIL Player to more than 10 million mobile phones and we plan 
to fully support SMIL 2.1.
     — Dr. Tomihisa Kamada, CTO & Executive VP, ACCESS Co., Ltd.

     CWI is proud to have contributed to SMIL 2.1. We see the 
development of the new Mobile and Extended Mobile SMIL profiles as being 
a tangible answer to the growing need to align media integration with 
the capabilities of modern mobile delivery platforms. We are also 
pleased to see the layout and parameter-passing mechanisms of SMIL 2.1 
standardized in a constructive way: this should help the development of 
inter-operable media CODECS on a wide rang of target devices. CWI's 
multi-platform implementation of the new features and profiles of SMIL 
2.1 in the Ambulant Player (see: ambulantPlayer.org) have demonstrated 
the viability of the new specification.
     — Dr. Dick Bulterman Head, Convergent Media Infrastructures Centrum 
voor Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI) Amsterdam, The Netherlands

     INRIA welcomes the release of SMIL 2.1 as a W3C Recommendation. 
Multimedia and telecommunications are high priority application domains 
among research directions at INRIA. With this new version, we believe 
that SMIL 2.1 will have a greater impact on mobile multimedia 
applications such as multimedia messaging and mobile streaming services. 
In particular, the new features will allow SMIL 2.1 to target a wider 
range of Web clients with different capabilities. INRIA is proud of its 
contribution to SMIL 2.1 as an open standard that will enable new 
interoperable applications for the Web and the mobile world.
     — Gérard Giraudon, Head of Development and Industrial Partnership 
Department, INRIA

     KDDI, as a member of the W3C Synchronized Multimedia working group, 
is pleased to see that the SMIL 2.1 specification has been approved as a 
W3C Recommendation. Our world-leading 3G mobile content delivery service 
"EZ Channel" based on SMIL 2.0 Basic is now increasingly fascinating our 
customers. The newly created SMIL 2.1 Mobile profiles can significantly 
enrich mobile multimedia contents and provide powerful interactivity on 
mobile devices. We expect that the SMIL 2.1 will become one of the key 
technologies in the 3G mobile applications.
     — Yasuyuki Nakajima, Executive Director, KDDI R&D Laboratories 
Incorporated

     National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities 
Research Institute is very pleased that SMIL 2.1 has been approved as 
W3C Recommendation because of its excellent accessibility features:

        1. Modularity and profiles provide a wide array of tools to 
address the diverse needs of persons with disabilities.
        2. Full accessibility and internationalization of all modules 
ensure that SMIL presentations can reach anyone and bring them any kind 
of content for working, learning, or emergency.
        3. The introduction of the new mobile profiles will help 
bringing accessible multimedia content to persons with disabilities 
using mobile devices.

     — Hiroshi Kawamura, Director of Social Rehabilitation Department, 
NRCD Research Institute

W3C Contacts for this news release:

Contact Americas, Australia --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East-
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
Yasuyuki Hirakawa <chibao@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing 
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its 
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run 
by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT 
CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and 
Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in 
Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of 
information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and 
various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new 
technology. To date, nearly 400 organizations are Members of the 
Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/


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Received on Tuesday, 13 December 2005 17:17:09 UTC