Network Resource -> Octoshape

Octoshape is a peer to peer streaming media server and client which uses peer to peer grid technology to minimize the bandwidth for any broadcaster to stream any material.

How Octoshape works

Octoshape can be used to multicast stream audio (Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WMA) and/or video (MPEG-4, Nullsoft Video, or WMV and other codecs), or any other stream of data, over the internet. Octoshape uses peer to peer grid distributed bandwidth to minimize the load of the broadcaster's bandwidth where each listener/viewer will relay parts of- or the whole stream they download to several other nodes in the grid. This is the trick behind octoshape, because it makes the grid 100% stable with no interruptions in the sound or video when peers logoff.

Pros

• Octoshape provides the following advantages over conventional streaming technology:
• Allows any multicasters, particularly small or independent ones, to distribute their streams without need for much bandwidth, reducing costs.
• Allows (in theory) an infinite number of listeners as long as there are enough relays (see below).
• When a relay is lost, peers underneath it do not lose their connection to the stream and will continue playing
• There is no need to reconnect to another relay. (Normally a peer would have to accept the point in the stream the new relay is at, potentially causing a skip or repeat in the stream like PeerCast does)
• The project is currently in production with large public broadcasters and is very stable
• Java based beta versions are available for Linux and Mac based systems.

Cons

• It is closed source
• Shifts the broadcaster's share of the cost of bandwidth to the listeners instead by running servers on the listeners machines.
• May put listeners at risk of violating their ISP's Terms of Service, particularly with respect to the operation of servers.
• May degrade the listener's network uplink connection due to the extra bandwidth load of the server component.
• The EULA seems to prohibit users running network monitoring software (e.g. firewalls, spyware blockers, bandwidth managers, network monitors, etc.) on their computers which might monitor, interdict, or intercept "any process" of the Octoshape software.
• Octoshape reserves the right to expand the scope of what its software does on listener's computers.