Distributed interactive media are media that
involve communication over a computer network as well as user
interactions with the medium itself. Examples of this kind of
media are shared whiteboard presentations and networked computer
games. One key problem of this media class is that a large amount
of common functionality is currently redesigned and redeveloped
for each single medium. In order to solve this problem we present
a media model and an application level protocol called RTP/I.
Derived from the experience gained with audio and video
transmission using RTP, RTP/I is defined as a new protocol
framework which reuses many aspects of RTP while it is thoroughly
adapted to meet the demands of distributed interactive media. By
identifying and supporting the common aspects of distributed
interactive media RTP/I allows the reuse of key functionality in
form of generic services. Furthermore RTP/I makes it possible for
applications of different vendors to interact with each other in
a standardized way.
