CUHK 
P R E S S   R E L E A S E

Chinese Version

23 June 1997

Hong Kong 1997 Handover - Live on Internet

Internet users, local or overseas, will be able to witness a series of events and official ceremonies that mark the change of Hong Kong sovereignty and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government live on a 48-hour non-stop Internet broadcast.

The Computer Services Centre of The Chinese University of Hong Kong has lined up with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and 18 major local and global ISPs to offer a live video and audio broadcast covering all the major events and official ceremonies, at various locations in Hong Kong from 12:00 noon, 30 June to 12:00 noon, 2 July 1997. The live video will include live core feed coverage of events such as Governor's Departure, Handover Ceremony, SARG Inauguration, Marching of People's Liberation Army, Reunification Gala as well as the spectacular fireworks over the Victoria Harbour.

"Hong Kong will become the focus of the world at this unique moment. We wish this live broadcast will not only bring the images to the world audience but also boost the development and upgrade of the Internet service in Hong Kong." said Dr Stanislaus Y C Hu, Director of the University's Computer Services Centre.

"It is also the first time in Hong Kong to offer a 48-hour non-stop live Internet broadcast. Every second during these 48 hours will be an unforgettable moment in history. We shall not allow for any hiatus. We have been working with RTHK for a long time and the Centre has the expertise for such an unprecedented live broadcast which covers most part of the world." Dr Hu added.

The live broadcast will be sent to servers of local ISPs via Hong Kong Internet eXchange (HKIX) so that Internet users can access to. HKIX was set up by the University's Computer Services Centre as a neutral interconnection point for the routing of intra-Hong Kong Internet traffic. Without such an interconnection point, local traffic within Hong Kong has to be routed through the United States, which is highly undesirable because the long-distance circuits are very expensive and are often of relatively low speed. As of June 1997, 34 commercial ISPs are connected which included major regional and global ISPs.

Besides local major ISPs, the University will collaborate with InterPacific Online in Canada, Bay Junction Technology, Inc. and Progressive Network in the United States to set up mirror servers for overseas users to view the video at real time. Three advanced protocols: RealVideo/ RealAudio, CU-SeeMe and MBONE will be used.

Interested internet users can access the live broadcast on the website of the University at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/97event or RTHK at http://www.rthk.org.hk. Besides the live video, the University will also provide information on research projects, publications as well as seminars and talks regarding the transition of Hong Kong held at the University.

Members of the media interested in visiting the Computer Services Centre and follow-up interviews please call Ms Cheung Man-yi of the University's Information and Public Relations Office at 2609-8896.

Project Description and Content

Project : Internet Live Broadcast of Hong Kong 1997 Handover

Time : 12:00 noon, 30 June 1997 to 12:00 noon, 2 July 1997

Content :
1. Live video core feed coverage
2. Live audio from RTHK Channel 1 in Cantonese

Technologies:

RealVideo/ RealAudio
RealVideo and RealAudio is a streaming video/audio technology from Progressive Network. Bandwidth consumption is under 23 kbps for each individual stream. CUHK will split video/ audio streams to ISPs, and ISPs can set up their own Real Server to serve their own audiences.
CU-SeeMe
CU-SeeMe is a video-conferencing technology. Bandwidth consumption varies from 20 kbps to 80 kbps depending on the speed of connection on client side. CUHK will send video/ audio streams to reflectors, and ISPs can set up their own reflectors to serve their own audiences.
MBONE
MBONE is a virtual network composed of islands that can directly support IP multicast, such as multicast LANs, linked by virtual point-to-point links called "tunnels". Bandwidth consumption of MBONE is under 512 kbps. CUHK will use MBONE software to multicast video/ audio streams out to any interested ISPs.

Collaborators and their websites:
Live broadcast will be on the websites of CUHK at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/97event and RTHK at http://www.rthk.org.hk as well as the following sites:

Hong Kong

Canada Taiwan U.S.A. Topology