Headspace Releases Beatnik Player 2.0
 March 29, 1999
Headspace, Inc.(www.headspace.com),
the interactive audio leader and creator of Beatnik technology, today announced
the release of Beatnik Player 2.0. The enhanced version of this popular Web
audio player adds seamless cross-browser support for both Microsoft Internet
Explorer and the AOL browser, joining Netscape Navigator 4.5 which already includes
Beatnik as part of its standard install.
The
Beatnik Player 2.0 (550 kb) is available for free download today at http://www.headspace.com/to?player.
Headspace also announced today the release of the Beatnik Player Pro 2.0, with
CD-quality audio (44 khz at 16-bit) and a 6 mb soundbank. The Beatnik Player
Pro 2.0 is available for $19 at http://www.headspace.com/to?player-pro.
"Our goal to continually push the envelope of audio on the Web to meet the
demands of both consumers and developers has led to the creation of an advanced
player," said Thomas Dolby, Founder and Chief Beatnik of Headspace. "The Web
community can now use Beatnik Player 2.0's unique interactivity on a variety
of platforms and still benefit from the faster downloads made possible by the
red-hot MP3 encoding."
Unlike typical linear MP3 players such as WinAmp, Beatnik Player 2.0 is multi-channel,
non-linear, highly interactive technology that is easily accessible, user-friendly
and is rights-secure. As a result of this cutting-edge development, both musician
David Bowie and MTV's Online division have chosen the Beatnik Player 2.0 and
the Beatnik Developer Tools to deliver interactive Beatnik content to their
site visitors. Web surfers can immediately check out the new features at David
Bowie's web site http://www.davidbowie.com/
that features an experimental "interactive MP3"-encoded version of his number
one hit song "Fame." Bowie fans can now use the Beatnik Player 2.0 to remix
the drum, bass and guitar parts, re-create their own grooves and modify the
song structure while controlling Bowie vocals.
"I knew Thomas as a brilliant keyboard player, but we hadn't worked together
since I played Live Aid at Wembley in 1985," said David Bowie, world-renowned
musician and creator of his own BowieNet Internet Service Provider. "This new
stuff he's doing with his Beatnik technology is amazing. He's shown me ways
to provide my fans with the most cutting-edge technology and make BowieNet unlike
any other music site on the Web. Thomas and his company are really blazing a
trail for music in the twenty-first century."
This latest version of the popular Beatnik Web audio player represents a significant
technological breakthrough: It is the Internet industry's first creative use
of the controversial MP3 compression algorithm in an interactive and copyright-protected
context. Beatnik's audio tools put a secure "wrapper" around MP3-encoded music.
Record companies and copyright protection societies are delighted with Beatnik
Player 2.0 because it is virtually impossible to illegally duplicate and redistribute
Beatnik's RMF (Rich Music Format) files. Visitors to MTV Online and BowieNet
will therefore be able to enjoy fast-loading musical Web pages which let them
directly interact with their favorite music, re-mix tracks in real time and
create their own customized soundtracks. The Beatnik Player 2.0 achieves this
by encrypting multiple MP3-encoded audio samples within a single, trackable
RMF file. Headspace owns multiple patents relating to this technology.
By incorporating interactive, secure MP3 into Beatnik Player 2.0, Headspace
continues its commitment to provide fast, reliable audio for Web enthusiasts.
Because its authoring APIs are based entirely on industry standards such as
HTML and JavaScript, MIDI, WAV and MP3, Beatnik can be considered an "open development"
system which enables other software and music vendors to build their own interactive
web applications on top of the Beatnik platform. A full set of content development
tools is available from the product section of the Headspace Web site. These
tools can be used to create interfaces for interactive MP3, and integrate well
with graphical and animation technologies such as Macromedia Director, and Flash
as well as Sun's Java technology.
The Beatnik Player 2.0 has recently been bundled with both Netscape 4.5, and
Intel's Pentium III, in addition to shipping with Macromedia's Dreamweaver,
Director, and NetObjects Fusion. Beatnik technology was selected by Sun as the
core audio engine in its latest Java 1.2 Virtual Machine.
The Beatnik Player 2.0 and the Beatnik family of tools provide an important
function for e-commerce companies and corporate marketing departments who need
to build strong branding identity on the Web. Beatnik-enhanced sites and Beatnik-sonified
ad banners can be used to drive traffic to Web sites, keep visitors engaged
longer and build strong brand awareness.
For more information, visit their web site at www.headspace.com.
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