Other Tango Interactive Platforms

Last updated: $Date: 1999/11/03 15:06:47 $

Background

In "Recommendations for Tango Interactive Platforms" we suggest a specific hardware/software environment for use with Tango. Though we expect this to be the best and most easily supported platform, it is far from the only one in which Tango will work. This page is intended to provide information about other environments in which Tango Interactive is known or intended to work.

Note that the audio/video conferencing component of Tango, called BuenaVista, is the most platform-dependent part of the system because it must interface with all kinds of audio and video hardware. If a/v conferencing is not critical to your use of Tango, you will find that it works fine on a pretty broad range of platforms.

Netscape Communicator

The browser is crucial to the successful operation of Tango. In the fast-paced world of browser development, we often find that new releases introduce new bugs, which may effect the operation of Tango Interactive. Often specific browser releases will have fatal problems, while those both before and after will not have the same problem. In this vein, Netscape Communicator 4.6 should be avoided.

"Wintel" PC Systems

Although our recommendation mentions only Windows NT, Windows 95 and 98 also work fine with Tango. That recommendation specified Windows NT because (a) we find it is somewhat more stable than Windows 95/98, and (b) it is easier to control the configuration and software environment under NT. This is especially important in a classroom environment. But for general collaboration, you need not upgrade from Windows 95/98 to NT just for the sake of Tango. Audio and video hardware with drivers that conform to the published Microsoft standards should work okay. Unfortunately, sometimes even very popular or high-quality hardware does not come with conformant device drivers.

Besides our specific recommended platform, we have in general had good experiences with the following for use with Tango:

Winnov Videum products (both cameras and capture cards)
Panasonic Eggcam cameras
Video capture products based on the Brooktree 848 chipset
Cameras purchased in combination with video capture cards are more likely to work together than cards and cameras purchased separately

and we have had bad experiences with the following:

Cameras using a parallel port
Cameras using a USB port on Windows NT systems (NT does not yet support USB)
Old (>3 years) Intel Video Smart Recorders (we have found that these tend to crash or hang newer PCs)
Cameras purchased separately from video capture cards -- we have found that card/camera combinations are more likely to work together well

SGI IRIX Workstations

Starting 1 January, 2000, the only configuration supported by Tango is IRIX 6.5.4+ on the O2 workstations. This is especially critical for videoconferencing. Specifically, we don't support BuenaVista on any of the following hardware platforms, regardless of the IRIX versions: Indy, Indigo, Oxygen, Onyx, Challenge. BV may or may not work on such machines, but we cannot provide any troubleshooting, help, or advice for such configurations

Linux Workstations

Tango Interactive has been ported to Intel-based Linux systems. Considerations here are pretty much the same as for Wintel environments, but please note that the Winnow video capture card and camera in the recommended PC platform is presently the only reliable video solution under Linux. BuenaVista (a/v conferencing) for Linux is currently in "beta", with final release expected in March 2000.

Macintosh Systems

Sorry, but Tango Interactive does not work on Macintosh systems, and there are no plans for a port. The problem is that the Mac version of Netscape does not include LiveConnect, which is crucial to the way Tango Interactive functions.

Special Audio Environments

There are cases where sites will be interested in special audio setups, for example to give instructors more freedom of movement.

Because of the importance of audio to the effective use of Tango for education or collaboration, we recommend extreme care and extensive testing be used with special audio setups to insure that quality is maintained. Testing must include remote site(s) because their audio setup will interact with yours, possibly causing echos, feedback, etc.

With that caveat in mind, here is some audio equipment that we have used successfully in conjunction with Tango.

Wireless microphones

AudioTechnica MT830CW lavalier microphone, ATW-1031 Bodypack system, ATW-R10 professional wireless diversity receiver. See http://www.audiotechnica.com/guide/wireless/1000.html

Wired microphones

Shure Unidirectional Dynamic Microphone (Radio Shack model SM58, catalog number 970-0293)
In general any unidirectional dynamic mic should do
A microphone stand is highly recommended

Mixers

Radio Shack Optimus SSM-50 two-channel mixer with tone control

Echo cancellers

Actually, we have no experience with these so far -- they're a little out of our price range for casual experimentation. But if you have one that could be used in a Tango environment, we'd be very interested in talking with you about some experiments. The challenge of echo cancellation in a network-based environment like Tango/BuenaVista is that the network can sometimes introduce long delays in echos, so the canceller must have a very long tail to be effective.

If you have any questions or comments about these recommendations, please contact the Tango Interactive Support Team <tango-support@npac.syr.edu>