FULL MOTION RUSSIAN VIDEO! -- A first!

[Benjamin Sher]

Dear Colleagues:

A quiet (or not so quiet) technological revolution has taken place
recently that affects all of us in a very positive way, namely, the
availability for the very first time of full motion Russian videos.

At the present time, Russian videos are available only on the St.
Petersburg Fitness Center or, as they call themselves, International
Shaping. I certainly hope other Russian videos become available
elsewhere. If I hear of any, I'll let you know (no matter whether they
use RealPlayer or any other multimedia client).

The Web site for the St. Petersburg Fitness Center is at:

http://www.shaping.ru

When you reach the site, you will see one of the most spectacular
home pages on the Net, absolutely dazzling in its design and
functionality. Now click on the TV-ARKHIV on the left.

If you happen to misplace the address, you can always find it on my
Sher's Russian Index under Radio-TV, St. Petersburg Fitness
Center. The address for the Index is provided at the bottom of my
signature.

To continue with the explanation about full-motion video.

This is due to the recent decision by RealPlayer to incorporate Intel
technology into its new RealPlayer G-2 player, available FREE from:

http://www.real.com

Make sure you get the FREE RealPlayer G-2, not RealPlayerPlus G-
2, which costs money and is most likely UNnecessary.

The audio output of the new RealPlayer G-2 is superlative (as you
no doubt already know from Radio Free Europe LIVE and audio clips
and other radio stations), and I personally am still using a 33.6
modem (though I will be upgrading to 56K next week). But until now
it was only the audio that was first-rate. The video remained a
sequence of 10 or 15 frames out of synch with the audio and very
disappointing. NOT ANY MORE!

Last month RealPlayer introduced its new RealPlayer G-2 Beta 2
WITH the new Intel technology. Suddenly, overnight, we have full-
motion video. It is streaming video, which means that it will start
playing the moment it connects with the video clip. The streaming
will not work as well yet in LIVE mode, but in on-demand VIDEO
mode it's like a little TV screen on the Net.

To use the RealPlayer G2 you must have a computer with at least
100 Mghrz, though 133 Mgrz is recommended and at least a 28.8
modem .

The St. Petersburg Fitness is one of the strangest Russian sites I
have yet seen on the Net. On the one hand, it is a beauty site
(Chudo Krasoty), with lots of photos of (and occasional videos of
interviews with) some of Russia's most beautiful women (Miss St.
Petersburg, Miss Rossia, etc.). I assure you this is very legitimate,
quality site, the women are all clothed and very impressive. On the
other hand, the site has a very large cultural section with dozens of
videos (usually lasting 30 MINUTES or so in full color) on a variety
of subjects including philosophy, literature, education, religion, film,
physics, biology, etc. etc. delivered by leading professors and
specialists. Most of these lectures are broadcast from a small
studio and usually involve lively discussions with several
participants. It makes you think of early TV. The point is that now for
the very first time the video and audio are fully synchronized. This
may not seem like much, but for us non-native Russian scholars,
teachers, students, etc., who have been waiting for a lifetime for
this, this is indeed a revolution. And it is available ON-DEMAND,
which means that you can play them when you want to and as often
as you want to. Finally, the discussions are very interesting, the
Russian is clear and pure and while fully professional, usually
delivered in a slower tempo and speed than you would hear in a
movie. We all know the frustration of watching movies in Russian
(or in any foreign language, for that matter). These are NOT lectures
for foreigners in kiddie Russian. These lectures are meant for adult
Russian viewers.

I am extremely puzzled and baffled by the strange COEXISTENCE of
the beauty pageant part and the wide range of cultural offerings on
this site. I have never seen anything like it. Perhaps someone can
enlighten us about this. On the one hand, this site is clearly for the
super-rich, I gather, the new class in Russia. On the other hand, the
cultural part, while obviously keeping a distance from any topical
discussions on the burning issues of the day, seems to indicate
something
else.

A very important technical note:

For some strange reason, I have been UNABLE to access the St.
Petersburg Fitness Center using Netscape 4.06. I have NO IDEA
WHY. I get one of those 404 Error messages. Yet, I have no
problem whatsoever with Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 (and as of today
Internet Explorer 5.0 Beta 2, which I just installed).

This is not all. Until the RealPlayer G2 with Intel came out, I had the
opposite problem: I was able to access the site using Netscape 4.0
(4.06, etc.) but could not access it with Internet Explorer, which told
me there was a conflict with IE. I was able to access the site with
both browsers (and I am sure you can still do so) using the earlier
RealPlayer 5.0. But that version does NOT have the Intel technology
and will not offer you the full-motion experience I am talking about.

I am not an engineer. Perhaps someone on the list is and can help
us out. Please tell us if you have had problem accessing the site
with Netscape (using the latest RealPlayer G-2 Beta 2 with Intel
technology -- look under RealPlayer's Help, then About for
confirmation that this is the right version). I have already sent a
detailed report on this to both RealPlayer and Netscape but who
knows whether they are listening.

The good news is that if you can't access the site using Netscape
Navigator 4.x (or Netcape Communicator 4.5 -- haven't tried that
one), you can always download Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 for free.
Do NOT download the new IE 5.0 yet. I don't want to be responsible
for any mishaps. You won't need it, and it won't make any difference
in this case. I am not here to recommend one browser over another.
I am simply trying to help you access Russian audio and video
broadcasts, no matter how they are delivered or by whom.

A final comment about the beauty pageants on this site:

I recall with shame a parody of a Russian beauty pageant once
shown on Saturday Night Live during the Reagan era (I think). It
showed a parade of very UNattractive and aged babushkas walking
down the runway (or whatever they call it). A very ugly and ludicrous
and outrageous parody whose purpose was merely to add to the
already confusing image Americans have of Russians.

The parade of stunning, slender, youthful, sexy and voluptuous
women (many of whom are professional and college educated
women, by the way) that you will see on the St. Petersburtg site will
go
far towards eliminating these idiotic stereotypes once and for all.


Yours,

Benjamin

Benjamin Sher
Sher's Russian Web and Index
http://personal.msy.bellsouth.net/msy/s/h/sher07/