Open lecture: JackTrip with Chris Chafe and Mike Dickey

JackTrip is a multi-machine technology which supports bi-directional flows of uncompressed audio over the internet at the lowest possible latency. Developed in the early 2000's, it was used in intercontinental telematic music concerts and a variety of musical experiments using high-speed research networks as the audio medium. Its ability to carry hundreds of channels simultaneously and its lightweight architecture led to a range of applications from IT for concert halls to small embedded systems. The pandemic has ushered in a new phase of development driven by musicians seeking solutions during lockdown. Major improvements have focused on ease of use and the ability to scale across worldwide cloud infrastructure. With orchestral-sized ensembles urgently in need of ways to rehearse on the network and most participants running their systems over commodity connections, this "new reality" runs counter to what's required for ultra-low-latency rhythmic syncronization. Many developers and musical practitioners have joined in the cause of finding adequate solutions. JackTrip which has generally been run as a native software application is now complemented by dedicated solutions including numerous Raspberry Pi-based systems, standalone physical web devices, and browser-based WebRTC and Pure Data versions. The recently established JackTrip Foundation is a non-profit clearing house for open-source development, training, and support of partners and affiliates providing their own roll-outs of the technology.

www.jacktrip.org