|
|
Rich and Streaming Media
Looking to advertise using the latest rich media technology?
i2Eye Infotech provide the technology, the design expertise, or both.
Rich media is a great application, and not just for consumers. True, consumers are watching videos on MTV.COM and listening to Internet radio, but the real power of streaming media TODAY is business applications. Imagine holding a business meeting and allowing hundreds of remote participants to become involved and interact. Think of how great training would be if it were simultaneous and consistent. Imagine if you could lead your prospects though a complex simulation of your product or service interactively. You can even get double the mileage out of your trade show booth, capture specific presentations and archive them or stream them live.
 What is Streaming?
The term
streaming
has become fairly broad in definition and now generally refers to media, such as video and audio, that is delivered over a network. Often this term has a more specific connotation for movies that are delivered to personal computers over the Internet.
There are two common approaches to streaming today: Realtime streaming and progressive streaming. Generally, if a video is being broadcast live or a streaming media server or protocol is used, such as RTSP (realtime streaming protocol), it is realtime streaming. If an HTTP server is used, the file is being delivered via progressive streaming.
Cleaner also supports files that must be downloaded entirely to the hard drive before they can be played. Downloadable files are common practice for MP3 and MPEG files, but can also be used for RealSystem and Windows Media files.
Choosing a streaming method
Which delivery method is right for your project depends on your needs. A brief discussion of each method follows.
Windows Media and RealSystem only support realtime streaming; QuickTime supports delivering files via both realtime streaming and progressive streaming. For optimal results, you should prepare your movie specifically for the delivery method you decide to use.
Progressive streaming
Progressive streaming, also known as progressive download, refers to online media that users can watch as the files are downloaded. The user can see the part of the file that has downloaded at a given time, but can?t jump ahead to portions that haven?t been transferred yet. Progressive streaming files don?t adjust during transmission to match the bandwidth of the user?s connection like a realtime
streaming format. Progressive streaming is often called HTTP streaming because standard HTTP servers can deliver files in this fashion and no special protocols are needed. QuickTime?s fast start feature is an example of a progressive streaming technology.
Progressive streaming delivery is well suited to short movies that you want to be viewed at high quality, such as movie trailers and product advertisements. This method guarantees the quality of the final movie because the viewed portion of the file is losslessly downloaded before it is played. This means users may experience a delay before the movie starts, especially with slower connections.
 Realtime streaming
Realtime streaming refers to technologies that keep the bandwidth of the media signal matched to that of the viewer?s connection so that the media is always seen in realtime. The word realtime differentiates this type of streaming from HTTP streaming delivery. Dedicated streaming media servers and streaming protocols are required to enable realtime streaming. RealSystem, Windows Media and QuickTime all offer realtime streaming capabilities.
Contact i2Eye to explore the ways in which rich and streaming media can work for you. |
