The technical details for showing video over the internet can
be complex and confusing. We are experts in sorting it all out
for you to get you the best running, sharpest results. Below
are some technical specifications and terms you can use to
familiarize yourself with online video technology.
Quality
Expectations shift from the quality expected in the broadcast
world to what is acceptable to an Internet viewer.
Broadcasters face a number of variables as they select a
technical solution to deliver video assets over the Internet.
Broadcasters must consider streaming formats, data storage
strategies, live streaming vs. video-on-demand strategies,
reporting techniques, encoding bit rates, ad serving, costs
and bandwidth. However the quality of online video has
improved tremendously with the growth of broadband Internet
connections and better compression technology.
The process of capturing, preparing and video compression
The captured segments are encoded into an MPEG4 file
the video has been edited and captured, The final step is to
encode it in a format for viewing on the Web. The two most
popular streaming formats are from Real and Microsoft;
QuickTime is a distant third. Encoding into multiple formats
will allow more users to see the posted video, as not everyone
is capable of viewing every format. Choosing an appropriate
bit rate is key. Minimally, choose one that is modem-friendly
— 28K or 56K — or that gives a higher-quality experience like
128K. If resources are available, 300K is a popular next step
and yields strong results. There are clear cost trade-offs
here: The higher the bit rates and greater the number of
streaming formats, the more expensive it will be to create and
serve video.
The compression/decompression component is called a codec and
there are different codecs for both sound and audio. Some
formats, like mpeg, require another component called a
splitter to be able to separate the video from the audio.
Video compression - codecs
Video codecs is the actual code for the video
compression/decompression. There are different codecs
available for compression and for decompression. Typically
developers of codecs charge money for using the compression
codecs but allow sharing of the decompression codecs. In other
words, they want money from the one who create the video not
everyone who watches it.
Popular video formats
AVI
Avi is perhaps the most common video container format
introduced by Microsoft.
WMW
WMW is the new is a more recent video format from Microsoft.
The big difference compared to the AVI format is that it has
support for DRM and can be streamed over the internet.
MPEG
Mpeg is available in several versions and is a standard for
video. The mpeg standard includes both the format of the video
and the audio and how they are compressed. MPEG1 was designed
for videos on CDs, Mpeg2 for videos on DVD. The latest mpeg
version for video is mpeg4.
Real video
The real video format is also a container format with
compression. There are several versions of the real video
compression. The real format was originally designed for
streaming video over low-bandwidth internet connections. |
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Flash video
Flash video is the video format supported by the flash player.
Since almost all users has the flash player installed it is
very popular for publishing videos on internet. Using flash
saves you the issue with having to make sure users have the
right codec or plugin installed. You can almost rely on users
having the flash player.
Quicktime
Quicktime is Apples format for video. It is a container format
as well as compression algorithms. Quicktime is most popular
with Mac users as it is installed with all Apple computers.
Deploying and delivering video on the Internet
The second step in publishing video to the Web, delivery, is
the process of distributing encoded video to the public.
The most important technical aspects of choosing between
serving video internally and outsourcing are access to
reasonable bandwidth (routers and switches of adequate
capacity as well), and the ability to load balance the video
servers for scalability and reliability.
Serving video is expensive, as is the disk space to store it.
It uses significantly more bandwidth than traditional Web
serving, especially at higher bit rates. Whereas a single T1
can serve a number of Web pages, just 10 simultaneous video
streams can saturate it, rendering an entire website useless
if it is sharing the same bandwidth. Shop around before taking on the ambitious
project of internally serving; it is a consumers' market for
outsourced serving of video. Many of these vendors have
effective methods of delivery that will provide the user with
a superior overall viewing experience.
Other considerations
There are other important issues related to video serving that
complete the environment, including ad serving, traffic
reporting and live streaming.
The ability to serve ads with the video streams is an
important consideration to serving video, especially if it is
part of the revenue model. In addition to several outsourced
solutions, there are stand-alone packages on the market that
are capable of inserting ads as well. Consider where in the
video stream the ad is to be inserted, how buffering is
handled and product scalability — not all products are created
equal. Outsourced solutions will often prove most economical
for low-volume applications.
Consider traffic statistics when creating a video-serving
environment. Traffic reports (including streams served,
average length of stream served, media player and abandonment
rates) are helpful in characterizing video usage and
identifying problems. The ability to measure server and
network traffic is vital for capacity planning as well as for
identification of trends. Several stand-alone monitoring
packages and outsourced solutions are available.
Until this point, discussion has centered on video-on-demand
vs. live streaming. The principles are the same: ensure a
quality input signal, encode into as many formats as is
practical and point the resultant streams at servers that will
be available and can handle the load.
For broadcasters, making video content available for the Web
does not have to be excessively expensive or complex. Key
issues are to identify realistic requirements for video
acquisition and delivery quality, reporting and ad serving
that meet the individual broadcaster's budget and business
requirements. While getting started, do not hesitate to
outsource all or some of this process to not only to get
serving video more quickly but to learn from the experiences
of others, ensuring a successful implementation. |