Streaming Video - How it Works (and Why it Sometimes Doesn't) (page 2)

Real streaming video, on the other hand, is most often used by producers and distributors with deeper pockets, since it requires a special software server. A streaming server is a specialized piece of software that controls the actual streaming of the video, often adjusting the data rate on the fly to compensate for the vagaries of the Internet. It lets viewers jump ahead to later portions of a clip, skipping entire portions without downloading them. Streaming video files can remain on the server, so no matter how long they are, you don't have to worry about it taking up your hard drive space (although the files can sometimes be found in your Internet Temp directory). This can also work as a theft-prevention and redistribution security tool.

You probably won't purchase and install a streaming server yourself. Most ISPs will not allow you to install a server on their computer - at least not for free. A number of companies will rent you space on their streaming video servers for a flat fee or based on volume. There are also a half-dozen or so companies (see Free for All sidebar) that will give you space on their server for free or at a very low cost. These companies generate revenue either from advertisements or by only offering limited services for free (file size/volume limitations). Although you generally cannot construct your own Web pages with embedded streaming media, free is free.

A common misconception is that streaming video is of superior quality to progressive streaming. In fact, the opposite is true; because progressively streamed video plays off the user's hard drive, the quality is only limited by how long you want to make your viewers wait to download the streaming video clip. With true streaming, however, the quality varies widely with connection speed and the amount of congestion currently clogging up the Internet. As you view a streamed video, you may notice the picture breaking up now and then faces fall into horrific little pieces, and landscapes suddenly turn into a broken mosaic that breaks apart in front of your eyes. All very amusing, but not the desired effect, to be sure. Remember those packets and routes we discussed? You can see the effects of that technological wonder at work as you watch your real-time streamed video clips fall apart when Internet congestion increases. (One solution for viewers: watch your real-time streaming videos at night, when Internet traffic is at a lull.)

As more and more Internet users gain access to high-speed broadband DSL and cable modems, many of the problems with streaming video will begin to disappear . Also helpful will be the ongoing upgrade of the main Internet backbone itself more packet servers, faster connections between them, etc. For now, however, we must make do with the tools we have.

If you're like us, you won't want to wait for the future; you want to stream video on your Web page today. If this is the case, keep these ideas in mind:

The easiest way to stream video is simply to post your video to your web page. If you do so, be sure to encode for progressive streaming.

• Keep your videos short.
• Keep the resolution low.
• Reduce the frame rate (to 15fps or less).
• Compress, compress, compress.

Once you've posted your videos, drop us a line, and send us a URL so we can see the fruits of your labors. Good luck to you all, and happy streaming.

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