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If you
want to post audio or video on
the Internet, you have many
options and it can be
confusing. This article
looks at streaming audio and
video over the Internet via
Windows Media Player and Real
Audio/Video.
When
you are beginning your quest
to put your audio or video on
the Internet there are a million questions.
How do I record it?
Which
format is best? How
much does it cost? A million questions but the end
result is the same:
| You
are
sending a file to a
computer so the end user can see or hear your content BEFORE THE ENTIRE
FILE HAS DOWNLOADED
(Progressive Download).
This is important; since most
people won't wait for
a large file to download; unless
they are on a very fast
connection. |
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Why is the Internet not as cool as
TV? Can you say..... BANDWIDTH ?.
To deliver quality
multimedia today over the internet it is technically challenging since
about 40% of the time your are doing this through 56 k modems.
Think about a set of "rabbit ears" in the old TV
days. Many people are upgrading to faster connections, but the
infrastructure is still
relatively primitive.
The
quality of a stream over the
Internet depends on the Protocol (or set of instructions) used to send that information over the network. Microsoft uses it's own protocol
mms:// (Microsoft Media server)
which uses a special part of a Windows 2000 or 2003 Server to send files in a "streaming" format (mms:// ) as opposed to a more basic file transfer method
http:// (hyper-text transfer protocol; the basic internet
transport protocol).
When you convert your content file to .wma
for
audio
or .wmv for
video
you are compressing the file so that it
arrives through your browser to a "player program", (WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
or Real Player) as opposed to an MP3 which
has
to
be
downloaded
and
then read from your hard
drive.
To achieve this effect you must
create 2 files. The first (ASX, .ra) is to tell the browser/player to
open, and the second is the .wma, .wmv, .ram; which is the content file itself.
You
create
these
2
files
and
upload
to the server.
When a browser opens
the text file; it points towards the
content file. The player opens and you begin viewing/listening to the
content.
To
create
the compressed file you
normally record or
convert
an
existing file using the free
Windows
Media Encoder. or use any
advanced audio/video editing
software.
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Chris
Cowan