Q: What is "streaming" video"?
Streaming video is live or "on demand" video material that is distributed over the internet. There are three methods used to broadcast internet-based video files::
-
Download - Download the entire file over the Internet, save it to the user's machine, and then play it from the hard disk. The video won't play until it is completely downloaded, and this may cause heartburn to viewers who don't like to wait.
-
Progressive Download - Download part of the file, and start playing the file as the last part of it downloads. The file is saved locally, as if it were downloaded, but playback begins before the download finishes. Less waiting than #1.
-
Streaming - Play the file on the viewer's computer as soon as it is selected much like television. This is considered to be the best method to deliver internet-based video.
Q: What does "buffering" mean?
Networks can sometimes experience bottle-necks distributing data, so the viewer's player stores or "buffers", so to speak, some of the video stream, 5 seconds for example, before playing it. That way, a viewer always has 5 seconds worth of material to play if there’s a network problem. The connection can be interrupted for up to 3 or 4 seconds, and the viewer will never notice it because the player will play the buffered material while it waits for more of the stream to be received. |
Q: What are the different formats used for streaming video?
Windows Media, Real, Quicktime and Flash are the most popular formats used today with Windows Media Player having the greatest number of installations (96%) followed by Real, Flash, and Quicktime. Most experts now consider Microsoft to be the leader in streaming technology considering the quality of their player and installed viewer base. WebTechTV can encode, host and stream video in any format.
Q: Is my computer system powerful enough to view streaming videos?
To see streaming video on the internet using Windows Media Player, your computer must meet the following minimum requirements:
Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME , NT, XP - Pentium or greater 16MB RAM or greater, 2MB Hard Disk Space, 16-bit Sound Card. 56k modem or greater, 256 colors or greater
Mac OS9, OS10, Safari, PowerPC - 16MB RAM or greater, 2MB Hard Disk Space. 56k modem or greater, 256 colors or greater.
Q. Why can't I see the videos on your website?
You must have a broadband connection speed of at least 250K to see most of the videos on our website. Some of our older video were encoded for dial-up modems and you may be able to view them if you your connection speed is limited. Secondly, you must have the Windows Media Player installed on your computer. It's free. |
