Overview
Streaming technologies
enable the speedy delivery of large media files over the Web by utilizing
advanced multimedia technology to deliver and play back audio and/or
video content to you while it is being downloaded, as opposed to not
being able to begin playback until after the file has been completely
downloaded.
Reality Check
Before you jump
with both feet onto the bandwidth wagon, consider the following issues:
- Streaming video
files have to be converted from your analog video requiring special
hardware/software and expertise.
- Do you need
a continuous broadcast or single looping file?
- Streaming video
files are served to the public from a special server set-up
- Streaming video
files have to be embedded in your webpages to play
- Users must have
certain browser plugins to be able to play your files
Pedagogical Issues
Many educational
institutions are adding simple video or audio Web casts to the traditional
set of teaching tools to extend their education programs. Streaming
video has many applications for education which include broadcasting
classes and presentations, both live and on-demand; disseminating lectures
and conferences; providing training materials directly to the desktop;
expanding access to research materials, providing more robust distance
learning for remote students etc.
Examples:
Univ. of Miami uses streaming to showcase student's productions in the
School of Communications http://www.miami.edu/com/umtv/video.htm
Examples of how
streaming is used in an introductory Chemistry laboratory class at Eastern
Kentucky University http://www.mediaresources.eku/chemistry/default1.htm
Technical Issues
Production --
creating streaming video files requires professional equipment and expertise
at several levels. The IRC has all that you need to produce a high-quality
streaming file.
Serving
-- Streaming Video files are stored on a special streaming server at
GMU. At this time, there is limited space for this technology. For more
information, contact Dan Veloce, dveloce@gmu.edu
Using --
there are a variety of browser-based players that can play streaming
video (see the the following URL for a list of top choices http://cws.internet.com/avstream-date.html).
RealNetworks'
RealMedia player
was the first
Audio/Video Streaming Tool introduced and
is still
one of the most widely used. It is available for free download at http://www.realplayer.com.
Others include
Windows Media Player and QuickTime.
Hardware/Software Requirements
On the PC platform,
a Pentium II or better running at no less than 200 MHz is required. No
less than 96 MB of RAM, is strongly suggested, especially for video capture.
It is not uncommon to have 300 MB of RAM on capturing stations. A video
and/or audio capture card is required with the proper cabling to connect
to a VCR, CD player, microphone, cassette player, or whatever the media
source may be. Generally, video and audio are captured uncompressed and
then processed for the Web. Real Media Producer is an easy to use program
to convert analog video to digital video.
GMU Support Services
References
Vendor information:
http://www.realnetworks.com
http://www.realnetworks.com/resources/startingout/get_started_faq.html
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