IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Bandwidth Requirements

The final quality of Online streams depends on a large extent on how well it is encoded for the particular bandwidth at which it is to be viewed. The usual method of encoding streaming files for delivery over the Internet used to be at a minimum of 56K modem speed - however, these days it is not as much of a problem (especially in north America) since most home and business users have high speed connections. To digitize a movie to stream at low speeds requires a high degree of compression to the footage and audio tracks, which eliminates portions of the data, resulting in low display quality.

In the past it was advisable to also prepare multiple sets of clips of higher and lower quality. When files are encoded for higher speed connections, less compression is used and a smaller amount data is lost. As a result, these high speed files are larger in size and require a faster connection speed to streaming properly.

Users connected to the Internet using a high speed cable modem or DSL connections, can view any streaming media clip which has been encoded for transmission at their encoded connection speed or lower. However, a user who is connected to the Internet using an old 56k modem who tries to watch a streaming movie which has been specifically digitized and encoded for high speed users, for example, will get choppy playback which plays for a second or two and then freezes for several seconds until more data packets are streamed to their PC.

Quality Issues to be aware of

Already more and more users are connecting to the Internet using high speed bandwidth technologies like ISDN, DSL, dedicated T-1 access and cable modems. The rapid growth of these high-speed connection technologies has almost made 28.8 and 56K modem connections a thing of the past. If you have a need for high resolution footage for stand-alone presentations on of your PC or Mac, we advise digitizing your files as either AVI, QuickTime or MPEG formats and play them off your hard drive for laptop presentations or from disk (CD-ROM or DVD)

File Sizes & Bandwidth Relationships

To gauge the file storage space needed when you encode your files, here's a chart which details file sizes based on footage that has been encoded at different bandwidth speeds. Although these are some of the more common alternatives, you can encode files using any bandwidth settings you specify.

The Format Conundrum

Should your movie be encoded as RV, Windows Media,  Flash or QuickTime? This can sometimes be a hard decision to make - though not so much any more. Often times these decisions were based on your personal preference, but these days, Flash (flv) is the out and out winner due to its ubiquitous nature on the Internet. Even though Real and Windows Media claim to have over 200 million of their viewer plug-ins already in use, the reality is that 98% of systems these days come pre-installed with Flash Players in all the browsers. In the past, some media producers used to solve their format dilemma by digitizing their files in multiple formats. This is now a thing of the past and anyone using these techniques is obviously not up on the latest advances in streaming and compression technologies.

Delivery Over Corporate Intranets

Streaming media which is to be transmitted over a corporate Intranet can be encoded at even higher speeds as long as you're not already suffering from internal bandwidth constraints on your network. As mentioned before, the higher the speed one encodes at, the higher the audio and media quality.
 

Comparisons

The single most important issue in encoding your movie clips is how good they'll look to the majority of visitors on your web site. Different encoding companies used to use different hardware, software and encoding processes, but these days, even though various software are still used, the processes are becoming more and more standardized and similar. Encoding streaming media for balancing speed and quality is an art as much ast a science and you need to be extremely careful when comparing quality. Make sure that the quality you seek will be possible over the transmission speeds your viewers will be using.

Always remember that whenever a movie clip is encoded at a higher bit rate per second, the quality improves dramatically but this could result in a choppy playback if the viewer's system cannot keep pace.

To add streaming media to your web site, you can send us your DVD, Mini-DV, Umatic, Beta, Hi-8, DVD, VHS or even S-VHS clips using our  submission form. We provide media encoding services for customers all across North America and can be reached toll free at 877-936-8377 or in Vancouver at 604-926-5805 - or e-mail us at info@mediastreams.ca

See our various Production Services offered to corporate and small business clients in Vancouver BC and all over USA and North America.- including taping of Live Events

For the most creative Event Video Production in Vancouver call us at 604.926.5805

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