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Title: STREAMING MEDIA - Leveling the Playing Field for Small Business
- Part III
Author: Don Rhodes
Article:
IS YOUR WEB SITE READY FOR PRIME TIME??
In the first two articles on streaming media, I discussed audio,
the maturest streaming technology, and streaming pictures, which
marries photos and graphics with an audio presentation. (If you
missed these two installments, please go to
http://www.wbcimaging.com/articles/audio_article.htm). I'd now
like to tell you about streaming video, the hottest and most
exciting media development on the web today!
Just as television progressed from the black and white,
sometimes snowy, broadcasts of the 1940's and 50's to the
elaborate home theatre systems of today, streaming video is
making the transition from tiny, blurry pictures to 1/4 screen
color presentations with near CD quality sound. And with
surprisingly good quality over the 28.8 connections that most
web visitors experience today! I credit this breakthrough to
RealNetworks, the creators of RealVideo, which is currently the
most popular streaming video format in use. (Others about which
you might have heard or read are Vivo and Microsoft NetShow.) At
the end of the first quarter of 1999, RealNetworks reported that
over 45 million of their FREE players had been downloaded; this
number is growing by 15,000 per day!
An online streaming video presentation is another marketing tool
that is now affordable and extremely effective. Streaming video
adds far more than just a personal touch to your web site; it
actually sets you miles apart from your competition. As with
streaming audio or pictures, a video presentation guarantees
that at least 86% of your visitors will stay to listen or to
watch. Statistics have shown that over 90% of white collar
workers have a PC on their desks, but only 9% have access to
television in the workplace. That means that you can reach more
white-collar office workers during normal office hours than all
of the network and cable stations combined.
Streaming video enables you to combine the best attributes of
web-based media with the compelling nature of broadcast media.
On-line advertisers are realizing significantly higher
click-through rates with the adoption of streaming media
technology. Recent studies have found that streaming media
advertising substantially increases brand recall, brand
awareness, and positive brand perception. This really gives you
the opportunity to deliver a powerful message about your
products or services - much like having your own, personal
"infomercial. " Unlike a television infomercial, however, yours
is available for one fixed price and it runs 365/24/7... thanks
to the Internet.
Your streaming video presentation can be submitted on VHS tape,
CD, and DVD; most encoding companies will be able to use those
formats. (If your presentation is in another format, such as
8mm, check with them before sending the media.) The quality of
the finished product will be dependent upon how it's encoded for
transmission. Standard practice is to encode video to stream
over the Internet at 28.8 connections. In order to stream
smoothly at this slow speed, an extremely high level of
compression is required for both the audio and video tracks.
This compression causes small portions of the data to be
"eliminated." (That's why some of the video presentations you
now see are not as clear as you would like them to be. With the
advent of higher bandwidth, however, this situation will vastly
improve in the future.) When completed, your encoding company
will provide you with web ready files to place on your site, or
you may choose to have your encoding company host your
presentation.
There are many businesses that can use streaming video to their
advantage. Companies that sell training materials are the most
obvious. Because streaming media can be played upon demand,
employees and/or customers can view materials when they have
time to concentrate on the content. This is a valuable selling
tool, especially if your customer has employees in remote
locations. Your encoding company can also set up your materials
to be password protected; this is especially attractive to
corporations who would like to use the Internet for internal
communications.
Streaming video is also an excellent choice for product
demonstrations, especially when the product's features are
difficult to explain using only text or still pictures. Caterers
and restaurants can give potential customers tours of their
facilities or show clips of some of their "special events" such
as weddings. Hotels can show corporate accounts their meeting
rooms, accommodations, and leisure-time facilities. Country
clubs can take new members to the golf course or have them take
lessons from the golf pro. Health clubs can show-off their gym
facilities and the amenities in the locker rooms. Realtors can
take interested buyers, especially those in cities far away, on
a tour of the town in which a property is located. Universities
could showcase their laboratories, their libraries, or their
dormitory facilities. The list could go on and on...
I hope that in these three articles I've whetted your interest
in utilizing streaming media to enhance your web site. Just
remember the following: 1. Find a company that is reputable and
understands what you are trying to accomplish at your web site.
(For a list of companies that are members of the RealNetworks
Design and Production Agencies, see:
http://real.com/devzone/solutions/design). 2. Be certain that
the samples of their own work meet your criteria for
professionalism. (Warning: if a video pauses during playback,
this is not the fault of the producer or of the video stream. It
could be net congestion or a heavy amount of traffic on the
site!) 3. Do not judge on price alone! Turnaround time, hosting
capabilities, and technical knowledge have associated costs that
are often overlooked.
Streaming media is affordable, enjoyable, and is only going to
grow in importance to those of us doing business on the web.
Enhance your web site, your business, and the profits at your
bottom line with streaming media...it's a sound business
decision.
About the author:
Don Rhodes, owner of WBC Imaging, a company specializing in web
site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. Mr.
Rhodes is a broadcast engineer who believes that the Internet is
the media delivery system of the future. Please direct all
questions and comments to: info@wbcimaging.com WBC Imaging
520-742-5780 http://www.wbcimaging.com
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