About Video
First, let me say that video on a professional Web site had best
be done by someone who specializes in just this area. A typical
Web site designer does not! The samples on this page that I have
created were just for fun and are by no means professionally created.
Working with Streaming video is a very time consuming process and
I just don't have that kind of time or expertise. The best streaming
video on the Web is produced by media companies. CNN, Time Warner,
etc.
A plug-in is required to play video. There are several and they
compete. This can be very confusing. Each time a user downloads
a new media player, it takes over as the primary application for
certain types of file extensions. You can not predict which one
your site visitor will be using to view your media.
Streaming verses non-streaming
Generally, to "stream video over the Web requires a streaming
server. QuickTime can stream in a unique way without a streaming
server. You can read more about streaming servers at real.com's
Real
Server page. This can be a very expensive venture as it requires
a lot of bandwidth. The theory is that the viewer will not have
to wait for the large video file to download client-side before
beginning to play because it begins to play as it streams from the
server. This is not always perfectly so. May times, the movie will
stop to re-buffer or "net congestion". Real media movies
stream.
QuickTime is another type of technology that does not require a
streaming server, although it can be streamed. For more information
on QuickTime visit http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/.
The newer Macs have some very cool built in software (imovie) that
works well with quickTime.
Both Real Media and QuickTime movies require some preparation work.
First, good video has to be recorded. Next, they need to be edited.
This is the time consuming part! For this you need some editing
software, a lot of hard drive space and quite a bit of expertise.
Lastly, the movie needs to be encoded into the .rm of .mov format.
Mpeg is yet another option for Web video delivery. This can be
a much simpler process depending on the tools used. Many of the
Sony Digital cameras sold today have the capability to record short
.mpg movies that are Web ready. This is what I use! Remember, I
do not claim to be an expert in the area of Web video. What I do
is short and simple.
Flash
Flash movies can include video. The video would still have to first
be created in mpg. or .mov format, then embedded into a Flash movie.
For more information on this technology, visit
Video
Resources and Embedded
Video
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