This information is designed to introduce you to the web broadcasting
& Streaming services we provide. If you are thinking of using
this dynamic service, we recommend you also hand a copy to your IT
manager or venue’s technical team.
Commonly asked questions:
What is video webcasting / broadcasting &
Streaming?
A video webcast is
an alternative way to transmit a TV-like programme to viewers over the
Internet as it happens. Streaming is
playing the programme over the internet after the event
First Sight Media offer:
- A complete Live
webcasting solution to clients wanting to deliver a local, National or
Global message on the internet.
- An 'Almost
Live' solution whereby your event is recorded, uploaded and
streamed online on the same day via the internet. This option is
considerably more cost effective as a webcasting technician and
equipment is not required.
Both the above options require only a simple link
from your web site to our servers, or you may wish to host the file
yourself.
What’s involved in a Webcast?
In simple terms, for a live webcast, we bring
cameras, sound and webcasting transmission equipment to a venue where
you are hosting an event, function or meeting that you want to transmit
to an audience over the internet. We connect the equipment into that
venue’s Internet connection. You publicise the webcast to your Intended
audience in advance of the live broadcast.
After transmission you can choose to have the
webcast left on the Internet for a length of time so that people who
were unable to view it live can watch it at their leisure.
How long can the webcast or streamed
video be?
As long as you like! However bear in mind that
people watching online tend to favour shorter length video compared to
sitting in front of a TV or Cinema screen. We recommend a webcast or
streamed video should last approx 1 hour, but many equally work well at
30 minutes.
Where a daylong conference or exhibition is being
webcast we would recommend webcasting selected chunks of the day and
making these available as a collection of short run webcasts – allowing
viewers to watch the bits they wish rather than having to work through
a long single webcast. These are only recommendations. If you wanted to
broadcast a solid day’s event, this is perfectly feasible.
Can we mix in our own graphics?
Yes. PowerPoint graphics can be vision mixed into
the live Webcast or video to be streamed. We recommend, where possible,
that the PowerPoint presentation is looked at by our web team first to
advise if any of the slides may not communicate well on a webcast
display.
Remember, webcasts & streamed video may be
viewed by some viewers in a small window (viewers can control how big
or small the picture appears on their computer screen) so tiny writing
and busy slides do not usually work.
Can you overlay titles and theme
music, similar to television programmes?
Yes. We can supply equipment to put up live titles
– either at the base of the screen or half or full page graphic
overlays – which can be customised to say what you want to your
audience. This can be very useful to help identify section breaks,
names of personnel appearing and ‘what’s still to come’ messages to the
Internet audience watching.
How big is a webcast or streamed
picture on a computer?
You can make a picture as big or as small as you
like. However there are limitations that can affect the size. We
recommend transmitting at 384 x 288 pixels. In reality, on modern PC
displays running at 1024 x 768, this means the webcast or streamed
video is about 1/6th of the display size. However, the on-screen player
that is displaying the picture to the viewer can be switched into 2 x
or full screen mode, meaning the webcast or streaming can be made to
fill the entire computer screen. Then the viewer can sit back, away
from the computer desk, and watch the monitor as they would a
television. We often find this is a better experience than sitting at a
desk. You can even put a programme into a projector and project it onto
a large screen in a hall or large room if you have lots of viewers.
How much space online will the
programme take up?
First Sight Media offer the service of storing the
'watch on demand' file on the Internet for you so that you don't have
to do anything yourself once the live filming ends.
The size of this file is a simple calculation of
the quality rating x length of transmission. Taking our recommended
quality settings of 350kbps, for a webcast lasting one hour, the file
would occupy approximately 200Mbytes of space. We recommend that the
file be stored on a dedicated server, although some webcasts will work
fine on a regular web server, if you prefer.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.
com/video-articles/the-future-of-broadcasting-global-internet-video-
webcasting-streaming-your-questions-answered-867576.html About the Author
Richard is head of interactive media at First
Sight Media, Live event, webcasting and video production specialists.
Please visit www.
firstsightmedia.co.uk
for more information. | 