 Today’s
networks are designed to reliably transmit data from point A to point B.
Multimedia places further demand on these networks.
The most exciting
multimedia applications to hit these networks are audio and video. The
terms most commonly used for this type of data are
"video-on-demand" and "video-store and forward".
As
you may know, the biggest driver of streaming technology is the
Internet. As more and more corporations use the Internet and Intranet as
communication tools, they need a mechanism for downloading large
multimedia files over these networks without major issues.
Streaming
video is a great networking application to help relay large amounts of
data without derogating critical applications on the network.
Streaming
Video - What is it?
Streaming technology allows web clients
to access information in a file stored on a server before that file is
completely downloaded. This means that large files can be heard or seen
almost immediately, even with slower connections. This capability
provides what is commonly known as audio-on-demand or video-on-demand.
It allows for the "broadcast" of previously stored
presentations as well as for the broadcast of live events.
The basic components of these products
are a codec, server and software to encode/decode the video and audio.
Codecs are drivers that convert data from one format type to another.
Codecs support various video and audio algorithms. The most commonly
supported video streaming algorithms are MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Indeo and
H.263.
Streaming
Video - Benefits and Drawbacks
Benefits:
-
Allows large multimedia files to be
played over the Internet/Intranet almost immediately
-
Provides the ability to fast
forward, reverse and stop multimedia presentations
-
Allows you to replay the
presentation when convenient
-
No special hardware required to view
the stream on a PC
-
Required plug-ins are incorporated
into the latest browsers
Drawbacks:
-
Video quality can be
perceived as unacceptable for businesses at lower line rates
-
Creating the files needed for
streaming transmission is a time consuming task
-
Currently
there are no governing standards
Formats
employed in streaming technology products usually require proprietary
plug-in programs. In most cases, one company cannot play the file format
of another company.
ADV Communications can provide a range
of streaming solutions, from Tandberg, Polycom,
V-Brick and Atrium,
however due to the requirements of identifying and implementing
webstreaming solutions please contact us
directly for further information on the products and services available.
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