In Part One of this article, we defined streaming media and compared it to other forms of media. In this concluding piece, we describe in greater detail the aspects of streaming media available today..In Part One of this article, we defined streaming media and compared it to other forms of media. In this concluding piece, we describe in greater detail the aspects of streaming media available today.
Streaming Media Servers
Streaming media is distributed from specially designed software aptly known as a streaming media server. The purpose of streaming media servers is to overcome the limitations of Web servers in delivering real time audio and video data (streaming media). Skipping the technical details, the end result is that audio and video playback is smooth, high quality, and without disruption or delay. Just like my digital cable’s “movie on demand” feature.
Streaming media servers allow you to deliver content to a wide audience of users with good quality because they can accommodate users on fast or slow connections. They can automatically detect the speed and quality of the connection and adjust to maintain the best quality playback automatically.
A lesser-known but commercially important feature of real streaming media is that the viewer cannot easily save the stream to a hard disk. This is a major advantage to copyright holders as it prevents the easy redistribution of their product. Website operators also gain significant new ground as now the customer has to come to the website to obtain the content. Naturally, on membership-based sites, an active membership would be required.
Streaming Media Clients
Just like Web servers talk to Web browsers (the client software), streaming media servers also talk to their own client software. Confused? I guarantee you already have it installed on your computer. Windows Media Player, Real Player, and Quicktime are all streaming media clients. They are all capable of connecting to a streaming media server and playing media for you at very high quality, the kind of quality that just might entice you (and your customers) to stick around or spend a little more on a Web site.
Streaming Pre-recorded Content
Streaming media servers can deliver pre-recorded content with the added quality of service advantages. To measurably improve the quality of your customers’ experiences, get those files hosted on a streaming media server. Those same old MP3, WMA, MPEG, QT, or RM files can turn into something special though the magic of the streaming media server.
Streaming Live Content
Forget about web cams with pathetic one frame per second updates via FTP. With streaming media you really can deliver full motion video via the Web (often called webcasting). If the end user has a reasonably fast DSL line (384kbps or better), the video experience can approach that of television. Conducting a live audio/video web cast requires a streaming media server (web servers can’t do it) and streaming media production software that can broadcast to the server.
Start Webcasting
To broadcast audio or video from your PC live you’ll need a few things:
1. A web service provider that provides streaming media service,
2. A piece of software that runs on your PC which handles the production of the media stream and sends that to the streaming media server,
3. A video capture card or decent Web cam if you are broadcasting live video, and
4. A reliable broadband connection capable of at least 128Kbps uploads.
Discussing the details of the setup on your PC is beyond the scope of this article. There are some simple settings that your Web service provider will give you, and some decisions to make about the quality and type of audio/video you will be broadcasting. Suffice to say that if you are interested in webcasting you can do it without too much effort.
What Does It Cost?
The software you will need to webcast is free. That’s right, I said free. While you can sometimes pay big dollars to get full-featured webcasting production software, the vast majority of people reading this article will do just fine with the free versions of the software. Larger operations will be interested in the paid versions that support the use of multiple camera or recorded inputs on a single PC.
Streaming media service providers vary in price dramatically (just like Web hosting). The same rules of caveat emptor apply (see my previous article on selecting a web hosting provider). Streaming media is a much more specialized market than Web hosting, so don’t be surprised if you can’t find a company offering the service at a price you can afford.
Most reputable outfits handling streaming media are geared towards the larger corporate client. At Premier Adult Hosting we will handle clients the need as few as 5 simultaneous streams. Figure on spending at least $100 / month with a setup fee to get started with live broadcasting, and somewhat less if you want to stream pre-recorded content.
Streaming media can burn up a LOT of bandwidth very quickly if you have a few dozen simultaneous streams going. Just twelve people watching a medium quality streaming video can consume a T-1 (1.5Mb) worth of bandwidth. Just three people viewing a high quality video stream can fill a T-1. It’s important to find a provider who can handle this volume of data at prices you can afford. To launch a streaming media service we upgraded our own network to OC-12 SONET (622Mbps), cut some aggressive deals with several upstream providers, and developed innovative ways to price our service beyond just measuring the Mb or GB consumed.
Streaming Increases Website Stickiness
Dust off your dot com vocabulary and recall the meaning of the word “stickiness”. For those not in the know, stickiness refers to the capability of your website to attract and retain visitors. For membership sites, increased stickiness might result in better member retention. Users cannot easily record streaming media. That means each time they want to view their favorite video or listen to audio they have to return to your website. And if they cancel, access to the media content also goes bye-bye. This may be just what you need to bolster ailing membership revenues.
Making Money With Streaming
Regardless of how interesting a technology is, from a business perspective the bottom line is how many dollars it can generate. Streaming media can be dispensed in the same fashion as many membership-based sites offer video clips – unlimited use for a monthly fee. The downside to this approach is that while usage may be unlimited, so is the cost of providing the service. Heavy users of the service of a fixed-fee basis can drive your cash flow into the red. A more sophisticated approach is to offer streaming on a pay-per-view basis. This may be a system where a customer buys access to a number of movies or minutes per month for a flat fee. There are several variations of this. The point is to form a direct relationship between cost and revenue to ensure profitability.
Summary
Streaming media technology has been steadily advancing over the past three years. The current state of the art presents many exciting and practical possibilities for commercial profit. A well-executed streaming offering can serve to differentiate your service or website from your competitors. The quality and sophistication of streaming also offers users a better experience than the download, buffer, and play approach used on most websites. Media streaming may be a better mousetrap for delivering audio and video content that you are looking for. And who doesn’t want to catch more mice?
Michael Marinello is the owner of Premier Adult Hosting and a 7-year veteran Internet technology consultant. Through Premier Adult Hosting, Marinello and his team offer the adult industry access to advanced hosting, consulting, and technical services not otherwise readily accessible to this audience. Their expertise helps clients get an edge on the competition and solve business problems, build stable platforms, find new solutions, and ultimately improve gross revenue and profit. Premier Adult Hosting offers shared and dedicated hosting, security, independent consultation, and collocation services.
Marinello’s non-adult consulting practice has serviced clients on the Fortune 500 and Wall Street. Marinello applies his extensive background in business, network security architecture, and Web-based systems to clients of Premier Adult Hosting with the same exceptional results. He can be reached at mike@premieradulthosting.net or via ICQ # 172303844. The Premier Adult Hosting website is located at http://www.premieradulthosting.net.
