| Terminology
Bit, byte, baud, ADSL, ATM, bandwidth,
it seems like new terms are invented
daily. Wikipedia's
Encyclopedia is a great resource
for definitions of technical terms.
Connection Speed
Your Internet Service Provider says
that you are connecting to the Internet
at blinding speeds. Ever questioned
why those high-resolution Sports Illustrated
swimsuit issue photos take all afternoon
to download? Someone might be stretching
the truth. Check your actual current
connection speed at Toast.net.
Download Speed
Ever wonder why those 600 KB digital
photos of your dog that you send to
your entire address book every day
irritate some people? Here's how to
calculate the download pain that you
are inflicting on someone with a 28.8
modem connection:
- 28.8 connection
has an average throughput of 20Kbps.
- 20Kbps divided
by 8 (bit to byte conversion), means
that they are downloading 2.5KB/second.
- 600KB divided
by 2.5KB/second, is 240 seconds.
— 240 seconds divided by 60,
is 4 minutes. You have to ask yourself,
after waiting for 4 minutes for
your photo to download, how much
will your friends like you or your
dog?
Things to know
about multimedia applications...
As with many things in life, the K.I.S.S.
principle also applies to multimedia
development.
- Make your application
intuitive and easy for your viewer.
- Never expect
your viewer to go out of their way
to install special plug-ins.
- Know your target
audience: their technology comfort
level, computer speed, RAM, connection
speed, and any security considerations.
- Application stability
decreases as you push the limits
of the technology.
Things to know
about using media players to deploy
meetings online...
| Considerations |
Flash
Player |
Real
Player |
QuickTime |
Windows
Media |
|
| Able
to deploy video & PowerPoint |
Yes (video
clips < 2 min. best) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes,
but only inside of an IE browser. |
|
| Able
to deploy audio & PowerPoint |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Distribute
over the Internet and on CD |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Supports
SMIL (the W3C standard) |
N/A |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
| Media
Player size and download time
on a 56K modem |
400K (>2
min.) |
8.6
MB (35 min.) |
10.4 MB (43
min.) |
9.6
MB (40 min.) |
|
| Media
Player installation difficulties |
None |
Many
installation options, file associations
options, advertising and opportunities
for confusion. |
Many installation
options, file associations options,
advertising and opportunities
for confusion. |
Many
installation options, file associations
options, advertising and opportunities
for confusion. |
|
| Corporate
Standards for Media Player |
Yes |
Not
usually |
Not usually |
Yes |
|
| Supported
Platforms |
PC or Mac.
Installed on 98% of all computers.
Can also produce a self-contained
exe file so that no media player
is needed. |
PC
or Mac. G2 RealPlayer from 1998
on. |
PC or Mac.
Version 5 or newer. |
PC
only. Internet Explorer 5.5 or
newer. WMP 6.4 or newer. Audience
must have upgraded their browser
/ media player within the last
year. |
|
| Application
Stability |
Very stable,
98% of all computers already have
Flash installed. |
Very
stable. Supports W3C standards. |
Very stable.
Supports W3C standards. |
Uses
proprietary coding which can change
from version to version. Because
it is very dependent on browser
& player versions, stability
can be an issue. |
|
| Server
Support |
No special
server needed. Media files will
play from any standard web server
on any platform. |
RealServer
necessary to stream media. The
RealServer can be deployed on
all platforms. Low volume free
versions of the server are available. |
QuickTime
video server is necessary to stream
media. The server can be deployed
on Mac platform only. Free versions
of the server are available. |
Windows
Media Server is necessary to stream
media. The server can only be
deployed the PC platform. Free
versions of the server are available. |
Things to know
when deploying streaming media...
SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration
Language) is the W3C standard for
delivering streaming multimedia presentation
over the Internet. The RealPlayer
and the QuickTime player support SMIL,
while Microsoft's Windows Media Player
does not. Microsoft uses a propriety
"SMIL like" language built
into the Internet Explorer browser
instead of the media player. Always,
always, always consult with your corporate
I.T. department before deploying video
applications over your network. You
will learn about your corporate standards
for the installation of media player
software as well as many other issues.
It is better to understand these issues
up front rather than after your project
is completed.
About Video Streams
From work: Because of firewall issues,
unless your firewall is configured
to accept streaming video, you will
get a TCP connection which will produce
acceptable results as long as your
network is not congested. If your
network is congested, the file will
rebuffer often. The RealPlayer automatically
tries UDP first, if that connection
fails then it defaults to TCP.
From home: On a
28.8 or faster modem, you will probably
get a UDP connection that is good
for this type of streaming media.
UDP sends "streams of information"
rather than the "packets of information"
used in a TCP connection. On the RealPlayer
you can see what is happening with
your connection and your network bandwidth
by selecting "Tools" then
choosing "Playback Statistics".
The "Statistics" window
opens to the "Bandwidth"
graph. Under the graph is your current
connection speed. If you select the
"Streams" tab, you can see
what "Transport Protocol"
is being used and whether you have
a UDP or a TCP connection. You can
do all of this while the video is
playing. The QuickTime and Windows
Media players have limited versions
of this capability.
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