Web video
What is Web video?
Very simply it is video viewed on the web. There are some distinctions however. Streaming, progressive download, video-on-demand and webcasting are some of the techniques you might employ to deliver web video. Read on for more information and learn how you can utilize Academic Technologies to realise your plans.
Video-on-demand
Video-on-demand is analogous to watching a DVD on your television. You can watch it any time, and skip ahead to sections that interest you. Academic Tecnologies support both Windows Media and QuickTime formats and space on our servers is available to faculty and researchers. We can assist with the whole process from source material such as tape and DVD, to
Streaming versus download
There are two different methods used for video-on-demand. Progressive download attempts to send you the entire video file at once. Streaming on the other hand sends a continous stream of video to your computer. The table below contains a comparison of some the perceived advantages and disadvanteges of each method:
Playback starts... |
Quality limited by network |
Saves video on viewer computer |
Susceptible to network delays |
Move instantly along timeline |
Works on any webserver |
|
Download |
after entire file downloads |
No |
Yes, but can be disabled |
No, once download completes |
Yes, once download completes |
Yes |
Progressive download |
after some of the file downloads |
No |
Yes, but can be disabled |
No, once download completes |
Yes, once download completes |
Yes |
Streaming |
almost immediately |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes, with some servers |
No |
When choosing a method it is important to consider the connection speeds of your users. For example If you have a large video clip and your users are mostly on dial-ups they would need to wait a very long time for a download to start playing. Streaming the file starts immediately, but quality is limited by dial-up bandwidth. Academic Technologies staff can help you determine what method is best suited for your application.
Webcasting
Webcasting is designed for live applications, and is analogous to broadcast television. Webcasts happen in real time and your audience watches the event as it happens. The audience cannot skip ahead or otherwise control the pace. However, webcasts can be archived as video-on-demand events allowing viewers to watch later at their own convenience. Webcasts are always streamed from specialized streaming servers. |
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