Two major products are available for streaming audio and video from
websites. The most widely used streaming solution today is provided by
RealNetworks of Seattle, Washington. The runner-up is Windows Media
Player form Microsoft. Before deciding on which of the two product is
best for you, it is important to consider the nature and amount of streaming
media content that you wish to provide. Do you plan to broadcast live
webcasts or will all audio and video presentations be pre-recorded
and delivered on-demand. Will your streamed content play a major or
minor role on your website? How many concurrent users do you expect to
have?
Although it is feasible to deliver pre-recorded audio-video presentations
from conventional web servers, it is preferable to use servers that are
specially designed for media streams. A
key consideration is hardware and bandwidth, which can be very expensive if
the solution is not well architected. Many businesses elect to host
their streaming media content on separate servers from their conventional web
content. The streams can be easily invoked from a webpage on the main website.
Streaming media solutions are evolving very rapidly so it is important to
obtain the latest technical information from each of the two vendors,
Microsoft and
RealNetworks.
