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Webcasting & Internet Broadcast Video Production:

Digital Production Group makes the distinction between Web casting and Internet Broadcast in this way:

No matter what you decide to do Digital Production Group can be your one-stop-shop by hosting your video for you at very reasonable rates with the reliability of the big companies.

Streaming Media: Windows Media Vs. Real Media Vs. Flash Video Vs. QuickTime

We know it's confusing choosing the appropriate format for you online videos. Hopefully this breakdown will help you understand the ins & outs of streaming media and the different available formats.

The following examples of streaming media use the same clip edited on an Avid and rendered off with specs that are as close as possible within the format's parameters. The video used is a video that we recently produced, shot and edited for the new Dodge Charger. This video is segment 1 of 4. It was shot on 4 different formats: Mini DV, Mini DV Cam, DV Cam & Beta SP. This format of Product Placement in Entertainment News is quickly becoming one of the most popular advertising vehicles on both the Internet and on Television.

Format:
Video Size:
Frames Per Sec:
Bit rate:
Video Encoded:
Audio Specs:
Flash Video - Flash 8
320 x 240 pixels
29.97
546 Kbps
500 Kbps
48 Kbps 16 Bit
Streaming Media Format Comparison

When creating streaming media for the Web, it is valuable to decide in which format you would like it to be saved before you begin compression. There are three major formats for streaming media: Real Player, QuickTime, and Windows Media Player. This document explains the pros and cons of each and details which platform and programs accommodate the formats.


Keep in mind that as you decide on what format you would like to use to present your video, you will need to make some choices about what is most important. Whether it is the type of audience you want to reach (connection speed), quality of audio or video, ease of use, or the platform you'd like to use (probably the least important), your decision will definitely influence the choice of format. Also, due to the nature of video compression, it is important to remember that streaming media will virtually never look as good online as it does in the editing program you use (such as Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere). Though some programs and formats will look better than others, some loss of quality is unavoidable.


Real Player

Ease of use:
Real Player is probably the least complicated to prepare a movie for streaming. However, though theoretically possible to compress on both Macs and PCs, Real Player has had problems with compressing on Macs; therefore, to be on the safe side, it is better to use a PC when choosing this format.

Quality of Video and Audio:
Though the video for all three of these formats have similar attributes, Real Player can be less sharp than QuickTime and Windows Media Player, having a greater tendency at lower speeds to sacrifice motion for the sake of clear audio, (looking more like a slide show than a movie).

User Friendly:
As previously mentioned, compression will more likely be done on a PC, but Real Player can be viewed in both Netscape and Internet Explorer on both Macs and PCs. The universality of its usage is undeniable. The compression program needed to compress media for Real Player (Helix Producer) can be downloaded for free.

QuickTime

Ease of use:
QuickTime is perhaps not as trouble-free as Real Player in terms of compression, and the method used to put it on the Web is unfortunately different from the other two, making it another method to learn. However, this is the only format that encodes just as well on both a PC and a Mac.

Quality of Video and Audio:
At high data speeds, QuickTime's video quality is quite good; at low speeds, it tends to sacrifice motion, becoming blurry. However, when used correctly and at high speeds, it can generate stunning results (Example: those QuickTime movie trailers --amazing quality, considering their size).

User Friendly:
QuickTime is a good choice for compression on either a Mac or PC, and it can be viewed by either Netscape or Internet Explorer on both platforms. QuickTime is used all over the Web and is probably the most common of all three formats. Unfortunately, unlike other media compression programs, the one needed for the QuickTime format (QuickTime Pro) is not free.


Windows Media

Ease of use:
Windows Media Player is not as easy to compress as the other two formats because you must use a specific program, called Windows Media Encoder, to create Windows Media Player files. Moreover, you must be compress using a PC; Windows Media Player does not translate well cross-platform.

Quality of Video and Audio:
In direct comparison with the other two formats, Windows Media Player has very high video and audio quality at faster speeds. Even more important, this is probably the best looking player for lower speeds as well.

User Friendly:
This is probably the least universal of all the players--not only do you have to be on a PC to encode it, but it also has problems being viewed on Macs. Windows Media Encoder can be downloaded for free .


by Steve Martin, Blayne Vixie and Shelly Martin

 

On Demand Video Vs. Live Webcasting & Internet Broadcasting

For sake of ease we will assume that you realize the gear and personell will be the only difference between the Web cast and the Internet Broadcast. Here we will discuss the concept of Live vs. On-Demand Internet Programming.

On Demand Video saves the client a ton of money and heartache. Whenever you do a live broadcast, whether it's to a broadcast station or to the Internet, there is always that chance that something could go wrong or there could be an event in the news cycle that could bump your story. On Demand jobs don't have the high dollar at risk because you can always delay your launch if or know that the launch will be slow because of the news cycle taking away viewers.

Basically any video can be put on the Internet for On Demand viewing either in a downloadable format or streaming format that can not be downloaded. One way that we save clients money is to do a live event to tape and upload it as soon as the event is done and the video has been trimmed down to fit your format.

We can handle all available on demand formats:

  • Windows Media
  • Real Player
  • Quick Time
  • Flash Video

    • Most clients will choose to put their on demand videos up in their favorite format and Windows Media just to ensure that the major share of viewers will be able to see it. We've encoded and hosted Flash Video for companies that have firewall issues and can not use other formats because they have been blocked and removing those blocks just can't be done.

    Live Web casts & Internet Broadcasts are actually in many ways more complicated than doing live Television Broadcasts. Most companies and people just don't understand the technology yet to deliver a live web event with confidence. This is one of Digital Production Group's strong points. In the year 2000 Michael Diiorio sold a very profitable Broadcast Company that he had built from scratch to one of the leading Internet Broadcast Companies just so that he could learn the trade secrets early in the ball game.

    Digital Production Group will offer you multiple choices every step of the way while explaining the differences in quality, price and reliability. We understand your needs and fears and we deliver!

    On Demand & Live Events Hosting

    Hosting your event is very efficient at Digital Production Group. For On Demand videos we can host your videos very cheaply and efficiently in house. For live events we maintain relationships with the biggest live events hosts in the industry. Please call or click to consult with one of our web casting or Internet Broadcasting Specialists.

    Video Production for Web Casting & Internet Broadcasting

    The easy answer is that the video production for web casting and Internet Broadcasting is very very similar to regular video production. For companies that are looking to produce a web casts or Internet Broadcasts we can provide turnkey solutions. Allow us to meet with you to determine your production needs. Many times we can save you money and offer up other ways of amortizing your production dollars.

    Michael Diiorio has always been on both the technical and creative ends of the game and making the two meet is his specialty. We can provide as much or little production as you need. If you don't have a nailed down concept we can help you brainstorm and knock around some ideas until we find something that will work for your campaign or single video. The first step is to setup an initial consultation and get a price quote on your project.

    Once we have a concept in place we can provide full script writing or we can assist you in writing a script...Your choice. We try to fit your schedule and style.

    For On Demand Projects Editing is done in-house on an Avid or one of our linear systems depending on your time and monetary budgets. If a project is shot in HD or Digi Beta we have edit houses that we have a relationship with.

    Digital Production Group has perfected the streamlining of the production process. Please allow us to meet with you to consult on your project and give you a pricing ...because we do so much of our production in house we keep our prices very low.

    DPG will shoot anywhere your project takes us, but our local area is the Greensboro, Winston-Salem & High Point areas. We travel to Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill as well as Charlotte at a local rates so there is no reason to use anyone else in the Carolinas.

    If you're a producer or production company we happily go out with our equipment or yours. Again, call or email us to check our availability.

    Formats Available in either ENG or EFP

    DPG can do Multi-Camera Live Events switched to:

    All of our Video Production Packages include:

    Supplemental Video Production Gear