From: Matthew Healey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Not too sure about that... One of the major draws of Real and WMP is > that is has a smart streaming feature in than a single file can host > multiple bit rates of a video. So rather than having to encode one > stream for Broadband and one stream for 56K, you only have to encode > the broadband stream and the server software scales it automatically > for 56K users. > > QuickTime has nothing close to this functionality.
What's this?! The WAMUG president spreading Microsoft FUD?!! ;-) In actual fact you *do* still need to create multiple versions of a video (one for each bandwidth setting) with both Windows Media 9 and RealMedia which then get stored within the one WM9 or RM file. See below for details. Quicktime has for a much longer time boasted almost the same end-user experience but using a master file (referencing as many different bandwidth versions as you desire) that chooses the different bandwidth versions depending on the user's connection speed setting (it doesn't auto-sense network congestion though). The difference is these are separate files not all in the one file. I use this function all the time with streaming media here at Curtin. RealMedia with it's Surestream technology also requires multiple bandwidth versions in the one file but it does actually go a step better and automatically switches bandwidth versions on the fly mid-playback depending on network congestion which neither WM9 nor Quicktime can do. However, all the different bandwidth versions have to be at the same resolution, so a the 56k version would have to be scaled up to 640x480 or whatever the highest bandwidth version was authored at resulting in horrible pixelation. In any case, who wants to put up with the huge expense of RealServer (and client) or the horrible user experience and all the ads?!! (Not to mention their dwindling market share) DETAILS: http://stream.uen.org/medsol/digvid/html/2B_mediaarchwinmedia1.html "Windows Media delivers a different version of a movie to end uses depending on the bandwidth of their individual connections to the Internet. This scalability is referred to as "INTELLIGENT STREAMING." Up to five different bandwidth video tracks can be created and all stored within a single Windows Media movie with a .asf extension. The appropriate version is delivered based on a communication between the Windows Media Player, the end user's connection speed, a reference metafile (.asx extension) on the http server, and the Windows Media Server (mmn instead of rtsp). During network congestion, Windows Media does not dynamically scale down or up to a different bitrate movie. In extreme conditions, Windows Media will begin dropping video frames in order to keep continous play through the web browser. Eventually, with heavy congestion, the video track will be sacrificed and the audio track will be retained. Windows Media movies can contain up to five video tracks, but only one audio track. <http://www.realnetworks.com/products/discreteserver/features.html#broadcast ing> "To ensure best experience for viewers who access content at different bitrates, RealProducer uses SureStream technology to encode multiple streams at different bandwidths in a single clip. When a viewer clicks a link to a SureStream clip, RealPlayer® and Helix Servers determine which stream to use based on the available bandwidth. Helix Servers and RealPlayers can even adjust this choice to compensate for network conditions. If a fast connection becomes congested because of high network traffic, Helix Servers switch to a lower-bandwidth stream to prevent the presentation from stalling. When the congestion clears, Helix Servers switch back to the higher bandwidth stream. RealPlayers don't need to rebuffer data during this shifting." -------------------------------------- Martin Hill mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] homepages: http://mart.ozmac.com Mb: 0417-967-969 hm: (08)9314-5242
