A   S t r e a m i n g   M e d i a   P r i m e r :    

H O W   D O E S   S T R E A M I N G   W O R K ?

Shoot

The  big three  streaming architectures and their native fi le formats 

                                                       Streaming Media 

Architecture                Native Formats

                                                                                                                                File Extensions

QuickTime                    QuickTime Format                                                 .mov (sometimes .qt or .qti)

RealMedia                    RealMedia Format                                                 .rm                              

Capture

Windows Media         Advanced Streaming Format or                       .asf,  .wmv, .wma

                                        Windows Media Video/Audio

MPEG (denoted by .mpg and several other fi le extensions) is a standard fi le format for video, and it 

is also a codec that is used to create formats, but it is not a complete architecture. MPEG 1, originally 

designed for multimedia formats on CD ROM, does not support true streaming but only progressive 

download. MPEG 4 is a brand new, international open standard for Web video, based around the 

QuickTime format. Windows Media Video v1 is a derivative of the MPEG 4 codec, which has been 

Edit

renamed to avoid confusion. QuickTime 5, just released as of the fi nalization of this Primer, is the fi rst 

full implementation of MPEG 4 for streaming media. 

WHAT ALL DO I NEED TO MAKE MY PRODUCTIONS STREAM?

This section merely outlines the tools and techniques involved in streaming media you'll fi nd more 

detailed explanations in the section of this primer entitled  How Do I Make (Good) Streaming Media.  

Encode

The process from planning and shooting your video, through outputting the appropriate fi le formats for 

the selected medium are, essentially, the same steps you would go through for developing any kind 

of digital video project: pre production (planning), production (shooting video and recording audio), 

and post production (editing, adding effects and titles, mixing and synchronizing audio, and outputting 

for your medium of choice). But for streaming media, the process doesn't end there you still have 

to publish your streams. 

First, you'll need some media you want to share

Integrate

Whether it's a live live Webcast from a Web cam trained on your baby's fi rst steps  or a scheduled 

Webcast of your CEO giving a keynote speech that's pushed to the extended enterprise  or an effects 

heavy movie trailer that audiences can stream on demand to build anticipation for the next  big 

summer blockbuster   if you can capture it, you can stream it. 

The term  video capture  may be used to refer to the digitization of analog video, from a connected 

camcorder (video camera) or from a connected tape deck, as it is saved onto a computer hard drive 

via a video capture card installed in the computer. The captured video clips, once digitized, can then be 

manipulated (edited and/or encoded) with computer software. 

Serve

The very same term  capture  is also used to refer to the simple transfer of DV (a video format 

typically shot with a digital camcorder and, therefore, already in digital form), from a camcorder or tape 

deck, onto a computer via an IEEE 1394 connection (also known as FireWire or iLink). For Webcasting, 

analog video and DV can both be captured  live  while fi lming, to be streamed  live  i.e., in real time 

(although a specialized video capture card designed to handle streaming is necessary for the live capture 

namic Medianamic Media

and streaming of analog video). 

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Similarly, audio, whether recorded live or transferred from a CD or other sound storage medium is also 

said to be  captured,  when it is saved onto a computer.

Play Back

You'll probably want some video editing and visual effects software

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If you are not doing a live feed, you have the opportunity to edit and develop your video story with 

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titles, motion graphics, transitions, and visual effects, as well as with music, voice overs, sound effects, 

and other audio enhancements. Or, you may be repurposing content that was produced for other 

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