Convincing Your Boss You Need Streaming Media

Sidebar: Comparing Approaches to Streaming

As with fax transmission and telephone calls, streaming media can be deployed via dedicated appliances or via software/peripheral hardware running on a computer. There is no "right" answer, and your choice will depend on what you are trying to accomplish.

What Is a Streaming Media Appliance?
Think of a streaming media network appliance as a specialized PC inside a black box that looks like the component of a stereo system. The actual configuration of an appliance (what’s inside the box) differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, but most contain circuitry for encoding and/or decoding digital video (usually MPEG) in real time, along with a hardwired proprietary operating system. On the outside of the box are various input plugs, usually to connect a National Television System Committee (NTSC) camera or other video source, along with various output plugs for connecting to a network, usually an Ethernet.

The Appliance Approach
"I’ve never had to reboot my telephone" is often the rallying cry for the appliance promoters. While dedicated appliances are generally more reliable than multi-purpose computers for video (often because of other applications running at the same time), there are other benefits. Appliances tend to be simpler, smaller, portable, and more rugged, and the overall streaming latency (delay) from appliances tends to be lower than that from PCs. One would not expect to see a PC at the top of a telephone pole, but this could be a comfortable home for a video appliance. On the other hand, the appliance will never provide word processing.

The PC Approach
"I can do streaming on my PC by simply installing software" is often the rallying cry for the PC promoters. General-purpose computers can do many things, and processing streaming video is certainly one of them. Unlike an appliance, a PC can be used to create original content and to edit and manipulate audio/video. The list of compression and streaming software choices for the PC is long. Dedicating a PC to streaming, PC proponents claim, turns the PC into an appliance. On the other hand, PCs are subject to user abuse, viruses, and security issues that appliances overcome.

Making a Decision
It is rarely an "either/or" choice between PCs and streaming appliances in today’s converged world. The choice may be more similar to a decision to add more hard disk space to your PC or to add more hard disk space to your file server. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. The right answer may well be "both."