Successful Webcast Ingredients

[Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the 2005 Streaming Media Industry Sourcebook.]

There’s something about a live event that captures the imagination, whether it’s the final round of a sporting event or a special performance by a popular musical act. These days, you’re likely to see both during the same broadcast. So it’s no surprise that as soon as streaming media technology was developed, people wanted to broadcast live events on the Internet.

Initially, most live Internet broadcasts, or Webcasts, were of entertainment or sporting events. The impetus was to generate buzz by producing the "largest" Webcast to date, as each subsequent press release gleefully announced. As the technology has matured, the initial fascination has evolved into a realization that the technology is here to stay, and an integral part of the Internet. Webcasting is now being used for more practical purposes such as investor calls, CEO addresses, religious ceremonies, and terrestrial radio simulcasts.

Webcasts can include audio, video, and other data types such as PowerPoint slides, animation, or whiteboard-type applications. Many Webcasts also include some form of real-time communication between the audience and the talent. This is one of the advantages Webcasting has over traditional forms of broadcast; there are a number of others, including the following:
• Lower cost of entry—Webcasting does not require a multi-million dollar infrastructure.
• Unlimited spectrum—Webcasting is not currently regulated by any government agency and does not require a license.
• Can be targeted—Webcasting can be cost-effective to audience sizes that would never justify a traditional broadcast.

Webcasting also has some limitations:
• Smaller audiences—The Internet is not yet capable of sustaining audience sizes that rival traditional broadcasts.
• Incremental cost per viewer—Bandwidth costs money, and each additional viewer adds to this cost.
• Quality—Though possible, broadcast-quality Webcasts are not yet a reality.

Despite the limitations, Webcasting makes good financial sense in many situations. Many large-scale enterprises realize this and are actively deploying Webcasting as a cost-cutting exercise. Educational institutions use Webcasting as an integral part of their distance learning courses. Non-profit organizations are using Webcasts to reach and expand their membership.

So how do you go about producing your own Webcast? Essentially it’s the same process as creating an on-demand streaming media file. Webcasting, however, is a little trickier because there is no room for error. Webcasts are produced in real time, which affects each stage of the streaming media process. But with a little forethought and a lot of planning, a successful Webcast is well within your reach.

The Basic Recipe
The Webcasting process is the same as creating on-demand streaming media files, with the important addition of a planning phase. The steps are as follows:
• Planning—justifying the costs and securing the location, tools, and crew
• Production—securing the raw audio and video feeds, plus any other data types
• Encoding—converting the raw media into formats that can be streamed
• Authoring—connecting the audience to the Webcast via a Web page or link
• Distribution—securing the infrastructure that provides the streams.

Each phase has unique requirements during a Webcast. The most important thing to remember is that you get only one shot at a Webcast. If something goes wrong, the Webcast may grind to a halt if you haven’t planned appropriately. Thus the planning phase becomes paramount, and all other phases can be summed up in a single word: redundancy.

Planning a Webcast
Planning is the key to a successful Webcast. There’s only one chance to get it right; ensure that everything is in place well before the Webcast begins. Make sure you’ve got the right tools, sufficient personnel, a robust streaming architecture, and plenty of bandwidth. Once everything is in place, test each and every component.

First, check out the proposed location for the Webcast. Does it have enough power? Is there room enough for your equipment? Is there enough light? Are the acoustics suitable? Is there connectivity on site? How will you get your feed to the streaming media servers?

If you’re Webcasting from a remote location, there are two ways to get the feed to the streaming media servers:
• Send raw media feeds back to the broadcast operations center (BOC) via satellite or fiber channel, and encode at the BOC.
• Encode on site, and send encoded streams back to the BOC via IP (Internet Protocol).