Successful Webcast Ingredients

Most Webcasts include links for both dial-up users and broadband users. This enables the Webcast producer to optimize the stream for each audience. Interestingly, Windows Media allows multiple streams to be included in a single file, known as a multiple bitrate (MBR) file. This enables a single link on a site to cater to multiple audiences. RealNetworks offers similar technology, but requires that all streams use the same screen resolution, which is not optimal. For QuickTime and Flash streams, separate streams must be encoded for different bitrates.

In general, be conservative with your encoding settings. A slightly lower bitrate stream, even if it’s encoded using an older codec, is far more successful than a cutting-edge stream that the audience cannot receive.

Webcast Authoring Techniques
There are many ways to connect your audience to your content. You can use a metafile link that spawns a pop-up player, or embed a player in a Web page. In general, using a metafile is the safest, because it is guaranteed to work virtually every time. If you must use an embedded player, be sure to test out your codec on multiple platforms and browsers. The best approach is to keep the implementation as simple as possible to avoid cross-platform and operating system issues. Always include a metafile link on the page as a backup in case any of these issues arise.

One thing that is often overlooked when authoring for Webcasts is the Web site itself. Be sure to make the Webcast easy to find, and provide clear guidance about what technologies and plug-ins are required. Place links on the Webcast page to appropriate technology download pages. A troubleshooting or "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)" page is always a good idea. Forcing the audience to register before they can join a Webcast is a bad idea. Most people find this invasive, and will probably not watch. If the Webcast is a success, you’ll find it easier—and more effective—to ask people afterwards to sign up for future email notifications.

Be sure to talk to your system administrators about Web site administration issues. Many Web sites use systems that update at scheduled intervals. While this is fine for daily Web updates, it can be deadly for Webcasts. If there is a mistake on a Webcast page—such as in the link to the broadcast—it must be corrected immediately— not during the next scheduled update.

Webcast Distribution
Webcast distribution is the same as distributing on-demand streams, with one important difference—the entire audience is watching at the same time. There is a significant difference between 1,000 people watching a stream over the course of a day and 1,000 watching a stream all at once. The most important difference is the bandwidth required.

One thousand people watching a 300Kbps broadband stream is roughly 300 Megabits of raw traffic. That is far more bandwidth than most enterprises or educational institutions have at their disposal. For large audiences, partnering with a bandwidth provider is usually the best option. Not only do they have tested, distributed server architectures, but there is also someone at the end of a telephone line who can help when things go wrong.

If you decide to do the Webcast in-house, make sure you have sufficient bandwidth, and server redundancy. Load balance using hardware load balancers, or an intelligent software solution that allows quick changes. Be sure to have a good relationship and open lines of communication with your system administrators.

One thing to consider for internal Webcasting is whether or not to multicast. Multicasting enables a single stream to be sent out on a network for an unlimited number of clients to receive, much like a television broadcast. The only catch is that multicasting does not work across the public Internet. You can use tunnels and virtual private networks to get around this, but both require a significant amount of infrastructure planning. If you are trying to reach an audience on networks you control, however, multicasting is an ideal solution.

Distinguishing your Webcast
There are a number of things you can do to make your Webcast stand out from the rest. First, start early, and let the audience know they’ve come to the right place. If you start early, you can fix any problems that arise before the actual show begins. It’s much better to find out about a problem when 25 people are watching a half-hour before show time than with hundreds viewing in the heat of the Webcast.