November 2006

Magazine Features

Tutorial: Shooting Top-Quality Streaming Video Part II: Designing Your Set

Quality streaming video begins long before the camera's even on, with the design of the set and considerations such as color and texture.

Schooled in Streaming

While streaming media has not yet achieved BMOC status at colleges and universities, it is no longer a wet-behind-the-ears freshman plebe. Many schools have caught on to streaming media and tried it, and now they are ready to take it to the next grade level. Such is the case at Lamar University, Marist College, Seattle Community Colleges, and on the main campus at Sandia National Laboratory.

Eyes on the Enterprise: Streaming Video's Marketing Potential: Don't Believe the Hype

Excitement over the distribution of video via the web is conjuring up renewed visions of online market opportunity. Mainstream media outlets are once again publishing ever more frequent stories about start-ups carving out new businesses in the online video sector. Venture capitalists are calling my office more often, trying to get a handle on the next big thing to incorporate web video.

Smart Choices

We contacted six organizations that make extensive use of streaming media, whether for internal communications or for consumer delivery. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Accenture, the state of Montana, DL.TV, blip.tv, and ESPN.com were all kind enough to share with us the decision-making processes behind their streaming video implementations, as well as the reasons behind their choices of video formats.

The New Art of Storytelling

It's not about multiplatform content. It's about multiplatform stories.

Emerging Media: Remonetizing Content: How Many Times?

Despite the idiosyncrasies of Web 2.0, staid businesspeople are listening to the story and trying to figure out how to remonetize content online as well, adding yet another "window" to the revenue-generation lifespan.

Review: NewTek TriCaster Pro

NewTek’s TriCaster Pro builds on the solid base of the initial TriCaster but adds features that make it worthy of use in a professional environment. The $6,995 price point positions the product well below the price of other all-in-one products currently on the market, most of which have been created by streaming-centric companies. Given NewTek’s background in video, audio, and RGBHV, the TriCaster product line—with a few tweaks—could rival and outdo products of many times its cost.

Review: Grass Valley REV Pro

As an acquisition, editing, and playback format, this newest Iomega mass-storage cartridge has potential, and Grass Valley has done a fine job augmenting Iomega’s product with its own brand of video hardware expertise. The drive and media both performed well; they have a sturdy, rugged feel, and, for an external device, the REV Pro is quiet during operation.

Review: Inlet Technologies Semaphore Pro 2

Semaphore is a positive first step in allowing an average user to accurately assess the quality issues that file-based broadcasting creates. As a standalone product, Semaphore allows for consistent quality control in the field; coupled with FathomPro, Semaphore creates a much more compelling scenario for enhancing mid-sized and large broadcasters’ workflows.

Streams of Thought: Passing It On: Recording (and Consuming) Our Hobbies and Habits

Several sites have sprung up recently that feature consumer-generated, how-to video content, a trend that carries with it deeper social meaning than initially meets the eye. Each of these sites—ViewDo.com, VideoJug.com, and ExpertVillage—have several social drivers in common.

Stream This!: Online Video Delivery Pricing Demystified

Let’s examine the two biggest factors that affect the price of service—bandwidth commit and storage—and discuss strategies for getting the best price. I’ll also pin down some real numbers for going pricing rates today.

Editor's Note

Editor's Note: The More Things Change...

Excellence in the Enterprise

In the enterprise, however, the ROI is proven, as the following case studies—think of this article as a “virtual panel presentation,” if you will—attest. The experiences of each organization—Lockheed Martin, Target, Verizon, and Wachovia—reveal different challenges and successes in the enterprise space.