Streaming Video Software
Streaming video is a different format from the video files that you store on your computer's hard drive. If you want to share your video files as streaming video you must first convert them to a streaming format before uploading them to your server.
Conversion utilities are included in many video editing programs so you can save your edited video in a streaming format. Streaming video software is often bundled with video capture cards, or you can use free utilities such as Windows Movie Maker. For better results, use a professional video editing package such as Sony's Vegas.
If you insist on subjecting your unedited videos on the world, you still need to convert your video files to a streaming format such as Flash or WMV, and you can use a streaming video software conversion utility for this task.
Each of the major streaming formats has their own suite of conversion utilites. There are also third-party streaming video software packages which give you a choice of streaming formats. These allow you to experiment with various streaming formats to see what gives the best results.
There are several choices to make when converting to a streaming format. You have to decide on the dimensions of the video image, the number of frames per second, the method of audio compression, and the video codec.
Streaming Video Codecs
The codec (Compression/Decompression) is the streaming video software that is responsible for compressing the video file. It does this by removing some of the visual data and replacing it with instruction sets for reconstructing the video file to a viewable format.
Codecs affect the quality of the video image. Some are better suited to action videos and some are better for "talking heads." Keep in mind that end users must have a compatible codec installed on their computers to actually see the video, so it's a good idea to choose a codec with a broad support base.
Streaming Video Dimensions
The size of the video image has a big affect on the size of the video file. A bigger image, obviously, has more data, so will result in a larger file size. Large format streaming videos are OK for broadband (DSL or cable) Internet connections, but users with dial-up connections won't be able to view them.
The frame rate also affects the size of the streaming video. Higher frame rates result in larger files, so again, a high frame rate (say 24 frames per second) may be OK for broadband but unusable for dial-up.
Sound compression is less critical. You can use a relatively high level of compression on sound with the MP3 format and still get good results.
Finding a good combination of dimensions, framerate, and codec can take some experimentation, but many of these streaming video software packages offer templates for various connection speeds. You can use these templates as a starting point and adjust any or all of the settings for better results.
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