NewTek TriCaster 300 - Manual (Page 228)

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playback). This stands in contrast to other types of online video distribution which requires the
viewer to completely download the video file before he can begin play. Given a sufficiently high
speed connection between host and viewer, they may well be able to enjoy a seamless viewing
experience without stuttering or other issues.
LIVE STREAMING
Live streaming is a growing international market, and one you may well wish to serve. This form
of streaming is a somewhat more demanding implementation. Rather than record a file and deal
with it later, live video is transmitted over the network (effectively in realtime, give or take a little
‘time in the pipe’ as it were.)
Delivering a good quality stream requires that you consider both your network connection
capabilities and that of your viewers. As well, to ensure reliable delivery, you will ideally have
some idea of the size of your audience. Nevertheless, for all cases, TriCaster™ gives you the tools
to do the job. Naturally, streaming video is highly compressed to reduce bandwidth demands and
make it available to a wider group. TriCaster™ supports two popular and prolific encoding
systems, Microsoft’s Windows Media™ and Adobe Flash Media ®.
The decision as to which encoding format to use for your live stream is up to you, or – in some
cases – your client. Here are some things to consider:
 Some corporate and institutional network administrators opt to support one or another
format exclusively. (Check with your IT department to find out if this affects your
decision).
 Flash has a very wide installed user base, and seems poised to increase in proliferation
in the foreseeable future.
 Flash works well across multiple platforms (PCs, Macs, Linux, etc.). Windows Media is
well represented, but perhaps not quite to the same degree.
 Some sources report that the Flash movies will have a larger file size and use greater
bandwidth than Windows Media for a given stream quality. (This is hard to assess, and
changes constantly as developers update their products).