Video streaming

The first section covered in this streaming section of the 106 module is that relating to video streaming. In particular this covers elements of broadcasting video using the internet so that others can watch live video that you are streaming, as well as being able to watch other videos you have taken. This also includes the ability to share live videos that are being broadcast through a mobile phone as well as through an ordinary camera such as a web camera or a camcorder. To be able to broadcast a live video stream a server system is needed to transmit the video to multiple computers. There are two examples of systems that can be used to do this.

The first is the Quicktime Streaming Server (QTSS) which includes Quicktime Broadcaster. This is the Apple based streaming server which allows Apple users to stream live or pre-recorded videos which can be easily recieved by others who have access to the internet. This system allows videos to be recieved by a number of different devices, including mobiles and set top boxes and can broadcast at a high quality with high compression e.g. H.264.
The second example is very similar to this is that it is based upon the QTSS. The Darwin Streaming Server is an open source version of the QTSS which can also be run on multiple platforms rather than only on Apple computers. The basis of the product is however the same in that it enables users

to broadcast both live and pre-recorded video. By having an open source version developers are able to take the software and modify it to fit their needs. As well as these examples it is also possible to carry out streaming using your mobile. An example of a product that enables this is the Qik.com website. Once registered with the site, this system allows you to stream directly from your mobile phone camera (video) to the site where people can then watch the broadcast. This again allows both for live streaming and streaming of videos that have previously been uploaded or broadcast via the mobile. It is, however, easier to come into problems with this system than systems such as QTSS. Firstly it is not necessarily all that easy to get the right software on your mobile phone as not all phone types are listed in the inital set up. This means some users have to take more time, and possible cost to be able to use the facility. Also by relying on mobile phone cameras for the video the quality of the stream this means the actual video quality that is broadcast may not always be as good as that of normal cameras. Finally using a wireless submission system such as that of mobile phones makes the connection less direct, and therefore slower and less reliable.
The concept of live video streaming is quite interesting as there are many possible ways of using it. All sorts of data can be broadcast leading to a broad variety of possible outcomes. Possibilities include videoing your every day life, a daily video blog, or a live video tutorial. However a lot of video streaming has already been incorporated into everyday computing with help of sites such as YouTube that broadcast information in this way.