Live Streaming 101

If you’re running a live event, adding streaming can add a whole new dimension. Live Streaming has become the chosen way to engage a wider audience for your live events.

Here at Flash Streaming, we have streamed everything from concerts for Keene and Radiohead to corporate presentations and seminars. Streaming weddings and church services are also extremely popular.

If you’ve not looked at live streaming before it’s good to know that there are a few rules of thumb for producing a great end result.

Great end results really start with a great camera….

It may sound obvious but you cannot produce a really good end result with a usb webcam! If you only want  to broadcast a 'close up' shot from your office then a webcam may suffice.

For larger venues and events a better camera will be required.We often get asked what sort of camera you should be using. This is very hard to judge and will depend on type of event and, largely, your budget. ‘Retail’ DV cameras start around the £300 mark, professional kit like the Z1 above start around £1500-2000.

2. PC / Encoding card / encoding software.

Essentially you need a composite video feed and unbalanced XLR audio from your camera or mixing desk. This needs to be fed to a PC with a capture card and streaming software in place. This PC then sends the stream to our servers for distribution.

A reasonably high end PC with Windows XP installed will suffice as the base for an encoding machine. For the encoding card we recommend the Osprey 210 Capture Card - this can be purchased from us.

The Adobe Flash Encoder software can be obtained free and allows you to stream your live broadcasts to our streaming servers for distribution. You can also use this same software to record your broadcasts locally for later use.

Connectivity

You will need to ensure the upload speed of the network at the event location is sufficient for streaming - A 320x240 player size will require around 300k upload speed to look professional.

 __

We can of course provide producers, camera operators and encoding engineers (with all necessary equipment)– allowing you to concentrate on running your event.

If you would like details of our live event services or some more information about running encoders and streaming services at your own events just give us a call on 01242 587734 or email me – blog@flashstreaming.co.uk

Until next time.....

Flash, Firewalls and Frustration

‘I can’t see my streams…’ is a cry that we sometimes hear from clients using our on demand or live flash streaming services.

Whilst most business users and almost 100% of home users can see flash movies with no issues, there are some instances where the correct port to allow flash streaming is blocked by the network security settings.

Without wishing to bore those who don’t need to know, or lecturing those that already do, here’s a quick rundown on how flash is delivered to the end users desktop.

Most user’s set up looks something like this…

So the firewall that is necessarily designed to protect you can also cause issues when trying to view streaming flash.

Ports & Protocols

The internet runs using as series of rules (or protocols) that allow data to be passed over the internet. This website address http://www.flashstreaming.co.uk like all others uses the http (hyper-text transfer protocol for those who need to know) and uses port 80 on your network. Flash Streaming however uses the rtmp protocol (Real Time Messaging Protocol) to communicate and therefore needs port 1935 to be accessible.

If this port is not available you will not be able to see flash streaming content – either live or on demand.

Your network administrator will be able to open this port to allow you to see your streams.

Other types of streaming need other ports to be open – this and a range of topics for other streaming media formats are covered on our main Streaming Wizard site here: http://www.streamingwizard.com/services/faq/index.asp

If you need further information regarding Flash, or opening ports just drop us a line at blog@flashstreaming.co.uk

Until next time…..

Flash content now reaches 99.0% of Internet viewers

Adobe Flash Player is now the world's most pervasive software platform, used by over 2 million professionals and reaching 99.0% of Internet-enabled desktops (in mature markets.) 

Millward Brown survey, conducted September 2008.  

The results of the survey as displayed in the graph clearly demonstrate that Flash Video is now THE most ubiquitous streaming media format – and by a significant margin too.

This over-riding adoption of a singular format spells good news for developers, their clients and all of us who use video on the web. The rapid increase in the availability of high speed broadband has meant that millions more users can now view high quality streaming video and audio. This has in turn led to the rise of many flash-based video portals such as the BBC’s iPlayer application.

Our parent brand www.streamingwizard.com caters for all types of streaming media for both live and on demand streaming services, but the rapid growth in requirements for Flash Streaming saw us launch www.flashstreaming.co.uk as a brand in its own right in the first half of 2007.

Since then, our Flash Streaming client list has grown to include some household names and hundreds of smaller clients – all of whom receive exactly the same level of service.

You can read some client testimonials at http://www.flashstreaming.co.uk/who_we_stream_for.asp

Welcome to 2009! This year we’re going to cover a vast array of topics relating to Flash Streaming for both live and on demand services. We’ll give you the lowdown on the latest developments regarding all things Flash, introduce you to some of our clients and their uses of our services, give you ideas for improving you own use of Flash Streaming and generally have a jolly old time.

Stop (the) Press!...

Seriously – have you seen the news recently? Certainly many are struggling and the decimation of some very well known brands on the UK high street does not do much for consumer confidence but if all you watch is the latest BBC / CNN / Sky business reports you’d be forgiven for thinking the world was ending tomorrow (or possibly the day after)

All businesses are, naturally, looking to cut costs whilst still increasing demand for their services but fortunately it is NOT all doom & gloom.  

We're still spending money...

The average weekly value of total sales in the UK in November was £5.8 billion, 2.9 per cent higher than in November 2007 (source: statistics.gov.uk)

So potential clients are out there, and they are spending money. What matters is making your message stand out from the crowd.

Adding compelling Flash Streaming content to your website will help you do this.

Whether it’s a product demonstration, an introduction to your services or a testimonial from a satisfied client, a short and professional video can grab your visitor’s attention, get your message over in seconds, and help turn browsers into buyers.

Some really good examples from some of our clients can be seen on our showcase page here: www.flashstreaming.co.uk/streaming_showcase.asp

And, if you don’t yet have the video you need, just get in touch. We have established partnerships with some very skilled video producers who have filmed and produced content for many of our clients.

If you have any questions you can always call me on 01242 587734 or email blog@streamingwizard.com

Regards for now – see you all next week!