Studies have shown that the average internet viewer spends only 8 seconds viewing your site before they are "gone forever." Because of this, the download times listed above are too long. Most people either do not download the complete file or even watch it.   In February of 1999, Lucasfilm came out with a trailer on their website for the upcoming Star Wars : The Phantom Menace movie. It was a 50 MB video file. Traffic and download requests at StarWars.com were so incredibly high for the next 48 hours that most were unable to view the trailer at all. (The entire internet was also sluggish at that time due to the high traffic).

What is Streaming?

Streaming sends packets of data to the viewers computer, which then is played as it receives the packets of data. The viewer is then able to listen to audio and/or watch video almost immediately. Its similar to watching each frame on a movie reel as it is spun through the projector. For businesses, this technology creates a multitude of possibilities for anyone using the internet. Some examples are:

Instant Video on demand

Product videos allowing a potential customer to see and hear it in the real world before buying

Instructional Videos on the use of a product for customers or employees to view from home (known as distance learning)

Entertainment such as movies or home videos

Instant Audio on demand

Instructional Audios on a product or for customers or employees

Audio Books or other literature spoken from the author

Entertainment such as Music

Personal use (ie: first sounds your child makes)

The most important aspect of the above is that it is on demand, ie: the person gets to hear and/or see it at their leisure at anytime and can choose to replay numerous times. One can also conduct a WebCast, which is a Live Real-Time Broadcast of a live event, like a news event, a music concert, a sports event or even a radio station's audio broadcasts. (The viewer must be on the internet the same time as the webcast).

The examples above are one-way streaming. That is, the viewer only receives data.

Now, add to this the ability for interactivity. Some companies listed in the Interactive section have this ability. Some examples of Streaming with interactivity are:

Two-Way Interactive Video Streaming

A live web conference over the internet where both hear and see each other. One person is in the USA and the other is in the United Kingdom.

An online operator can be both seen and heard by a web-based customer, assisting with the purchase of a product the customer is having problems purchasing online.

One to Many Interactive Video Streaming

Business meetings where many see one individual, a corporate presentation, etc. and all can type their viewpoints to the presenter or to each other.

Live events such as concerts or sporting events can be viewed by many and all can type their comments into a common "chat forum" so that viewers can interact with each other and enjoy the event on another level.

It is the belief of many in the internet industry that Streaming may replace television and radio. For that reason, many major entertainment companies are currently engaged in some form of streaming use and/or research on their websites. This can be easily seen by attending one or more of the conferences in this industry. In addition, most Wall Street firms use some form of streaming at this time, and many are using video streaming for their international conferences and meetings. According to IDC, streaming video is expected to increase distance learning sales from USD $ 1.1 billion in 1999 to USD $ 7.1 billion by the year 2002.

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Some books on the subject are:

Guide to Streaming Multimedia (1998) by Jose Alvear

Guide to Webcasting (1998), by Peggy Miles

Inside Windows Media : Learn to Combine Video, Audio, and Still Images to Create Streaming Media (1999) by Microsoft

The Filmmaker's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age (1999), by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus & others

Easy Digital Video : The Beginners Guide to Everything Digital (1998), by Scott Slaughter