G.W. Powell's

Using Real Product to produce
On- Demand Audio and Video

Obtaining a Player
Finding Content
Creating Content
Distributing Content

Obtaining a Player

Real Systems is providing a means of receiving Video Content on Demand.  Many outlets are being developed to distribute video and audio based content to users.   Specialized area are developing as fast as general area.  The primary thrust is delivering content on when people want and have the time to view and listen to the content.

Finding Content

To recieve content from these sites, you will need a player.  There are a number of players available today.  Many are available free by download.  The same players with a greater number of features are available for a Fee.  One of the most widely used player is the RealPlayer .  You can download the Player from http://www.real.com.

Installation is relatively simple and is well document with installation wizards that lead you through installation.  The installation of the Player will lead you to general content sites like news, sport, weather, music, and entertainment.  More content is available by click on links on webpages that will activate Video and Audio players.  Some examples are listed below.

To view a general content site, try www.broadcast.com

For Education based content, try IVIN Program Guide.

Creating Content

Creating Content first requires that you have a Video and Aduio Capture device available for your computer.  There are a number of such devices available.   Many of them are Focusing primarily on the Teleconferencing Market like the Winnov Capture Cards. 

http://www.winnov.com

Other are multi-use devices like the VideoDirector 400 Studio which provide Capture, Video Editing, and Teleconferencing features capabilities to one package. 

http://www.videodirector.com

As a general rule, Products that connect to the parallel port will produce less fluid video than devices that are installed internally in the computer. 

Once these devices are installed, the content must be captured and broadcast.  For first time broadcaster, it is best to capture the Video to the device following the instruction from the device and saving the file as an AVI file.  Capturing the video may require considerable hard disk space so be prepared.  There are many compression methods in use today to conserve hard disk space but many will compromise the picture quality.  Be selective and learn about the Capture device you are using and it options to produce the best quality Video possible.  The Video should then be converted.  Real offers RealEncoder as a Free product and other products for greater Flexability. 

http://www.real.com 

Distributing Content

The products will convert your capture AVI file to a Real Media RM file and provide instructions for placing it on your website for others to view. 

This method will work with a low volume demand on your site.  If you wish to provide access to a large number of people at once, you need to obtain access to a server with the Real Systems Software installed to avoid loss of quality.