|
Web Video Samples
Currently, the three most popular media architectures are RealMedia™ (Real Network), Windows Media™ (Microsoft), and QuickTime™ (Apple). Each of these architectures uses plug-in clients, or "players", which are available via free download from each manufacturer's web site. Each architecture has its advantages and disadvantages, and your target audience may have any one (or perhaps two or three) of these players installed on their computers.
The quality of your multimedia content will be determined by a number of factors, such as your target audience's computer platform (PC, Apple/Macintosh, Sun) and connection speed (dial-up modem, DSL, cable modem, corporate intranet). Video quality and performance can be refined further by altering audio/video bit rate, frame rate, image resolution, and other media architecture-specific tuning parameters. The following chart contains sample multimedia content encoded for various combinations of media players and connection speeds. (Please note that this chart is provided merely as a reference, and does not reflect all possible combinations of player architectures, connection speeds, and tuning parameters.)
MEDIA PLAYER/CONNECTION SPEED COMPARISON
|
 |
Dial-Up
(56 Kbps Modem)
|
Broadband
(DSL/Cable Modem)
|
Corporate Intranet
(T1/T3 Line)
|
Windows Media Player™
|
|
|
|
Apple QuickTime™
|
|
|
|
Real Network RealOne™
|
|
|
|
|