A question I’m asked a lot by PlanetStream clients is “How much bandwidth do I need?” Sometimes this question is akin to the old chestnut “how long is a piece of string”, so I’ve come up with some rough calculations to help you along. It all depends on the amount of viewers you’re expecting to receive, so an easy way to work this out is to calculate approximately how many viewing minutes our different levels of Monthly Data Transfer offer:
PlanetStream provide 4 different Client Plans for Video Hosting:
WMStream provides streaming of Windows Media Player files only.
MixStream provides streaming of any mixture of Windows Media Player, Quicktime and RealPlayer files.
FlashStream provides for streaming of Flash files.
Flash Progressive provides for progressive download of Flash media files.
Click on the links above for full detail. Each plan has 6 levels based on storage space and data transfer required and all but the smallest plans offer a choice of monthly, quarterly or annual billing.
PlanetStream have launched a new service "FLASH Progressive" for the progressive download of Flash media files rather than pure streaming.
Although streaming is the preferred solution of many users there is one major advantage in the use of progressive download. With streaming the quality viewed is dictated by the speed of the viewer's broadband connection whereas with progressive download the quality of the media file is constant, it is only the time taken to download that is influenced by the user's connection to the internet. Click below for more detail.
If you would like to discuss the pro's and con's of streaming versus progressive download call PlanetStream on 01386 792972 or email sales@planetstream.net.
I thought I’d add an explanation of Bandwidth and its relation to On-Demand Video Streaming, as I’ve been asked by a few customers about it and how it impacts on them.
When we mention 'bandwidth', we are referring to the amount of information/data that can be sent over a network in a given period of time. The amount of bandwidth that you use will depend upon:
a) How many streaming visitors you get to your site. b) How many streams you have on your site. c) How many visitors play those streams. d) What bandwidth levels users connect at (modem / broadband)
Obviously music and entertainment sites with frequently updated audio and video content attract people who are likely to want to play media clips, whereas websites catering for specialised interests groups will not be as demanding on bandwidth usage.
Due to this we have a range of different pricing models for you to choose between and if necessary change between on a monthly basis. We suggest that you sign up for a standard package, and analyse your statistics for three months to gauge your exact requirements, then change the account if necessary.
I receive a lot of questions from customers who want their On-demand videos to be easily accessible for a wide range of clients, family etc. on the Web. As most streaming multimedia files are in one of the three major formats — Microsoft Windows Media, Apple’s QuickTime, or RealAudio/Video – it can be difficult to decide how best to display the video on your website.
An ideal solution to this issue is to encode or convert your video files into WMV format and embed the Microsoft Windows Media Player right into the Web page, as the vast majority of PCs have Windows Media Player on them, and people are familiar with it. A lot of people tell me they hear the words “embed into the web page” and think this involves some major work – truth is, it’s a very simple thing to do!
Embedding a Windows Media video file is done by inserting code in the web page's HTML. Our shared streaming server space allows you to upload video and audio files via FTP, and then by using the Control Panel in the File Manager system, it will generate the HTML code for you. Just sign up for one of our On-Demand WMStream packages and follow these simple steps:
Step one – Encode your Video file into WMV format.
Step two – Upload the file to our shared streaming server.
Step three – Use the control panel to generate the HTML code for you
Step four- Embed the HTML code into your webpage.
Step five – Sit back and enjoy your video!
See? I told you it was easy! The HTML code will look something like this:
And will produce the following video embedded into your webpage (Click 'Play' to start video):
And that’s how easy it is to embed a Windows Media video file straight into your webpage with PlanetStream's WMStream Package. Interested? Want to know more? You can email me on steven@netsecrets.co.uk or call me on 01386 792972.
