PlanetStream Blog

Leading Specialist Holidays Tour Operator Signs Up For On Demand Video Streaming From PlanetStream

Balkan Holidays is the leading specialist holidays tour operator to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and Romania. With 43 years of experience they offer great value summer beach holidays, winter ski, lakes & mountains holidays, tours and excursions, city breaks to Sofia, Varna, Bourgas and more, last minute holiday deals and low cost flights to Bulgaria from 20 UK airports.

On their website, www.balkanholidays.co.uk, the aim is to provide the best service available - just a few clicks will take you to your desired destination where you can view and experience many hotels and resorts – one of the most popular and effective ways to provide their visitors with the best experience is with short videos of the hotels and resorts available.

PlanetStream offered an ideal solution to Balkan Holidays requirements using our WMStream On Demand streaming service for Windows Media Videos. We have provided Balkan Holidays with a powerful and easy to use control panel for uploading and managing their product videos, and a comprehensive Statistics utility that reports and helps them to identify whether they are reaching their target audience and meeting their objectives through streaming.

You can now browse through and view over 80 videos featuring resorts and hotels by clicking here. Stefan Stoyanov, IT manager of Balkan Holidays London said “…'We are looking forward to a professional and robust service for our video content, in order to continue to maintain quality service to our clients by providing as detailed as possible information on the huge variety of accommodations that we offer. Please visit our web site and benefit from our Online Booking Discount on your next holiday!'…”

PlanetStream can help you implement the same exciting multimedia content on your web site without the expense and complication of running your own streaming media server, and back this up with our video streaming expertise and dedicated account management services.

If you think this could be the cost effective solution you are looking for, you can email me on steven@netsecrets.co.uk, call me on 01386 792972, or chat directly to me by clicking on the Chat Logo on the PlanetStream website.

Net TV technology seeks testers Blog

I saw this arcitcle earlier this week and found it interesting, so I thought I’d share it with you. The text is taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7517114.stm, and if you’re interested in signing up for the P2P Next trial, you can visit http://www.p2p-next.org/

Testers are being sought for technology that may help TV migrate to the net.

The P2P Next project has created a trial, or beta, version of software that can stream video across a file-sharing network.

The EU has put 19m euros into the project hoping the software the team creates will become a Europe-wide standard for broadcasters.

The P2P Next team are looking for thousands to sign up to give the technology a good workout.

Stream and serve

Many broadcasters, such as the BBC with its iPlayer, are already using the net to let viewers catch up with programmes they missed. Most of these systems use a central server to stream programmes to those that want to watch them.

However, most believe that TV via the net delivered this way will be unsustainable when huge audiences venture online for shows.

In a bid to create a system that can support huge audiences, the SwarmPlayer draws on the widely used BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology.

In such a system those watching a video share the data they are downloading with others, peers, who want to watch the same show.

The SwarmPlayer lets people download TV shows to watch later, lets them watch video as it is being downloaded and can even cope with live broadcasts.

The P2P Next project now wants thousands of people to install the software to see how it handles large audiences and whether picture quality suffers as the numbers of users rises.

Windows and Linux versions of the software are available with a Mac version due soon.

Those wanting to take part must have a broadband net connection speed of at least 600kbps or higher. Those downloading and installing the software will be able to see how it handles a live stream and a pre-recorded broadcast.

The P2P Next project is scheduled to run for four years and the SwarmPlayer is likely to be the first of many prototypes it produces.

11 Reasons To Use PlanetStream For Live Streaming

I was asked the ultimate question ... Why PlanetStream? by a prospect who was considering using us for live streaming. Here are the ELEVEN reasons I came up with:

• Wide choice of formats - Windows Media Player, Flash, RealPlayer.
• Help with setup, encoding, "tricks of the trade".
• UK based service - US based servers are so slow!
• Overseas partner network - if you need it.
• Free test before the event - to make sure no one has egg on their face!
• We can supply cameras, cameramen, mixing desks - if you don't have your own.
• Fanatical support - we love this stuff!
• Big company backup - part of NetSecrets Group
• If you are selling the service onward - we can be invisible to your client.
• Competitive prices - as if it matters when we are this good!
• Flexibility - if standard packages don't fit we'll come up with something special.

Bear in mind that many of the companies you will see offering this service are US-based and that means two trips across the Atlantic for your signal when you are broadcasting from the UK to the UK.

And remember you only have one chance to get a live broadcast right!

Windows Media Encoder

Windows Media Encoder is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to capture audio and video content using the many innovations in Windows Media, including high-quality multichannel sound, high-definition video quality, and support for mixed-mode voice and music content. The best part is, if you have a current COA (Certificate Of Authenticity) for Windows XP (usually on a sticker stuck to your PC/Notebook), then Windows Media Encoder is free to download!

Windows Media Encoder has a brilliant little feature where you can capture what’s on the screen as you perform a task such as photo editing etc; in fact, almost anything you can do on the screen can be recorded as a video – this is ideal for people wishing to record and promote demonstrations of software etc.

Added to the fact that you can capture and broadcast your live event with PlanetStream by using the easy to follow steps in Windows Media Encoder, it is an ideal solution to your streaming requirements. You can also capture files for editing later, and convert files in .wmv format.

For more information, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx

This blog includes information from http://www.microsoft.com.

Adobe offers technology to help find online videos

Adobe Systems Inc., maker of the Flash video player, is giving technology to the top Internet search companies to help their users find online videos more easily.

Google Inc. will be the first to incorporate the software, said Michele Turner, an Adobe vice president. While Yahoo Inc., the No. 2 search engine, also has the software, it hasn't indicated when it may use it, Turner said.

The program can find and index videos created in Flash that have text associated with the images. Search engines currently have difficulty recognizing the content of videos as they crawl through the world's Web sites.

This blog includes information from P-I staff, The Associated Press, seattlepi.com and Bloomberg News.

Internet Radio

During the course of my working week, I read many articles relating to the world of streaming. I was talking on the phone to a client on Tuesday about internet radio, and decided to do a little research on facts, figures and trends – I thought I’d share some of them with you:

As general connectivity to the internet becomes faster and more established, and with the advent of wireless broadband and public access to wireless hotspots increases, the old issues that used to limit the use of internet are no longer relevant, resulting in more and more listeners tuning in - An estimated 33 million people in the United States are regular weekly listeners of internet radio, and that number is set to increase in future.

Internet radio has a broad appeal, from commercial stations to niche and special interests – just Google search whatever pops into you head and its more than likely a specialist internet radio station is broadcasting it! There appears to also be a particular appeal to ex-pats and travellers who want to listen to their favourite stations from back home.

A great advantage to Internet radio is that it can be used for listening to local radio stations in areas with poor reception, such as office buildings – It can be played through a wide variety of standalone software programs or applications that open inside web browsers.

Our VIVIDStream 24/7 service has numerous packages specifically designed to be used for internet radio stations. If you are looking to launch your own Internet Radio Station and want to know more, you can email me on steven@netsecrets.co.uk, call me on 01386 792972, or chat directly to me by clicking on the Chat Logo on the PlanetStream website.