Space-saving streaming media, the transmission of either live or on-demand audio or video files over a network, allows playback without the need to download entire files. Live streaming media captures an event such as a press conference, board meeting or lecture and transmits it to remote players installed on desktop computers. On-demand streaming media simply records such an event and places it in secondary storage for later playback through desktop players.
Streaming media is not new--it has been flowing through enterprises to desktops for years in the form of Internet radio broadcasts and low-resolution, low-frame-per-second video. What is new is the high quality of media and the speed of delivery available for enterprise networks.
Enterprise streaming media products include streaming hardware and software for servers and clients. Some software solutions manage content, and intermediate hardware devices help with the multicast or unicast delivery of streaming media to end users by addressing bandwidth concerns.
Many enterprises, already experienced with audio and video productions from radio and television marketing initiatives, find the decision to move to digital content production easy to make. Why? Digital offers substantial savings in equipment and production costs with improved functionality. New developments in digital-video creation software simplify production and let nontechnical people capture, edit and produce digital video content. However, the steps toward quality and delivery are more difficult.
Encoding, the process of transforming or transcoding audio or video content into streaming media formats suitable for network delivery, is often done using hardware encoders. These encoders have come down in price; for less than $5,000, enterprises can implement delivery solutions that were once confined to large service providers and ATM networks.
All the vendors support standard encoding and compression schemes, like MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, and all the devices are capable of producing 640x480 or 720x480 screen resolution for transmission. Encoders can also set video bit rates from 2 Mbps up to 15 Mbps for true broadcast-quality video over your enterprise network. Encoders may differ in how the data is encapsulated and transmitted in Ethernet frames and therefore may not be interoperable with decoders on the desktop.
As an alternative, Apple Computer, Microsoft and RealNetworks supply encoding and streaming media software that is less costly than hardware-based solutions but is still capable of distributing high-resolution video over LANs. These software-only solutions have better compression techniques than do standards-based platforms using MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 but aim to deliver over low bandwidth with a lower signal quality.
For live streaming, software solutions require real-time cards that can be just as expensive as hardware encoders. Software solutions use popular media formats like .mov (Apple QuickTime), .ram (RealNetworks) and .wmv (Microsoft Windows Media Format) and use different protocols. Windows Media Technologies and RealNetworks both use proprietary streaming protocols that depart from the standard RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) supported by Apple.
Whether you go with high-quality hardware or cost-effective software encoders, any streaming solution may fall short of the quality and resolution end users are accustomed to from either VCR or DVD. If network bandwidth is already challenged with mission-critical applications, streaming media may not command the attention necessary for training or to deliver other corporate communications.
Although implementing streaming media in the enterprise poses many challenges, the most difficult challenge is monetary. The cost of streaming media and the perceived ROI may not pass muster. Not surprisingly, respondents to an HTRC Group survey indicated that ROI analysis would play a significant role in the enterprise adoption of streaming solutions (see "Business Challenges for Streaming").
Enterprise customers should consider tools like Cisco Systems' IP/TV and Digital Pipe's ROI calculator to rally training and events around streaming media solutions that would reduce costs and increase productivity. Another option is to look for streaming solutions as part of collaborative toolsets or bundled with operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows Media Server and XP's Messenger.
Look out for the hidden costs of streaming media. Many enterprises already have taken the plunge and purchased server accelerators, bandwidth optimizers and traffic shapers to improve network performance. These products guarantee bandwidth for mission-critical applications but do little to reduce the latent effects of a busy network on streaming media. Although a network latency of 5 to 500 milliseconds does not hinder high-quality performance, intermittent and inconsistent packet delivery as little as 5 milliseconds between responses can cause decoders to drop frames at show time. Adjusting the size of the decoder buffer on the desktop can help, but rolling out streaming media requires bandwidth and a streaming QoS, which in turn requires another significant investment.
Low-quality streaming video over Ethernet LANs can get by using as little as 64 Kbps. The best quality may take up to 6 Mbps. This will saturate 10-Mbps shared connections and seriously compete with mission-critical applications in switched environments. If you want to deliver high-quality video to the desktop, switched, 100-Mbps links should be your standard. For enterprises that route traffic over Ethernet LANs, all routers should support IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) to multicast streaming media over least-cost routes.
The Aberdeen Group projects strong growth in media platforms, and Gartner predicts that 80 percent of Global 2000 enterprises will depend on streaming media for communications and training by 2006. If the market is to fulfill or exceed these predictions, improved interoperability is needed between encoders and decoders using standard formats and frames. This will allow new entrants and drive prices down. Although this will not happen in 2002, keep an eye on MPEG-4 and other standards and make sure you avoid getting locked into a proprietary solution.
Many streaming-media product manufacturers supply point products for discreet solutions in the enterprise but lack a complete end-to-end solution that includes content creation, management and delivery. To fill this need, look to VARs (value-added resellers) and partnerships with content-delivery suppliers that include not only content creation and management but also bandwidth-management solutions, storage components and asset management with security features, like DRM (Digital Rights Management) and encryption.
REPORTS
ANALYTICS
Follow 
