Webcast Technology - Its Role In A Lifecycle

Webcast technology refers to the scientific method, material, and equipment that are used for the entire process from the creation of streaming media content up to a user s view of the content. There are four major roles, which are spread over its entire lifecycle and comes into the picture right from the time of content creation. It is then used to prepare the content for distribution and also aids it. Finally, webcast technology is used for consumption of the content by the consumer. The above four roles are discussed in detail in the paragraphs that follow. Content Creation What has to be distributed is known as content. The content has to be created first so that it can be webcast. For this, webcast technology such as audio and video capturing and editing equipment is used. The technology used at this stage includes cameras, microphones, other recording and editing devices and computer software. Content Distribution This is the stage in which webcast technology helps the preparation of content that was created in the earlier stages to make it fit for transmission. The technology used at this stage includes encoders and converters, which compress the content so as to make it suitable for transmission through the distribution system, without choking the bandwidth of the webcast provider or that at the consumers end. Since multimedia files are very large in size, this technology reduces their size through the removal of redundant data, as well as to leave out such details as would not significantly affect the quality of the webcast content in a negative manner. The next stage is where the webcast streaming media server comes into the picture. This is in the form of streaming media, protocols of distribution as well as the technology which makes a connection to the webcast server possible. Thus broadband, dialup, GPRS, EDGE, WiFi, and HSDPA all take up their roles as webcast Internet connection technology and allow the transmission of a webcast to the consumer. You can read more about these at whatisawebcast.com Content Consumption Users, who want to consume the content provided through a webcast, can do this through the use of webcast technology in the form of client software, and sound and video processing subsystems. The user will connect to the provider through the use of any of the technologies used for distribution of content such as broadband Internet or GPRS or any other suitable mode. The client will then request to watch content from the webcast server, which will then be downloaded to the user s device, reprocessed, and presented to the consumer, who will watch it. Article by Dean Forster at whatisawebcast.com For more great free information on everything you need to know about webcasts visit => Webcast