Topic: - Multimedia and Web casting on the web.

Submitted to:Miss. Kritika Chaudhry

Submitted by :Name: Anuharsh Saxena
Section: RK28E3A07 Reg No: 10810233

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take this opportunity to present my votes of thanks to all those guidepost who really acted as lightening pillars to enlighten our way throughout this project that has led to successful and satisfactory completion of this study. We are really grateful to our teacher for providing us with an opportunity to undertake this project in this university and providing us with all the facilities. We are highly thankful to Miss. Kritika Chaudhry for his active support, valuable time and advice, whole-hearted guidance, sincere cooperation and pains-taking involvement during the study and in completing the assignment of preparing the said project within the time stipulated. Lastly, We are thankful to all those, particularly the various friends , who have been instrumental in creating proper, healthy and conductive environment and including new and fresh innovative ideas for us during the project, their help, it would have been extremely difficult for us to prepare the project in a time bound framework.

Index:

1. HISTORY. 2. INTRODUCTION. 3. Web casting. 4.Multimedia. 5.Multicasting. 6. Web casting. 7.Webinars. 8.Web Conferencing. 9. 3 Factors To Consider.

HISTORY
Web casting" was first publicly described and presented by Brian Raila of GTE Laboratories at InterTainment '89, 1989, held in New York City, USA. Raila recognized that a viewer/listener need not download the entirety of a program to view/listen to a portion thereof, so long as the receiving device ("client computer") could, over time, receive and present data more rapidly than the user could digest the same. Raila used the term "buffered media" to describe this concept.

Introduction Web casting was first publicly described and presented by Brian Raila of GTE
Laboratories at InterTainment '89, 1989, held in New York City, USA. Raila recognized that a viewer/listener need not download the entirety of a program to view/listen to a portion thereof, so long as the receiving device ("client computer") could, over time, receive and present data more rapidly than the user could digest the same. Raila used the term "buffered media" to describe this concept.

A web cast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A web cast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web casting is broadcasting over the Internet. The largest "web casters" include existing radio and TV stations, who "simulcast" their output, as well as a multitude of Internet only "stations". The term web casting usually refers to non-interactive linear streams or events. Rights and licensing bodies offer specific "web casting licenses"[1] to those wishing to carry out Internet broadcasting using copyrighted material. Web casting is also used extensively in the commercial sector for investor relations presentations (such as Annual General Meetings), in E-learning (to transmit seminars), and for related communications activities. However, web casting does not bear much, if any, relationship to web conferencing, which is designed for many-to-many interaction.

The term netcasting was a consideration, but one of the early web cast community members owned a company called NetCast, so that term was not used, seeking a name that would not be branded to one company.

Virtually all the major broadcasters have a web cast of their output, from the BBC to CNN to Al Jazeera to UNTV in television.

Multimedia is a term that describes multiple forms of information, including audio,

video, graphics, animation, text, and a variety of virtual reality types. The interest in multimedia is surging. At one point, Microsoft and Real Networks reported over 100,000 downloads per day from their respective streaming media players. Web casting, a multicast technology that broadcasts multimedia from a single server to many users, is expected to grow to represent over 70 percent of Internet traffic. The major themes of multimedia networking include the following:

Voice, video, and data are converging on a single network in both the enterprise and the Internet. The so-called NPN (new public network) is a convergent network that can deliver voice and video with the same quality as the PSTN.

Traffic prioritization, QoS-enabling features, and bandwidth management are critical for delivering real-time traffic over packet networks (in contrast to the circuit-based PSTN).

Multicast provides a transport for Web casting streaming audio and video from one source to large groups of users. No licenses are required for Web casting, and just about anyone can set up an Internet radio or TV station. Examples of streaming multimedia include live Web cameras, live sporting events, live concerts, and distance learning.

Voice has a relatively constant low bit rate and can be compressed to a 16Kbit/sec stream and still maintain reasonable quality. Small numbers of dropped packets are acceptable and there is no reason for the source to retransmit since they would arrive out of sync at the destination.

Video is composed of a continuous stream of data; but because of the way compression algorithms work, the stream may vary in bandwidth. When scenes change, a burst of new image data is added to the data stream. Some packet loss is acceptable.

Some streaming data is sensitive to delay and cannot tolerate dropped packets, such as a sensor that supplies continuous data. A QoS channel may be required.

There are two aspects of multimedia content delivery that you need to consider: realtime delivery and stored playback (also called on-demand). In the real-time delivery model, quality of service is essential. Packets must be delivered with minimal delay. For live voice conversations, latency greater than 200 ms is noticeable by humans. Stored playback transmits multimedia in a more relaxed fashion and in one direction. An example is watching a recorded video. Delivering multimedia from end to end over networks requires adequate bandwidth, compatible protocols, and quality of service. Enterprise networks can be overprovisioned to handle streaming multimedia, but bursts can still disrupt live flows, so prioritization and traffic management may be required. Bandwidth can be reserved for scheduled events such as videoconferences by using resource reservation protocols.

Traffic can also be classified and marked with priority codes using differentiated services techniques

Multicasting is a way of efficiently transmitting text, audio, and video on the Internet
or an internal network to a select group of people, much like a conference call includes a select group of people. Instead of sending information in individual packets to each recipient, a single message is sent to a multicast group, which includes all the people that want to participate in the multicast session. While multicasting is possible on a variety of networks, this topic concentrates on Internet multicasting. Multicasting is a one-to-many transmission. In contrast, the traditional method of sending messages on the Internet, called unicasting, is a one-to-one transmission. If multicasting is comparable to a conference call, then unicasting is like a private call between two people. Broadcasting is a one-to-all technique in which messages are sent to everybody. Internet routers block broadcasts from propagating everywhere. Multicasting provides a way for one host to send packets to a selective group of hosts. The key word is "selective." Users choose to be part of a specific multicast. Multicast packets then travel to the user from the multicast source. An important point is that multicast packets only travel across routes where there is an end user that has requested to be part of the multicast. This keeps multicast packets from crossing parts of the network that do not have multicast participants. Still, on the Internet, a multicast group is potentially huge, with members located around the world. The trick to multicasting is that users indicate to their local router that they want to be part of a particular multicast group. That router then indicates to the next router closest to the source of the multicast that it wants to receive the multicast. This process continues until a path is established between the multicast source and the person who wants to join the multicast. The result is that only routers that need multicast packets for end systems actually receive those packets. Nonparticipating routers do not receive the packets, making the process more efficient. Most multicasts are multimedia related, although a multicast host may simply broadcast a message or an occasional news item to participants. This sounds similar to electronic mailing lists, but IP Multicast uses special addressing and special protocols to achieve high- performance and efficiency. RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) is a protocol that works in conjunction with multicasting to transport real-time audio, video, simulation data, and other information over multicast networks. While IP Multicast defines how to set up multicast groups, RTP defines how to transport real-time information to the members of the groups and monitor the quality of the information that is delivered.

Web casting, Webinars, Web Conferencing: Whats the Difference?

Whats the difference between web casting and web conferencing? And whats a webinar?! These have been some of the most confusing questions in the online events marketplace for the past decade. Unfortunately, some vendors are only adding to the confusion. I recently Googled the keyword web cast and most of the companies who ranked highest under the paid search category were, by definition, web conferencing providers! As the worlds largest web casting providerand after answering these same questions from curious clients for fifteen yearsI thought it was time for Thomson Reuters to join the conversation and help clear up the confusion about these terms. A web cast is a live or on-demand presentation streamed in audio or video over the Web, often accompanied by synchronized PowerPoint slides. Ideal for engaging larger online audiences, web casting is a one-to-many (one speakeror panel of speakers presenting to many attendees) broadcast over the Internet which can accommodate thousands of simultaneous viewers. Web casts are browser-based, require no additional software download, and audio is integrated into the platform so no phone line is neededa user can listen to the presentation through speakers or headphones. A web cast is typically a professionally produced program in itself or coverage of a live event, streamed with almost any combination of interactive features, from Q&A tools to surveys, polls and social media sharing. A web conference is an online meeting typically conducted by a combination of Web browser and telephone lines. You can share your computers desktop with other users to present a demo or slide deck. Audio is captured and transmitted through your phone line or by Voice over IP. In some circumstances, video can be captured using a desktop webcam. Web conferencing is ideal for smaller, few to few collaborative meetings where most if not all participants are communicating (i.e. collaborating) with one another. In most cases, a web conference platform also requires users to download proprietary software before accessing the presentation and/or share content. A webinar is a seminar delivered over the Web and refers to a strategic application (often for marketing and demand generation) of a web cast or web conference platform. Webinars are typically used to deliver thought leadership content and include interactive features to allow viewers to submit questions to the speaker and participate in polls. Other tools relied on in developing a webinar include a registration page to capture audience information, reminder emails to promote attendance, source tracking URLs to monitor how users are finding your program, and an exit survey to collect immediate feedback from attendees. All of these features should be integrated into any web cast or web conference platform you consider. The ability to web cast using cheap/accessible technology has allowed independent media to flourish. There are many notable independent shows that broadcast regularly online. Often produced by average citizens in their homes they cover many interests and topics.

3 Factors To Consider When Choosing a Web cast or Web Conferencing Platform

The most basic objective for delivering any online event, whether its a web cast or web conference, is basically the sameto engage a geographically dispersed audience leveraging the world-flattening power of the Web. However, the platform on which you choose to present your content can have a staggering impact on the success of your online event. When assessing whether to use a web cast or web conferencing platform, there are three business factors to consider (if you need a refresher on the difference between a web cast and Web conference, The technology behind web casting is streaming audio and video. That means RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) over UDP (User Datagram Protocol) in most cases. These technologies are outlined under "Multimedia" along with related technologies

Web casting is also called "netcasting," "Internet broadcasting," or "data broadcasting," although web casting is more associated with streaming video and audio. Data broadcasting is more about sending news, stock quotes, and related information to subscribers using "push" techniques. Push is the opposite of "pull," which is what you do when you access Web site. With push, Web sites automatically send you information. E-mail is a push techniques that people use to send other people information, sometimes without the recipient asking for it. Think of push in terms of low-bandwidth data broadcasting (stocks, news, sports headlines). Think of web casting as full multimedia broadcasting. The ultimate web casting technology is multicasting, which is based on special Internet protocols that deliver content along efficient paths from the sender to multiple receivers. The idea is to send packets only along paths that lead to subscribers of the multicast information, thus cutting down on traffic.

Audience
Is your audience concentrated in larger enterprises, smaller businesses, or home offices? Are they in one country or dispersed around the globe? These questions are important to determine how your audience will be able to access your online event. For example: when using or viewing the application (desktop) sharing feature, most web conferencing tools require the use of java-based software which presenters and audience members must download. But in larger organizations, most IT managers prohibit employees from downloading software which has not been approved by the corporation for security-related reasons. Therefore, application sharing may not be accessible for all enterprise users. Most web casting suppliers rely only on the software that is already bundled into common Internet browsers. The intention is to remove any barriers to participating in an audio or video web cast.

If your audience is geographically dispersed, a web cast provides one common link to the same event no matter where the audience is located. A web conference, on the other hand, often relies on a teleconference bridge as the medium through which collaborators communicate. This means that a web conference may require multiple toll-free access numbers to provide local dial-in in each jurisdiction. This adds to the potential for confusion and audience frustration. As a rule of thumb, web conferencing is ideal for smaller, interactive working sessions with up to ten people, especially if you require real-time collaboration or documentsharing. With a larger audience, you may want to consider a web cast. Web cast participants can still enjoy the flexibility of real-time dialogue with presenters through Q&A and polling; its just managed in a more moderated, controlled environment. And because web casting is a broadcast format, it scales to nearly any audience size.

Presentation Quality:
How important is the quality of your presentation? Of course, you want every presentation to go off without a hitch, but some presentations are simply more important than others. A collaborative team meeting between two remote departments of the same company will have a much greater tolerance for mistakes than a CEO publicly disclosing a controversial acquisition to investors and analysts. Presentation quality can be impacted in three ways: Whether you present in audio or video The importance of promoting your brand The reliability of the medium delivering your content. Audio-only or Video: Both web casting and web conferencing offer video integration. With a web cast, the quality can be vastly superior because content can be captured by broadcast-level equipment and encoded for the Web while a web conference will typically rely on a local capture source such as a webcam. Though webcams have improved, the end result relies a great deal on production value and operator experience. A video web cast is usually a produced event, meaning it has, as in television, a producer assigned to manage the shoot as well as professional lighting, sound, and camera operation. The way video is handled by web cast technology differs significantly from its handling by web conferencing technology. Web cast technology was developed specifically for video, whereas web conferencing uses an audio tool with video as an add-on.

Branding:
Branding is seldom a concern for small internal meetings, but can be critical for public, high-profile presentations. Most clients hosting large one-to-many events are very particular about promoting their brand. Web casting always offers more options for customizing branding elements and layout to match a specific style guide. The look and feel of a web cast end-user interface often perfectly matches the company website to the point where they are indistinguishable.

Platform Reliability: Since a web conference typically relies on content captured from the presenters computer, system performance is always in question. The presenters computer is probably used for many other day-to-day applications, which increases the risk of a crash. Also, the presenter is often sitting on a network somewhere behind a firewall on a limited bandwidth connection. If there is any interference on that connection whatsoever, quality may suffer or, worse, the event may fail. Web casts are usually created in a controlled environment on machines designated exclusively for delivering web cast events. These machines are regularly tested and backed up for redundancy. Moreover, dedicated network connections are often used to deliver the encoded stream to a highly-reliable Content Delivery Network (CDN) for redistribution. This dramatically reduces the possibility of degradation. Again, the decision comes down to how much risk you are willing to tolerate and the impact caused by a failure.

Budget:
Though web conferencing can be purchased under various licensing models, the most common model is usage per participant. In other words, the more participants, the greater the charge. There are charges for the audio bridge plus the web conferencing application, which are often bundled. The result is that it becomes very difficult to budget in advance for web conferencing events because the cost always varies. A web cast, on the other hand, is typically charged at a flat rate for a maximum number of peak concurrent attendees, making budgeting much more predictable. Cost can also vary significantly between both mediums, especially for larger presentations that target larger audiences. Lets assume youre hosting a one-hour online audio event targeting 200 participants. If you decided to use a web conference to reach this audience, a reasonable price might be 35 per minute (including operator assisted bridge and web conferencing platform) for a North American audience only. That brings your total cost to at least $4,200. The cost of enabling global participants to join the event can be significantly greater. Additional per participant fees may be incurred to access the archived presentation. Instead, you could web cast that same event for half of the cost. In fact, if double that number attended the web cast from anywhere in the world, the cost would probably not change due to the fixed-price nature of web casting. Under some circumstances, you could host a video web castoffering superior quality and level of engagementat the same price as the audio web conference!

Reference: http://multimediacommunicationsblog.wordpress.com/2011/ 03/23/web casting-webinars-web-conferencing http://www.linktionary.com/w/web casting.html http://www.linktionary.com/m/multimedia.html http://www.linktionary.com/m/multicast.html