You've Got Video
CMP Media Inc. - April 01, 2000 02:16
Mar. 31, 2000 (LTH - CMP via COMTEX) -- Are you ready for AOL TV? Someday soon you will receive yet another AOL install CD in the mail, this one with the slogan "I Want My AOL TV" tattooed across the sleeve. That's one example of how the streaming media market is heating up as content site managers seek new ways to attract and retain online visitors. The trend is fueled by daily deployments of last-mile technologies such as digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems that provide Internet users with more useable bandwidth and enable new content-rich applications such as video streaming.
"The opportunity in streaming is nothing less than delivery on the promise of the Web to produce new innovative revenue models," says Ray Weaver, senior product manager of content delivery service provider Akamai Technologies Inc. (Cambridge, Mass).
But to succeed, site managers need not only new streaming content but also ways to quickly deliver that content to the users' PCs. Ultimately, the Web surfer's experience will directly affect the bottom line of any online content company. That's why so many content providers are willing to pay for premium bandwidth (i.e., bandwidth that isn't overprovisioned) and performance enhancement services such as content delivery.
While most providers of content site hosting have been offering streaming capabilities to their content provider customers, they've had to face two difficult hurdles: performance and scalability. More than most other types of content, streaming performance is vulnerable to the congestion that afflicts the Internet during daily peak usage times or onetime events, such as the release of the Starr report.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that streaming media-defined as audio or video that does not have to be downloaded before it's played back-can be either live or on-demand. When streaming media is live, it is captured at the source and transmitted to an audience with a minimal level of delay. Acceptable delay, however, is a gray zone and depends on the user's needs and demands. A 6-second delay on breaking news may not be tolerated by a stockbroker using a T3 connection, for example, while a 30-second delay on a live concert streamed over the Internet may be acceptable to a teenager using a 56K modem.
On-demand streaming-which consists of content that has been produced beforehand and is available at any time thereafter-has a higher, but still limited, tolerance for delay. For example, I can view on-demand streaming theatrical trailers at 777film.com to help me decide what movie to see with my family. But if my experience of the streamed Mission to Mars trailer includes audio and video hiccups, I may decide to wait until the film comes out on DVD instead of going to the theater to see it.
Supplying bandwidth and bandwidth performance enhancements to streaming video providers represents a significant revenue opportunity for providers of hosting or content delivery services, according to Tim Wilson, vice president of marketing for content delivery service provider Digital Island Inc. (San Francisco). Wilson sees the demand for high-performance video streaming services being driven by the entertainment industry, by marketing from all types of companies and by fulfillment (also known as pay-per-view) of live or on-demand streaming content.
Of course, the user's experience will determine the popularity and success of new online content revenue models. I want my AOL TV. |
