In the first two articles on streaming media,STREAMING MEDIA – Leveling the Playing Field for Small Business – Part III Articles I discussed audio, the maturest streaming technology, and streaming pictures, which marries photos and graphics with an audio presentation. (If you missed these two installments, please go to
http://www.wbcimaging.com/articles/audio_article.htm). I’d now like to tell you about streaming video, the hottest and most exciting media development on the web today!
Just as television progressed from the black and white, sometimes snowy, broadcasts of the 1940’s and 50’s to the elaborate home theatre systems of today, streaming video is making the transition from tiny, blurry pictures to 1/4 screen color presentations with near CD quality sound. And with surprisingly good quality over the 28.8 connections that most web visitors experience today! I credit this breakthrough to RealNetworks, the creators of RealVideo, which is currently the most popular streaming video format in use. (Others about which you might have heard or read are Vivo and Microsoft NetShow.)
At the end of the first quarter of 1999, RealNetworks reported that over 45 million of their FREE players had been downloaded; this number is growing by 15,000 per day!
An online streaming video presentation is another marketing tool that is now affordable
and extremely effective. Streaming video adds far more than just a personal touch to
your web site; it actually sets you miles apart from your competition. As with streaming audio or pictures, a video presentation guarantees that at least 86% of your visitors will stay to listen or to watch. Statistics have shown that over 90% of white collar workers have a PC on their desks, but only 9% have access to television in the workplace. That means that you can reach more white-collar office workers during normal office hours than all of the network and cable stations combined.
Streaming video enables you to combine the best attributes aesoon_96 Twitch recording of web-based media with the compelling nature of broadcast media. On-line advertisers are realizing significantly higher click-through rates with the adoption of streaming media technology. Recent studies have found that streaming media advertising substantially increases brand recall, brand awareness, and positive brand perception. This really gives you the opportunity to deliver a powerful message about your products or services – much like having your own, personal “infomercial. ” Unlike a television infomercial, however, yours is available for one fixed price and it runs 365/24/7… thanks to the Internet.