Video Streaming Table of Contents Page

First, Video Files Not Streamed

These files below are simply posted on the server at www.summercore.com and you access them via clicking below. The basic command is A HREF and the videos transfer from the server to the RAM chip of your computer and then are played, probably using QuickTime. These videos were made from a Sony mavica-81 camera; this camera uses a floppy disk for its film and is capable of digitizing a 60 second MPG video file (approximately 1.4 meg). !

Now Let Us Talk About Video Streaming

Streaming video means that part of the file is being played while the rest of it is transferrring from afar. I sometimes use the metaphor of ordering pizza for helping people explain what is meant by streaming. Typically, we order a pizza, wait 20 minutes and have nothing to eat for 20 minutes, after which comes the entire pizza. If there were a pizza restaurant that sold "streaming pizza" then the first slice would arrive at your table within a few minutes while the rest of the pizza was cooking. You get the "instant gratification" of seeing the start of the video while the rest is arriving. Since videos can be very large, you might say that the value of "streaming video" is most appreciated with longer movies. The downside of streaming video is that you need an extra program such as Real Player to watch them and perhps you need a special server for posting streaming videos or a software program that lets you produce streaming videos.