There is an innovative way to promote your school’s performing program worldwide. Now you can post videos of your performing groups on the Internet. There are two ways that this can be done. First, you can load videos to the Web, which can be played back by downloading them from the Web onto your computer. The second way is to post your video via video streaming. This allows the video to record a “live” performance while it continues to download to your computer. The advantage of video streaming is that it plays back almost immediately rather than posting it for later download viewing. For example, a one-minute video could be 60 to 100 MB in size, which makes downloading a rather tedious proposition even with high speed Internet access with cable modem, T1 line or DSL. But with video streaming, average computer users without high speed Internet access can view your performance almost immediately.
Never before in education has it seemed so easy to promote your curriculum, your students and their performance groups to such a large world population on a relatively low budget. This is especially promising in school districts that are providing free Web pages for their teachers and their classes. Video streaming is an incredible, valuable experience for what it can offer. Just a few years ago, digital video was something that was out of reach for the average consumer. Powerful computers were too expensive and difficult to use. Recent PC prices have plummeted while processing speeds have skyrocketed. Now, just about any new computer can do a decent job with home movies. And with software programs like Ulead VideoStudio 4.0, MediaStudio Pro and VideoWaveIII by MGI Software, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure it all out. Tens of millions of camcorders have been sold around the world and computers have become standard fare in the home. It hasn’t taken long for video capture cards to make the connection between the two, even if all you have are analog video capabilities with 8mm, HI 8mm, VHS, or VHS HI-Fi.
Understanding the Video Streaming Format
Before anything can be accomplished, the video must be transferred to a computer after it has been created. On a PC computer, you need to have a video capture card and software comes with the card. A PC capture card is used to convert analog video (from a camcorder or TV) to digitalize use on the computer.
