Re: FN-FORUM Music help

date posted 18th July 2001 18:11

> if you deal with streaming on a regular basis you will be
> aware that Real Player auto-downloads the latest codecs far better than
any
> of its competitors. In other words ... Real Player 8 poses no problem for
> the average user. Windows Media simply gives you the message 'That format
> not supported'.

Willie, my experience is only with music streaming, not video, but all the
testing I've done and feedback I've had, has shown the opposite to be true.
The asf files play on nearly every version of WinMedia Player if you encode
them right in the first place, while RealPlayer constantly asked for
upgrades/downloads which then failed or people couldn't be bothered with.
I'm not doubting your findings in the slightest - but they do not tally with
mine.... different environments and parameters etc. We can only bring the
benefit of our experience to the forum, and let the questioner work out the
ultimate solution for his/her needs.

> Let me know what problems you had with RA and I will fix them for you ...
my
> rates are very competitive.
>
No, I don't have any problems with RA (tho my visitors did) - but then I
don't really use it any more ;-) If you can tell me how to get rid of the
clicking that so often happens when streaming MP3s in Flash (without
compromising file size) I'd be delighted to know that!

Cheers, Paul.

P J White
www.BW3.co.uk
Digital Media Stuff


----- Original Message -----
From: "Willie Jordaan" [EMAIL REMOVED]
To: [EMAIL REMOVED]
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 12:51 AM
Subject: Re: FN-FORUM Music help


>
> The site (www.ymitv.com) is a pilot scheme and it is aimed at the higher
> income groups, which in most cases are net savvy ... and they normally
have
> the good toys too. It is still not unaccessible to lower-income groups
(read
> on)
>
> Real Media 8 was used due to significant improvements in the picture
quality
> over v 7. The quality enhancement far out-weighed the download issues.
>
> I'm also not quite sure how much trouble-shooting you do in streaming
> environment, but if you deal with streaming on a regular basis you will be
> aware that Real Player auto-downloads the latest codecs far better than
any
> of its competitors. In other words ... Real Player 8 poses no problem for
> the average user. Windows Media simply gives you the message 'That format
> not supported'. Take a look at some of the threads over the last 2 days
and
> you'll see this.
>
> I've look at usability of all the platforms and at the time of
> implementation that was a subject of particular concern. Real came out
tops
> our of all the results ... usability ... embedding options ...
customisation
> ... picture quality (not audio quality) ... multi platform compatibility
...
> multi browser environments ... ease of implementation ... stability ...
> firewall issues ... advanced SMIL options for near-future implementation
...
> Flash integration ... Real Player is also integrated into- and installs as
> part of NS6 ... etc.
>
> I also did not suggest the same interface for an audio site, but is was
> merely an example of what can be done. Audio applications are very
different
> in their approach. You may have noticed that since this seems to be an
audio
> application I did not recommend Real Audio, although normally I might
> recommend a codec.
>
> There are reasons Real Media has 45% of the streaming market and Windows
> Media has only 35%, although Windows Media has the advantage of being
> shipped with every Windows OS.
>
> Let me know what problems you had with RA and I will fix them for you ...
my
> rates are very competitive.
>
> Thanx for you comments anyway.
>
> Cheers
>
> Willie Jordaan