Church Sound Article Fri, December 05, 2008

by Brent Harshbarger

Streaming media gives you the ability to create your own “radio and television” network with live programming and provide Video On Demand (VOD). Streaming media in conjunction with the web gives any person or organization the ability to produce and deliver media content to a worldwide audience.

Creative teams can produce drama, comedies, documentaries, and educational material on a level with those of traditional media concerns. This is all possible due to the advances in digital technology from the camera clear through to distribution. And, the ability to be able to produce and deliver a high quality message just gets better with each generation of hardware and software.

Streaming media and networking technologies have leveled the field for those who want to produce quality programming. Broadcast networks, magazines, and other traditional media are looking to the Internet as an alternative outlet, because it can be an economical way to have worldwide distribution.

Microsoft, Apple, and even phone companies are trying to get their gear to be the device for consuming media and entertainment. This makes the future even better for non-traditional media companies to compete globally with quality media and entertainment.

The trend from traditional concerns recently started with ABC as one of the first networks to introduce full episodes of their shows to be available on the web for viewing immediately after the episode aired. This is a type of streaming media called Video On Demand (VOD).

This same technology is available to everyone. It does require additional development using web technologies such as Flash, JavaScript, AJAX, and web services and other technologies to produce interactivity on the web. CNN created a network called Pipeline to specifically deliver interactive technology with both live and on-demand news content with streaming media across the Internet.