Webcast From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A typical webcast, playing in an embedded media player.

A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using technology to distribute a single content video source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers via ordinary website URL with an embedded YouTube player programmed to auto play upon arrival to website, like tuning to a channel on cable TV. So while a webcast may either be distributed live or on demand, streaming refers to real time broadcasting- broadcastreaming. Essentially, webcasting is broadcasting over the Internet- hence new word of broadcastream, webroadcasts, TelevisioNetwork and one other.. As streaming is the action on the Web of creating the effect of live TV- streaming video is video that may be live or recorded video but is being shared not by a webcast- an uploaded on-demand archival replayed content- the 2nd of two ways or methods to view and monetize video content online- with the rst being streaming video that is to say the real-time broadcasting on the web, and secondly, on demand webcasts that could be live but are generally recorded. As the future of online TV is reected by the vernacular of video and terms like Webcast and Stream are very important verbs to

describe the delivery of motion picture content online If Webcasts are streamed online TV then quad erat demonstratum,

WEBCASTREAMS
is the ideal descriptive but unique brand name for an online aggregator of niche network channels, unifying 100-200 streams delivered via single site portal with 100-200 links to specialized niche content which is both streamed as well as archived for on demand replay. Webcasting is also used extensively in the commercial sector for investor relations presentations (such as Annual General Meetings), in e-learning (to transmit seminars), and related communications activities. The ability to webcast using cheap/accessible technology has allowed independent media to ourish. There are many notable independent shows that broadcast regularly online. Often produced by average citizens in their homes they cover many interests and topics. Webcasts relating to computers, technology, and news are particularly popular and many new shows are added regularly. "Webcasting" was rst publicly described and presented by Brian Raila of GTE Laboratories at InterTainment '89, 1989, held in New York City, USA. Raila recognized that a viewer/listener need not

download the entirety of a program to view/listen to a portion thereof, so long as the receiving device ("client computer") could, over time, receive and present data more rapidly than the user could digest the same. Raila used the term "buffered media" to describe this concept. Raila was joined by James Paschetto of GTE Laboratories to further demonstrate the concept. Paschetto was singularly responsible for the rst workable prototype of streaming media, which Raila presented and demonstrated at the Voice Mail Association of Europe 1995 Fall Meeting of October 1995, in Montreux, Switzerland. Alan Saperstein (Visual Data, now known as Onstream Media (Nasdaq:ONSM), was the rst company to feature video webcasting in June 1993 with HotelView,[1] a travel library of two minute videos featuring thousands of hotel properties worldwide. On November 4, 1994, Stef van der Ziel distributed the rst live video images over the web from the Simplon venue in Groningen. [2] On November 7, 1994, WXYC, the college radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill became the rst radio station in the world to broadcast its signal over the internet.[3][4] The term webcasting was coined (in the early/mid 1990s) when webcast/streaming pioneers Mark Cuban (Audionet), Howard Gordon (Xing Technologies), William Mutual (ITV.net), Craig Schmieder (Applied Media Resources) and Peggy Miles (InterVox Communications) got together with a community of webcasters to pick a term to describe the technology of sending audio and video on the Net that might make sense to people.

The largest "webcasters" include existing radio and TV stations, who "simulcast" their output through online TV or online radio streaming, as well as a multitude of Internet only "stations". Rights and licensing bodies offer specic "webcasting licenses" to those wishing to carry out Internet broadcasting using copyrighted material. The term netcasting was a consideration, but one of the early webcast community members owned a company called NetCast, so that term was not used, seeking a name that would not be branded to one company. Discussions were also conducted about the term with the National Association of Broadcasters for their books Internet Age Broadcaster I and II, written by Peggy Miles and Dean Sakai.

Virtually all the major broadcasters have a webcast of their output, from the BBC to CNN to Al Jazeera to UNTV in television to Radio China, Vatican Radio,[5] United Nations Radio and the World Service in radio.

The earliest webcast equivalent of an online concert and one of the earliest examples of webcasting itself was by Apple Computer's Webcasting Group in partnership with the entrepreneurs Michael Dorf and Andrew Rasiej. Together with David B. Pakman from Apple, they launched the Macintosh New York Music Festival from July 1722, 1995. This event audio webcast concerts from more than

15 clubs in New York City. Apple later webcast a concert by Metallica on June 10, 1996 live from Slim's in San Francisco.[6] In 1996, Apple webcast the Recording Academy Grammy awards. In January 1997, the launch of UK NetYear was webcast from London. Managed by Chelgate, it was the second webcast in the UK, the rst being a David Bowie concert some months earlier. The UK NetYear webcast was only watched by a handful of people, although it was also simulataneously broadcast by satellite from London to Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast, and to 23 schools around the country. On August 13, 1998, it is generally believed the rst webcast wedding took place, between Alan K'necht and Carrie Silverman in Toronto Canada.[7][8] On October 22, 1998, the rst Billy Graham Crusade was broadcast live to a worldwide audience from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Florida courtesy of Dale Ficken and the WebcastCenter in Pennsylvania. The live signal was broadcast via satellite to PA, then encoded and streamed via the BGEA website.[9] On December 31, 1998 it is believed to be the rst teleconferenced/ webcast wedding to date. Dale Ficken and Lorrie Scarangella wed on this date and are married by Jerry Falwell while he sat in his ofce in Lynchburg VA. and they stood in a church in Pennsylvania.[10] A notable webcast took place in September 1999 to launch NetAid, a project to promote Internet use in the world's poorest countries. Three high prole concerts were to be broadcast simultaneously on the BBC, MTV and over the Internet: a London concert at Wembley Stadium featuring the likes of Robbie Williams and George Michael; a New York concert featuring Bono of U2 and Wyclef Jean;

and a Geneva concert. More recently, Live8 (AOL) claimed around 170,000 concurrent viewers (up to 400kbit/s) and the BBC received about the same (10Gbit/s) on the day of the 7 July 2005 bombings in London. The growth of webcast trafc has roughly doubled, year on year, since 1995 and is directly linked to broadband penetration. The rst free Sunday morning webcast of a live worship service in the United States was initiated in January 2005 at Wekiva Presbyterian Church of Longwood, FL; this webcast ministry is ongoing.[11] Connecting Media was one of the rst companies to do live webcasting using a special IFP Van (Internet Field Production) dedicated to webcasting. Today, webcasts are being used more frequently and by novice users. Live webcasts enable the viewing of presentations, business meetings, and seminars etc. for those that telecommute rather than attend. Such sites offer live broadcasting as an affordable alternative to attending physical public speaking events expanding the viewing audience to anyone that has an internet connection. Other live webcasts are held completely online independent of any ofine component. Webcast content network sites can enable users to nd content that interests them by searching the site. Private users can use social webcast forums such as YouTube, commercial webcast forums such as BrightTALK or enterprise webcasting platforms such as Mediasite by Sonic Foundry. Usually, no sophisticated technical experience or equipment is required and content (commonly limited to 10 or 30 minutes) can simply be uploaded. Live sporting events, both local and national, have also quickly become frequent webcast subjects. With regard to smaller events

such as Little League, amateur sports, small college sports, and high school sports, webcasting allows these events to have full audio or video coverage online when they may not be able to book standard radio or TV time. Websites like Meridix Webcast Network, Texas Sports Radio Network, SportsJuice, and others allow local schools, teams, and broadcasters to produce their own webcasts, which also have the advantage of being accessible to anyone with an internet connection (i.e. relatives several states away), unlike the range and market limitations of terrestrial radio and TV.