Video on the Internet

Video will be an increasingly common data type on the Internet as the cost of storage and of high speed communication links drops. Today's PC owner has access to video production hardware and software that was only available to professional's just a few years ago. For example, the feature film Cold Mountain, was edited on an Apple Macintosh by an academy award-winning film editor who could have afforded to use any equipment he chose.

Video will be used for individual communication, meetings and conferences, new product and press releases, entertainment. home movies, news reporting, etc. Some early examples are:

As you look over some of the above sites, note a few characteristics of the videos. Some are live video and others are archive video. Some must be downloaded then played, but many are streaming videos which begin to play as soon as a few seconds of video have been accumulated in a buffer on your PC.

You will often be offered a choice of bandwidth for downloading the video and of which popular player to use (Microsoft Media Player, the Real Video player or Apple's Quicktime player).

Video applications have important implications for individuals, organizations and society.

For an early example, consider these amateur political spots. Might low-cost video production tools and low cost distribution over the Internet have a significant impact on electoral politics in the US and other nations?

Perhaps the most compelling videos of the past year was that of the capture of Saddam Hussein. It was shot with a home video camera, and was soon on the Internet.

As you see, several clips were spliced together, and the narrative was added as a separate track afterward. Once produced, it was compressed and put on the Internet. The entire process probably took only an hour or two.

This futuristic commercial suggests that Internet video could be of political and social significance.

Teachers and students can also easily make instructional videos. This example mixes footage shot with a home video camera with that of a screen capture program.

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