RealVideo Encoder 1.0 works well for HTTP servers
RealVideo Encoder 1.0 4 (Very good)
If you want to add streaming video to your Web site, the free RealVideo Encoder 1.0 from RealNetworks Inc. (formerly Progressive Networks), along with one of the company's dedicated media servers, offers a solid solution. The servers range in price from free to tens of thousands of dollars and can handle from 60 to unlimited simultaneous streams, but no Mac versions are offered. (Windows NT and Unix versions are available.)
However, if your site requires only a few simultaneous streams, RealVideo Encoder 1.0 alone may be all you need. The encoder, available from RealNetworks' Web site, lets you stream video from an ordinary HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol) server as well as from a dedicated Real Server. Live video feeds are not supported via HTTP, but they are via a Real Server.
RealVideo Encoder compresses QuickTime movies into RealNetworks' RealMedia format, but it only compresses raw QuickTime movies or source video treated with Cinepak or an Apple Video compressor-decompressor (codec). To watch RealVideo movies you must download the free RealPlayer, which plays both RealVideo and RealAudio content.
RealVideo's Content Creation Guide gives a good overview of how various video conditions affect the quality of RealVideo encoding. Over modem connections RealVideo can rarely stream at the minimal 15 frames per second needed for real-time motion, and high-motion video tends to look blurry or choppy. Thus, the company recommends low-motion video shot with stationary cameras, such as newscasts or interviews. But since music videos and other high-action footage are more exciting than a talking head, RealNetworks gives you ways to optimize these video types as well.
RealVideo's 13 audio and two video codecs prepare movies for specific Internet connection types. RealAudio 3.0's DolbyNet audio codecs are included, along with new ones for low bit-rate voice and music. For video you get the standard RealVideo codec and the ClearVideo Fractal codec; the latter produces movies for ISDN, T1 and LAN connections.
Templates accessible through the main RealVideo window offer preset total bit rates for various connection types. For example, RealVideo's two Music Video 28.8 templates (one emphasizes music; the other, video) each allow a total bit rate of 19 Kbps. That bit rate is then divided between audio and video, with the higher rate applied to whichever content is optimized. In terms of performance, this means that if you emphasize music in your movie, video quality will suffer, and vice versa.
You can use a template's preset frame rate or select the Optimize Frame Rate box, which automatically varies the rate as the video's activity level changes. Custom templates can be created and saved.
The cutting room floor
Using the Music Video 28.8 template emphasizing music, RealVideo condensed our 160-by-120-pixel, 30-Mbyte QuickTime movie to 442 Kbytes in about 10 minutes. Played back at the template's default frame rate of 0.25 fps, picture quality was sharp, but the movie lost continuity because of its painfully slow pace. Audio, while not approaching CD quality, was clear, with good dynamic range.
The Music Video 28.8 template emphasizing video slightly improved picture quality, but it still looked choppy because of the low frame rate. Upping the frame rate increased fluidity, but it looked blurry and pixelated. Audio warbled and was distorted.
The RealVideo Encoder's High Action, 112 Fractal template for T1 connections shrunk our 30-Mbyte file down to 2 Mbytes. Unlike the speedy encoding of 28.8 movies, fractal encoding took about five hours. Upon playback, video quality was good; picture quality was sharp and motion was surprisingly fluid at 10 to 15 fps. Audio was also clean, with occasional dropouts.
Competitors such as Vivo Software Inc.'s $695 VivoActive Producer 2.0 (see 09.15.97, Page 17) offer a broader set of content creation tools than RealVideo Encoder 1.0, including visual cueing, batch processing and multiple output formats. VivoActive also makes good use of HTTP protocol by directing servers to dole out data in smaller amounts, which reduces congestion and maximizes streams. RealVideo has no such special handling for files over HTTP; you'll need a RealServer for RealNetwork's data- handling expertise.
Conclusions
While real-time streaming video is still more wishful thinking than reality, in its present form it can be a great delivery method for certain kinds of movies, such as newscasts, or slide shows with music. RealVideo Encoder's strong set of codecs offer lots of flexibility for fine-tuning content by connection type, and the capability to stream RealVideo over HTTP servers makes it useful for lower-volume Web sites. And, of course, the encoder is just a free download away.
RealNetworks Inc. of Seattle is at (206) 674-2700; fax (206) 674-2699; http://www.real.com.
Score card: RealVideo Encoder 1.0 4 (Very good)
RealNetworks Inc.
Price: Free
Hits: Can stream from HTTP Web servers as well as RealServers; 13 audio codecs; standard and fractal video codecs; compression templates for wide range of connection types; free. Misses:: Slow frame rates or blurry video over modem connections; works only with raw, Cinepak and Apple Video codecs; cannot stream live video over HTTP.