FWIW, I hate streaming. Before, when I had my 2.5 MBit connection it worked most of the time. But now, when on a 56K modem it sucks! I ALWAYS try to download and watch from my hard drive. If I'm not given that alternative on a website I just can't see the clips. Remember that most people in the world who has Internet access are still on modems. If you want to reach them all you need to think twice about how you build your site and present your files.
Best/Tommy

Thanks for the info.

One more question. The way those quicktime trailers wait untill enough had downloaded before playing? Is that also done from the server? If so what kind of server am I looking for?

JBJones

Unless I'm mistaken, it's not a server issue. The video is encoded either as streaming or progressive. The progressive files "wait untill enough had downloaded before playing."

Using Sorenson, I always encode for progressive--both .mov and .wmv files.

<EDIT>

From the Sorenson Help file:

HTTP streaming uses the standard Internet “Hypertext Transport Protocol” (HTTP) to deliver stored media files. This is the same protocol used to transmit information from a Web server to your Web browser. HTTP streaming was introduced as part of Apple’s QuickTime 3 and is referred to as “progressive download.”

Advantages
HTTP streaming is a very convenient streaming solution with several advantages.

No media server required: The media file resides on a standard Web server, thus eliminating the extra expense of a separate media server, which are costly.

Simplified setup of media files: Because there is no streaming server, all you have to do is create the media clip and place a link to the compressed file on a standard Web page.

Local storage of files: The file plays as it downloads and the finished download is stored in the local computer’s Internet cache. The user can then view the file multiple times without having to download the file each time.

Deliver media independently of the client’s available Data Rate: If you want to deliver a media file with a Data Rate of 8 KB/s (equal to 64 Kb/s) and the client only has a 56 Kb connection, the browser client simply buffers more media before it starts to play. This feature allows you to dramatically improve the video quality while still streaming your video.

Lossless transport protocol: Any missing data is sent again so the user never experiences media quality loss due to transmission losses.

Based on these advantages, HTTP delivery is a very good way to deliver short clips to a broad audience. Most movie trailers on the Internet are delivered using HTTP. It does not make sense to try and stream these short previews. Plus, HTTP delivery allows the user to save the clip and pass it on to friends (better exposure), the download is Lossless, so the quality of the clip is guaranteed, and you can set the Data Rate to maximize display quality without worrying too much about the end user’s connection speed.

J--