Astream Explains Streaming Media:

Streaming media is the broadcast of audio and video over the Internet in a view or listen in real-time format. With a potential audience of over 350 million people and broadband access in every home and office in Europe now a reality the Internet has arrived as the broadcasting medium for the new millennium. Astream exists to provide you with the ability to use this new medium from concept to delivery. We provide you with the global infrastructure and unrivalled technical expertise for all your streaming needs from Virtual Conferences and Security Systems to Net Radio. We can help you turn your website into an internet TV station using Pay-Per-View and subscription services.

Astream was one of the first Streaming Media agencies to offer RealVideo 9. RealNetworks' RealVideo® 9 delivers unparalleled quality from narrowband to HDTV. By providing dramatically improved compression over previous generation technologies, RealVideo 9 reduces bandwidth costs while enabling high-quality, rich media experiences — at any bit rate and on any device.

We have extensively tested Windows Media 9 technology and we are pleased to be able to offer hosting and encoding services in this format. Download data sheet

Important information for Network Administrators - download new codecs to enable earlier versions of Windows Media players such as 6.4 to play Windows Media 8 and 9 series.

Astream has the technology to provide a full spectrum Streaming Media Solution. Previously recorded video and audio is edited, encoded and hosted on the special secure servers that are required in our 'state of the art' Data Centre. Our services are tailored to customers individual needs and preferences and we encode your media content for optimal flexibility using a range of digital formats in our encoding studio. Live webcasting is our speciality - your private 'in house' seminar can be viewed in your branch offices by a restricted audience throughout the world or alternatively your public concert can reach millions. Live webcasts can be archived for later access. We also have a large Web-studio on site which can be hired for special web events, recordings and broadcasts.

Services are tailored to customers' individual needs and preferences and we encode your media content for optimal flexibility using a selection of digital formats in our encoding studio for a range of internet connection speeds. Alternatively your content can be delivered as it happens - as a live webcast.

Delivery of Audio and Video over the internet has been made possible by recent advances in technology. It is now possible to view events as they are happening in 'real-time' on an ordinary personal computer by the use of webcasts. Astream can provide satellite links for webcasts if other connections are not possible. Archived encoded video is housed on special streaming servers and viewed on demand, providing quality content for websites.

Webcasting over the Internet is similar to broadcasting but uses special technology to reduce the size of the digital files being sent. There is also the potential to reach a much wider audience than with a normal TV channel - Last year 350 million people down-loaded Video Players. The largest video audience in the world. (Media Player, RealPlayer and QuickTime enable people to view streamed videos and are available free on the net). This makes it very a very attractive medium to advertisers and sponsors. Some large corporations with a global presence have already realised the cost effectiveness of Streaming Media and are beginning to use this method of communication for conferences, seminars and training. Privacy can be ensured by the simple use of a password for access.

The introduction of ADSL and cable has removed the restrictions of high call charges and encouraged the use of e-commerce. Even the slowest ADSL line transmits data at ten times the speed of the fastest ordinary modem. The expected rapid expansion that will follow will increase the demand for website content, especially streaming media as sites compete for that elusive 'stickiness' quality.

Clients of Astream have reported that, after the introduction of streaming video to their websites the volume of 'hits' to their sites has increased far beyond expectations. One client reported a leap from 8,000 per week to 300,000 !

Internet News UK Government Whitepaper . States timescale of expectations for broadband to become widespread in the UK. This is the relevant Chapter3 - See pages 6 to 9. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader).

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