Independent video in the Information
Age - Free Internet Broadcasting Software and Tools
by Dave Childers
Independent video has greatly benefited
through the use of the Internet as a resource.
Anyone now has the ability to produce video in various
media formats.
One of the main obstacles for Internet
video distribution is the cost of the specialized
software. This stumbling block is being removed with
the introduction and continued development of free
Internet video broadcasting software and tools.
The company that created the popular
Winamp MP3 software has also created a set of video
software tools. This software is known as NullSoft Video
and allows the broadcasting of both live and recorded
video content through the Internet.
These video software tools are free of
charge and can be downloaded from the NullSoft website at www.nullsoft.com/nsv.
Forums for technical discussions are located in the
community section at www.winamp.com.
The unofficial NullSoft Video information website is www.scvi.net.
This website provides tutorials, guides and free third
party software tools.
( NSV GUI is a open source third party
tool )
NullSoft Video includes a open source
video codec as a standard feature. More information
on this open source video codec can be found at www.vp3.com.
Users also have the ability create video content using
advanced commercial video codecs that allow for greater
video compression and bandwidth savings.
www.xiph.org
is developing alternative software to allow the
broadcasting of both live and recorded video content
through the Internet. The Xiph video software will
be open source.
Open source allows users and software
developers to inspect the internal software code that runs
a program and give feed back / corrections or additions to
the software to improve the it's performance. Open
source also allows continued development without
restrictive licensing as well.
Xiph is also developing an open source
video codec as a integral part of their video software.
More information regarding this open source video codec
can be found at www.theora.org.
These software tools are ideal for anyone
who wants to deliver video via the Internet. Everyone now
has the ability to harness the power of video content
distribution.
Tim Gnatek of the New York Times recently
wrote a article entitled "Internet TV: Don't Touch
That Mouse!". This article highlights some of
the problems associated with content delivery via the
Internet. These problems include how independent
broadcasters will be able to "keep up with viewer
demand, given the cost of the servers and Internet
connections required" in addition to "''How do
you get it (video content) from your garage to the
Web?''"
Those Internet bottlenecks are being
broken down by a resilient group of software developers
that believe Peer to Peer data exchange (P2P) does have a
place in today's Internet society. This Peer to Peer
data exchange can be used for positive legal purposes.
The development of Peer to Peer media broadcasting via the
Internet would break the cost barrier and truly allow any
individual or organization to distribute video content or
create a video content gateway.
streamerp2p.net, p2p-radio.sourceforge.net
and peercast.org are among the software groups actively
pursuing peer to peer video broadcasting software
development.
These video software tools will allow
independent video producers to effectively compete against
the major media corporations and create a vast consumer
driven niche market.
Peer to peer broadcasting offers huge
savings in bandwidth and internet distribution
costs. Standard Internet broadcasting or streaming
requires a data connection for each person who desires
to listen. A station is heavily
"penalized" for being popular, requiring
access to large amounts of bandwidth.
Using a peer to peer approach, data is
exchanged between individuals who receive the media and
does not require a data connection for each individual
from a central server.
This method of peer to peer distribution
is designed for continuous media delivery and not
individual files.
Dave Childer's first experience with
broadcasting was volunteering as a DJ at the student run
radio station WTOH at Spring Hill College. He had the
opportunity of rekindling his association with the
broadcasting, while serving with the U.S. Coast Guard at
Loran Station Port Clarence, Alaska. Port Clarence is
a isolated duty radio navigation station with very limited
outside media access. His crew operated a Armed Forces
Radio Service outlet via low power FM that relayed
programming from Elmendorf Airforce Base in Anchorage,
Alaska.
After transferring back to the continental
U.S., he was able to have access to the Internet and learned
about Internet broadcasting. The associated technology
continued to mature and provide great interest to him.
NullSoft developed and released Shoutcast streaming audio
which heralded a new age for Internet audio streaming.
The company that developed Winamp developed
and released NullSoft Video. Due to a lack of
centralized information, Dave started the scvi.net
website. This website has continued to expand and
grow, covering many aspects of NSV format and P2P
broadcasting ( streaming ).
