| Review 1: | Web
Radio – Radio Production for Internet Streaming Chris Priestman |
Focal Press
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| Review 2: |
The Technology of Audio & Video Streaming |
Focal Press
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| Review 3: |
Developer's Digital
Media Reference – New Tools, New Methods |
Focal Press |
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Web Radio – Radio Production for Internet Streaming
This book about "web radio" is much more than what the subtitle "Radio Production for Internet Streaming" tries to indicate. It covers much more that just radio production for the web. Moreover, it should be praised for being probably the very first book entirely dedicated to radio on the web.
As practically all EBU radio stations have set up websites and many have been carrying out regular webcasts for several years, this book (even though published in 2002) comes slightly late to provide them with useful guidance. The web has opened up new prospects for public service and commercial broadcasters – big and small, national and local. But the web, in spite of all the hype surrounding it, has remained somewhat marginal in comparison to mainstream radio. The web has been a useful complement to the broadcasters' core business but has not radically changed their business models. Typically, less than 1% of the radio audience uses the web for radio.
Indeed, the book is a useful and comprehensive monograph about most of the relevant aspects of on-line radio webcasting. It covers:
So who should read this book? Well, it is particularly useful for those broadcasters who either want to start web radio activities or for more advanced broadcasters who desire to improve the quality, presentation, efficiency and choice on their existing website by embracing radio webcasts. In order to help the reader, several well-chosen case studies are given. Useful summaries are given at the end of each chapter.
The book is not intended to be a high-brow technical handbook and seems to be more suitable for journalists, social scientists, economists and marketing experts than technicians and engineers. In any case, the book is an easy read, with lots of information boxes and graphical material.
As someone who used to be involved in the technical developments of DAB, I can probably say that the DAB system is not sufficiently well presented in this book. DAB is not just a replacement for FM but has a tremendous potential for delivering multimedia services and data services [1] (associated to the audio programme or not) to small mobile and portable devices. Mobility and ubiquity for Radio are very important. It is then not surprising that most broadcasters consider DAB and DRM as their principal delivery mechanisms and are investing a lot of money in developing their networks. Web radio is an important add-on and a useful complement to terrestrial networks but is not there to replace them. The sound quality and cost efficiency of web radio have not yet achieved the same levels as terrestrial, satellite or cable radio. However, new compression algorithms such as MP3pro and AAC+ are in the process of helping to improve the Internet sound quality very rapidly.
The above comment is not a criticism of the book. It is merely to say that web radio is an interesting and important new development but it should be given the position it deserves in the overall media landscape. We should try to avoid any over-enthusiastic hype about webcasting.
The book includes a very comprehensive glossary of terms, a list of useful websites and an extensive bibliography. To this end, the book is a very useful manual to help students and teachers that are writing articles about webcasting.
In summary, the book deserves the highest attention of all those broadcasters that are already involved in radio webcasting or who want to become involved in it.
There is an associated website www.web-radio-book.com which is a useful complement to the book but, unfortunately, it is not updated very regularly. Things are moving fast in web radio and updating such a website regularly is certainly an uphill struggle for any editor. As the number of updates and revisions required on the website may grow rapidly, I would welcome a second edition – before too long – of such a well-documented and well-researched book as the present one.
It remains to be seen when a similar effort on "web television" may come to fruition.
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Web Radio – Radio Production for Internet Streaming
Chris Priestman
Bound volume of 275 pages
ISBN 0-240-51635-4. Price: £20.99
Focal Press, 2002
http://www.focalpress.com
Franc Kozamernik
The Technology of Video & Audio Streaming
What is streaming?
This term, often used loosely or wrongly, refers in this book to the equivalent of television broadcasting but delivered over an IP network such as the web or mobile IP networks. Streaming media is an entirely new way to deliver information, messages and media over the Internet. After being captured and compressed, digital media is packetized and delivered direct from the source (server) to the player (client computer) in real time. This is a continuous process with no intermediate storage of the media clip; media is rendered in the player as it is received (as opposed to downloading, which renders the media clip after it has been completely stored in receiver memory). If the content has been stored for on-demand delivery, it is streamed at a controlled rate in real time as if it were live. Because streaming uses IP which is a bidirectional protocol, interactive connection between the source and the user is possible – which is not possible with conventional television (a one-way-only transmission system).
The book has a clear structure. It is divided into three sections. The first gives background information to IP networks and telecommunications as well as audio/video compression. The second section contains the core chapters on streaming. The final section covers associated technologies, such as rights management (DRM), content distribution networks (CDNs) and some applications for streaming media (e.g. corporate communications, music promotion, producing rich media, searching and indexing the material, etc.) The book includes a short glossary of terms and abbreviations used.
As one of the reviewers pointed out, this book is a "much-needed introduction to the breadth and depth of streaming media." I agree. For broadcasters and web developers involved in media delivery across the web, the book could be a very useful first step in understanding the basics of streaming technologies. It is beyond the scope of the book to delve into the secrets of audio and video MPEG compression schemes, IP multicasting, peer-to-peer networks and media software programming. Also, as the progress in development of new codecs is so fast, the reader cannot expect to learn about Windows Media 9 series, Real Video 9, QuickTime 6, H.264 and other emerging codecs. These, and other subjects, not yet covered (such as media benchmarking and geographical limitation systems), could be included in the next edition of the book, which will hopefully appear soon. Another small omission is the lack of references to the figures in the text, which may sometimes be quite confusing.
Streaming technologies are becoming slowly but steadily an important complementary offering for public service broadcasters. Many broadcasters are cautious about streaming and consider it still as an interesting experiment, rather than a fully-fledged operational service. Broadcasters' websites are becoming, for example, a useful source of 24-hour video news clips which are undoubtedly the most popular items on-line. The increased interest is streaming content is primarily attributed to the spread of broadband connections in Europe and worldwide. Many broadcasters' websites have become media portals offering news, sport, music and other on-demand programming, as well as real-time radio and TV programme simulcasts. Sports events are often streamed live (subject to copyright clearance), but sometimes are placed online shortly after the end of the event for progressive download. The major limiting factor for streaming is sometimes the excessive cost that has to be paid to the Internet Service Provider who provides the streaming on behalf of the broadcaster. This cost is proportional to the number of users trying to access the media clips. Thus, the broadcaster – if too successful – may become a victim of his own success. At the moment, broadcasters have no business model available for streaming services. However it is likely that a working model could be developed in the forthcoming years, as the technology matures. Another limiting factor of Internet streaming is copyright (licence agreements).
In conclusion, streaming is becoming an important technology. Gone are the times of the jerky, postage-stamp-sized pictures with warbling, poorly synchronized sound. Gone too are the times when streaming appealed only to advanced specialists. The question is really when (not if) streaming will replace conventional broadcasting?
It is certain that streaming will not become ubiquitous tomorrow, not even in 10 year's time. By that time, such books as this one will still be of interest. Books do not crash …
The Technology of Video & Audio Streaming
David Austerberry
Bound volume of 331 pages
ISBN 0-240-51694-X. Price: £29.99.
Focal Press, 2002
http://www.focalpress.com
Franc Kozamernik
Developer's Digital Media Reference – New Tools, New Methods
This "brief primer for media developers", as it is called by the authors, would be an extremely useful reference book if it contained all the relevant information needed for advanced multimedia developers. Unfortunately, although very ambitiously conceived, it does not cover some essential topics for European broadcasters.
This book has been published at the right time (in 2003), when multimedia industries are now poised to take big strides forward in terms of the means of production and the channels of distribution. The book recognizes that metadata will become a crucial component of all forms of media. A powerful new generation of digital set-top boxes will become widely available. Recent mergers of some media giants will accelerate the implementation of interactive web TV and broadband TV services using Internet technologies. DVD will replace CD players, CD-ROMs and Video CDs. New tools for production promise to drastically improve the economics and quality of content creation.
The approach taken by the authors is systematic enough, containing four main sections. Each section is divided into 3 parts:
Part A: Background (fundamental principles and basic technologies, explanation of concepts and definition of terms);
Part B: Tools (which software and hardware tools can be used to achieve the objectives);
Part C. Methods (how you use the tools, tips for operation, possible deployment problems).
Section 1 covers server-based architectures such as streaming video, motion graphics, dynamic web applications and synchronized media.
Section 2 is arguably the most complete and comprehensive; it considers DVD technologies: DVD-ROM, DVD Video and DVD Audio.
Section 3 is about distribution architectures and covers metadata for digital media distribution, asset and content management tools and standards, and discusses digital rights management.
Section 4 outlines some merged architectures such as the convergent creation tools that can be used for print, web, video and disc production (e.g. Adobe, Apple Computer, Macromedia, Avid technology, Media 100, Pinnacle, etc). This section also talks briefly about MPEG technologies, interactive television and hybrid DVD. In the latter category, WebDVD is of particular interest, as it combines Video DVD elements into web pages or DVD titles that include links for launching web pages in the browser.
I much appreciated the clear, pragmatic and user-friendly style which is used throughout the book. In particular, comparisons between different tools given in tabular format are very useful, as the reader can grasp them all in one glance.
However, none of the multimedia books I've reviewed to date is perfect, as the subject of media production and distribution is evolving so fast. European readers will particularly miss any mentions of the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP). There is simply no information about MHP whatsoever. Distribution systems such as DVB or DAB, and their related multimedia developments, are totally excluded too. The TV-Anytime project has been confined to a short item given in the metadata standards section and contains just three sentences. The main metadata and essence container format, MXF – which is another emerging but key media technology – is not included either. There is no reference to multimedia developments for the radio medium (MOT). Repurposing of multimedia for small mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile telephones (e.g. MMS) is also missing.
Given that the content of this book omits some of the most important recent developments, the question arises whether or not it would be more appropriate to publish such a rapidly and continually evolving subject – as multimedia surely is – on a website rather than in a book format.
This book indeed does have a dedicated website www.dmmalchemy.com but ironically it is still being designed. What a pity!
Developer's Digital Media Reference – New Tools, New
Methods
Curtis Poole and Janette Bradley
Bound volume of 530 pages
ISBN 0-240-80501-1. Price: £35.00
Focal Press, 2002
http://www.focalpress.com
Franc Kozamernik
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