Video Cinematographer: Yechezkal Shimon GutfreundVideo files are large. This is because standard video has 30 image frames per second, together with audio information. A few seconds of video can be like downloading a web page with several hundred pictures. If one has a fast link, this is not a problem, otherwise one has to download the overnight, if one has an Internet account with unlimited connect time.
To overcome this, we compress the video using the RealVideo compressor. RealVideo will compress the audio/video stream to 28.8 Kbits/sec. This is sufficient so that most people on a dial-in line can watch the live video. As soon as you request a video, it will start playing.
The quality of this video will not be as good as our MPEG video gallery. MPEG is capable of true 30 frame per second video at full TV (NTSC) quality (360x240 pixels). RealVideo can deliver about 7 frames per second video in a quarter of that size (160x120 pixels). The images can also be a bit blotchy. But the advantage is that they are "live".
You can get the RealVideo player for FREE at the Real Video Web site. They also sell a version for $29.99 which has the added features of being able to record a video, and play in Perfect Play mode. Perfect Play mode means that the player will buffer up enough data so that the video will always be smooth. On my connection, I don't see a difference, but I have never tried this on a dial-in line.