The Need

Many websites stand out above the rest by broadcasting live events and streaming digital media to their customers. With media streaming, customers can view real time media over the Internet as soon as it reaches their computer, rather than waiting in frustration to download large videos. Today, Xserve and Mac OS X Server, combined with Apple QuickTime, can help deliver a powerful easy-to-deploy solution for cross-platform media streaming. Whether you want your website to deliver training, news, entertainment, or product information, streaming media solutions can greatly enhance your customers’ interactive experience.

Though Apple technology makes it somewhat easy to deploy streaming media solutions, many businesses just don’t have the bandwidth, time, or technological expertise to create effective streaming media. Depending on the type of media to be produced, the process can get complicated. Fortunately, help in developing an integrated solution for broadcasting and streaming multimedia solutions is available via the Apple Consultants Network.

The Expertise

Every company has unique needs. Members of the Apple Consultants Network are experienced and certified in the technologies necessary to provide personalized solutions. Most members are Apple Certified Technical Coordinators (ACTC), uniquely qualified to provide technical support and maintain the Mac OS X Server platform. Because of their specific training and technical skills, ACTC members are ideally qualified to help deliver effective media solutions.

Many members also have the expertise needed to set up and administer QuickTime Streaming Server and Mac OS X Server. For example to deliver simulated live and on-demand streaming, media must be compressed, given hint tracks, and uploaded to the steaming server.  These tasks are simplified with the help of an Apple Consultants Network member.

The Steps

Step 1: Determine your needs, audience, and budget

Your first step is to assess what your website is trying to accomplish. Depending on the type of business, your audience may vary from students needing to gather information to customers looking to purchase a product. You’ll need to determine whether you want to show live events, such as concerts, news, speeches, and sports coverage, or deliver simulated live events of prerecorded media, where all users connect to the stream at a designated time. Another media option, on-demand or  “anytime” access events, are more effective for lectures, interviews, presentations, and other prerecorded information that doesn’t require a designated connect time.

Step 2: Determine the elements of your solution

Next, you should determine your equipment needs, including both hardware and software. QuickTime Streaming Server and QuickTime Broadcaster provide a complete, integrated solution for streaming and broadcasting over the Internet. Combined with Mac OS X Server, you have power and flexibility without additional licensing fees or per-stream charges—an enormous savings in comparison to other media platforms.

Step 3: Implement your solution

Now that you’ve determined the elements necessary for your solution, you may need some assistance to put them into place. Members can help setup and administer QuickTime Streaming Server, prepare your content for streaming, upload your media content, and post it to a web page. If you’re broadcasting live events, their expertise will be helpful in achieving more encoding control or additional options for custom configurations.

Step 4: Obtain ongoing support and maintenance

After you experience the success of your first media streaming, you’ll want to maintain your new competitive edge with additional interactive enhancements. Members of the Apple Consultants Network can make it easy for you to stay on top of technology by providing training so that you can implement future streams on your own.

They bring a high level of technical expertise to your company on an as-needed basis, without the expense of a full-time IT staff. The relationship you develop with a member of the Apple Consultants Network can be ongoing, utilizing different aspects of their expertise as your needs change.