Dec 30, 2005 12:50 am US/Eastern
Live Streaming Explained
CBS4 is now offering Streaming Video on cbs4news.com, allowing us to bring you special coverage and events as they happen, directly to your desktop. However, there are a few things you need to know to get the most out of this great video tool!
WHAT WILL WE SHOW?
We'll show you special news broadcasts, like hurricane coverage, and special events, such as the Marlins victory parade. We won't show you regular newscasts except for our noon broadcast, sports broadcasts, or any CBS entertainment programs. Unfortunately, lots of rules apply to the use of video on the web, and we can only show you certain things.
HOW DO I SEE IT?
Streaming video uses Windows Media Player. You need to have it installed before you can see the video stream. Certain browsers, most notably Netscape 7 browsers, have trouble with some Windoes Media Player content. The player works on Windows and Macintosh, though some Mac software has issues with Windows Media Player. Note: Our regular news videos are presented in Flash, which plays on virtually any platform. However, we do not currently use Flash for live webcasts.
WHY DOES THE VIDEO STUTTER OR STALL?
When you watch videos online, you are seeing our video picture, sent to a server, which distributes the video to you as digital data. This server, operated by Dayport, can take thousands of viewers at once; however, network conditions between the server and your computer can sometimes cause the video to stutter or even stop. This can reduce 'bandwidth', the pathy from your computer to the server, and prevent smooth playback. This is especially likely in times when the internet is getting heavy usage. It's normal, and is not a problem with our system.
CAN I DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?
If you feel comfortable with Windows Media Player, you can change settings so that it uses a lsser quality to play the videos. The picture won't be as good, but since it uses less 'bandwidth', it's more likely to play smoothly when the network is congested. You can usually right-click (in Windows) on the video panel to access the settings.
CAN I RECORD THE VIDEO?
Unfortunately, there's no way to record the video from the stream.
CAN I LINK TO THE VIDEO ON MY WEBSITE?
Our links to the video stream make special references to our website which don't work on other websites. You can always link to us and allow people to click on the link to the video.
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