I am constantly being asked by clients if I would be Webcasting their event in High Definition (HD).
My question to them is – “WHY?”
They assume that streaming in HD will somehow increase the visibility/clarity/prominence of their videocast, but what they don’t realize is that only a tiny percentage of their viewing audience (if any) will actually be able to view that high-def stream. HD resolution is a quantum step up from the 720X480 Standard Definition that most consumers are used to. Those looking to view streaming video in High Def will not have an easy time of it due to the enormous increase in the bandwidth required of the Internet infrastructure that is available to most consumers.
The advent of any upward step in technology tends to question that which came before it. Video is a perfect example of this, as each change in the level of resolution has required new hardware and software in order to handle it. Let’s for a moment leave aside the increased (and more expensive) hardware/software infrastructure required by you to stream in HD – and let’s just focus on the impact on the viewing audience.
While an HD video can look pretty impressive, let’s ask ourselves why it is necessary in the first place...
1. Is the event a corporate/information event or is it going to stream the latest blockbuster movie? If its the latter, then of course HD (1080 or 720p) has the edge. If its the former (which it usually is) our regular resolution of SD (720X480) is more than sufficient and displays an excellent image and sound that conveys information perfectly well. 2. Who is your audience? If its the movie-goer looking to view that latest blockbuster movie, then yes, they probably would have the required bandwidth in their home Internet setup to handle the large streaming requirement. But that’s not who the average company is streaming to, is it? Most corporate/presentation/information webcasts are aimed at business users or individuals – some of whom do not even have the bandwidth to handle an SD stream! No kidding – I am constantly being requested to ‘dumb down’ my Standard Def stream rate even further to allow the slowest connections to be able to watch the videocast without freezes, slow-downs, etc.! Now would those individuals be able to handle an HD webcast? Not!
3. A comment I get from some prospective clients is that folks with slow Internet connections can view YouTube videos in HD, so why can’t you do the same?
Well, actually those folks are NOT watching YouTube in HD – simply because YouTube can adjust its stream rate present the video to them at lower rates and resolutions to suit each individual viewer. This is known as ‘Adaptive Streaming’ – and it comes at a price, which companies like YouTube and Google can well afford – but could you? If you could, we’d be more than happy to oblige.
Basically, it involves a 2-part process:
At the sending end, we send multiple streams at different resolutions and bandwidths and at the receiving end, the software setup is designed to monitor the speed of each individual audience member to determine which of the many stream speeds to offer them. And while it seems to present a very nice solution, it is neither cost-efficient nor necessary for the less than 1% of viewers who have the Internet pipeline capable of handing a high bandwidth Live HD stream. And once again, we are NOT streaming the latest blockbuster which requires an impressive display. As I said earlier, this comes at a cost – both at the sending end (for the more complicated hardware/software setups) and at the receiving end – ie. paying for sending multiple streams instead of just one and the software required to monitor and offer the right resolution for each individual requirement. Working with High Def resolution requires physical changes in hardware, for example, a video camera or computer, along with updated software that can handle not just the format, but also the computing power required to encode an HD stream. This is further complicated by the need to use a Live Video Switcher that can combine the multiple HD Camera streams before encoding the mixed result.
But the major required change is that of the bandwidth this format needs to transmit through the Internet: the present day infrastructure that constitutes the Internet “pipeline,” is not wholly prepared to handle the streaming requirements that High Def presents.
This is especially evident in the case of usage by individual consumers and many businesses, which do not have access to private Internet “pipes” but instead must rely on their existing Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the bandwidth they have been allotted. One must also note that when an ISP allots a “maximum speed” this typically falls far short of their stated maximum – which is why they sneakily label it “maximum”. This connecting speed directly affects the reception of the High Def stream. Present day HD will often be buffered at the end device before beginning to display, and even then, hiccups, freezes, artefacts and other glitches like audio and video going out of sync, will occur. This is due to the home/office user’s Internet connection not being able to handle the throughput.
So when you consider that the needed bandwidth speed for sending/receiving a High Def video stream without incident, it’s obvious that problems will develop when streaming – and that’s the last thing you need for a viewer-friendly webcast!
4. Speed is even more of an issue in the case of many viewers now opting to watch webcasts on their Smartphones and other mobile devices.
Transmitting a High Def file in its native resolution would be a ridiculous way to go, not merely from the standpoint of the resolution of the viewer’s screen but also of the processing power of the device. Even on Apple’s Retina display MacBook Pros, the screen does not approach High Def resolution – and as for Smartphones – forget it! Here you’ll need to know that transmitting streams at the lower resolutions will not only suffice but also make for a more efficient and glitch-free viewer experience, because the technology is only designed to deal with lesser files.