Changes between Version 4 and Version 5 of live-video-streaming-support

Timestamp:

Aug 9, 2011, 5:45:06 PM (13 years ago)

Author:

Jamie McClelland

Comment:

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live-video-streaming-support

@@ -5 +5 @@
 Since early 2010, May First/People Link has answered multiple calls to provide support for audio and video streaming for social movement events such as the World and US Social Forums and the Cochabamba Climate Conference. We've learned many of the ins and outs of video streaming in vastly different circumstances all over the world. From Bolivia to Senegal, Palestine to Mexico, we have provided some form of virtual interactivity through broadcasting. No two situations have ever been the same and we have learned a lot about what works and what doesn't; and all using Free and Open Source Software.
 
-As a movement, it's critically important that we continue developing this technology, using open source and affordable technology.
+As a movement, it's critically important that we continue developing this technology, using free and open source technology.
+
+== The problem with how streaming is currently done ==
+
+Currently the state of video streaming on the Internet revolves mainly around a set of protocols and software owned by one company, Adobe. There are essentially two video formats that are used for the streaming done on most of the Internet today; FLV is used primarily for prerecorded video (Youtube), and RTMP which is used for streaming (uStream) as well as prerecorded video (Hulu). Both formats are owned in full by Adobe (and previously Macromedia), to be used with Flash Player. There are very few video sites on the Internet today that are not mostly or wholly dependent on Adobe software.
+
+There are all sorts of technical reasons why Flash is a bad choice for video. In short, it boils down to the fact that Flash decodes the video at the software layer rather than taking full advantage of the video hardware. This offloads all of the decoding to the CPU; this slows machines down, and spikes power usage.
+
+More importantly, however, while the Flash Player is free to download, it is not Free Software in any sense. Flash implements a non-open web "standard" for streaming video. Building streaming video based on Flash and RTMP means we are hitching our movement to a single company that neither shares our vision nor is willing to share the development of the technology freely.
+
+== Free software and protocols ==
+
+Fortunately, free software (both cost-free and free of intellectual property constraints on sharing) provides technologically superior options for streaming. May First/People Link has [wiki:free-video-streaming-technology a collection of tools using the free OGG video format].
 
 == How does streaming work? ==