Evaluation and Analysis

In this unit, I have learnt alot about the different aspects of streaming media. The most important subject I learnt about was the factors that affected the streaming media, as before I took this unit, I took videos off websites like Youtube for granted, and didn't think of the factors that affect the streaming of these. I realised that encoders are useful for producing different quality videos, and learnt how to do this using Sorenson Squeeze. I feel I benefited from this unit, as it has taught me alot about the theory side of the media, but also loved working on the practical side, and producing our own website and video, which all seemed a hard task at the start. Looking at the website and video now, it has come a long way, and I have learnt the production and design process needed to create them. I am pleased with the video and website, and I am glad I am part of it, and the fact that it can be sent to the council to use for education resources. By learning the theory behind streaming media, it now makes me concientous of how much work it takes to get a working video, and to please and be accessible for all audiences. If I ever come to creating a video myself and uploading it online, (for example a portfolio site), I will now consider the factors that not everyone can have easy access to watching the video, and alternate links may need to be provided for people that don't have bandwidth, or the right specifications for their computer. I believe that Adobe Flash Player will be the default player for playing videos in the future, even though a download is to be made, even though we couldn't use Flash Player to host our video.
Streaming media is used everywhere, and in the future, more and more content will be streamed online, reducing production costs, and making it cheaper for businesses everywhere. The quality may even become higher of broadcast television. Streaming media is the future.