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The Reality of Streaming
Posted On 16 Apr 2002
Jerky movement, poor quality video that buffers and very ordinary to nonexistent sound seems to be all Adult sites can manage now days, even with the latest improvements in streaming. I’ve been a Webmaster for several years and a keen observer of where streaming video is going, and often question the methods taken by Adult sites when viewing their videos.The Reality of Streaming
By Ross Philips, Webmaster
Jerky movement, poor quality video that buffers and very ordinary to nonexistent sound seems to be all Adult sites can manage now days, even with the latest improvements in streaming. I’ve been a Webmaster for several years and a keen observer of where streaming video is going, and often question the methods taken by Adult sites when viewing their videos. Web surfers are not going to tolerate poor quality video if they can get better elsewhere. If you are going to provide video content, either do it right or not at all.
I can appreciate the fact that providing high quality movies will come at a price, especially if you are giving them away. However it would be worthwhile to do so as your site would then do what most sites don’t, which is actually offer high quality video content. This in turn will attract customers, and in an age where Internet is getting faster and cheaper all the time, more and more people will be attracted to your site.
Broadband is rapidly outstripping modem as the Internet connection to have on the Internet today. Adult sites at the moment are foolish not to cater for them better than what they currently do. For the many sites I’ve been to, most of them seem to have a “one video for all bandwidths” approach. These are too large for modems to deal with, and aren’t high quality enough to utilize true bandwidth that broadband users have available to them.
I for one am sick of being tricked into believing the advertising for Adult sites but never getting what I am expecting. Only a handful of sites have satisfied the level I believe they should be at in regards to quality. Another question that I also have difficulty answering is why Adult sites don’t actually provide a “FREE” movie when they say they do and why if your going to give something away wouldn’t you make it the highest quality so that customers will return and possibly join?
Among the various sites I’ve surfed, the best I’ve found is a new site called xxxniteclub.com, which is gaining popularity fast. This site, along with a few other sites has what it takes to excel in streaming technology. Not only do they provide free movies, but also the streaming quality is one of the highest I’ve seen on the Internet, even at full screen, its practically like watching television.
I imagine, the cost to provide free high quality streaming to millions of surfers would be expensive, but imagine the amount of traffic that would return and consequently become members purely because of the high quality content they would receive.
For the sites that already have streaming in place, I can’t understand why they wouldn’t simply improve on their quality to capture a market that’s relatively untouched by high quality streaming, rather than the usual garbage produced and streamed by the majority of sites… It’s simple to improve on, and various professionals in the industry can help in this select area.
Larger sites could even look at providing real-time streaming. Unlike progressive streaming which is video streamed from an http:// server, real-time streaming requires a special streaming server, such as a QuickTime Streaming Server, a Real Networks Server or a Windows Media Server. However they have their advantages over progressive streaming.
Video streamed for real-time plays automatically. You don’t need to download the entire video before playing. You can jump to any location in the video clip and the clip always resides on the server. Video encoded for real-time streaming generally tries to keep pace with the user’s connection speed in order to minimize interruptions and stalling. There’s nothing you can do about general Net congestion, but the streaming server at least tries to compensate by maintaining a constant connection.
For the sites that don’t have streaming facilities in my experience and opinion, to capture more of the market and expand your site, it is important to look into these possibilities to help your site attract more signups.
The optimal goal is to produce the highest quality video that streams with minimal or no interruptions and a quick download. High quality streaming movies I believe will not only be the future of Adult Entertainment and Adult sites, but will also be the benchmark and distinguishing factors between the average, good and “Must Join” sites.
Remember if you produce high quality video with a high frame rate, a large viewing window, and a high data rate, you will get a video that looks great but will only be viewable for people with fast connections. If you encode with speed and delivery in mind, the quality suffers. The dream of watching high quality, streaming full screen porn is becoming a reality thanks too various innovators in the industry such as xxxniteclub.com.
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