Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Chapter 34. Video on the Web

Like audio, video clips were linked to web pages in the Web’s earliest days. Delivering video via the Web is especially problematic because video files require huge amounts of data to describe the video and audio components, making for extremely large files.

Many of the same technologies that have improved the experience of receiving audio over the Web have been applied to video as well. As with audio, you have the option of simply linking a video to your web page for download and playback, or you can choose from a number of streaming solutions. Streaming means the file begins playing almost immediately after the request is made and continues playing as the data is transferred; however, the file is never downloaded to the user’s machine. For a more complete description of streaming versus nonstreaming media, see Chapter 33.

Many of the principles for developing and delivering video content for the Web are the same as those for audio. In fact, some of the file formats are the same as well. This chapter introduces you to basic video technology and concepts, including the video file formats QuickTime, Windows Media, RealMedia, AVI, and MPEG. If you are interested in learning how to produce video files for the Web, the books listed at the end of this chapter are a good start.