RealSystem™ gives you the power to stream compelling multimedia presentations over a network. It includes RealSystem Server™, the most advanced streaming media server available, along with RealOne™ Player and RealPlayer®, the world's most popular applications for playing streaming media clips. This production guide will help you produce any multimedia presentation, whether it is a simple video on your home page or a multimedia extravaganza.
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Tip: To experience the many possibilities of streaming media, download RealOne Player from http://www.real.com, and then visit http://realguide.real.com. |
This production guide tells you how to assemble a RealSystem presentation. Although it provides many tips for producing streaming media, the more you know about producing audio, video, and graphics in general, the faster you will be able to create a great streaming presentation. Topics in this guide fall into four general areas:
Before you launch into streaming media production, you need to consider several issues carefully. What is your target bandwidth? What types of clips will you use? How will your presentation timeline progress? Addressing these issues is critical for producing a successful presentation. To learn the basics, start with "Chapter 2: Presentation Planning".
RealSystem streams a core set of clip types: RealAudio®, RealVideo®, Flash, RealText®, and RealPix™. You can stream just a single clip, or combine various clips into a complex presentation. "Part II: Producing RealSystem Clips" explains these clip types.
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Note: This guide does not explain how to use RealSystem tools such as RealSystem Producer™. For specific information about using a particular tool, refer to the tool's user's guide or online help. |
To unify multiple clips into a single presentation, you use Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), a mark-up language that you can write with any text editor. If you've written HTML, you'll find it easy to pick up SMIL. To get started, turn to "Part IV: Learning SMIL".
Once you finish production, you'll want to show off your work! "Part VIII: Streaming Your Presentations" explains how to stream your presentation from RealSystem Server or a Web server, as well as how to embed it in a Web page.
Because this guide concerns streaming media production and the RealSystem core clip types, it does not cover the following topics:
RealSystem Server is the streaming engine that drives streaming media across a network. You can learn more about RealSystem Server from this Web address:
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/media_delivery.html
Available for free download from http://www.real.com, RealOne Player includes a Help menu with entries that explain its many features.
To learn how to use Javascript or VBScript in the RealOne Player environment, see RealOne Player Scripting Guide, available for download from the following Web page:
http://service.real.com/help/library/encoders.html
RealSystem includes a Media Commerce Suite that allows you to protect copyrights for valuable media assets. You can learn more about this suite from the following Web page:
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/commerce/index.html
RealSystem Producer is the tool you use to convert audio and video files into streaming RealAudio and RealVideo clips. You can get RealSystem Producer from this Web page:
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/producer/index.html
RealSystem iQ can stream many audio and video formats in addition to RealAudio and RealVideo. For more information about the tools you can use to produce media in these additional streaming formats, visit the following Web page:
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/index.html
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Tip: Although this guide does not explain how to produce audio and video in formats such as MPEG, many of the tips given in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 apply to audio and video production in general, regardless of the streaming format. |
Whether you are new to streaming media, or an old hand, be sure to read the following chapters.
If you're familiar with previous versions of RealSystem, this chapter will give you a quick update on the many changes in this version of RealSystem.
If you are new to streaming media, this chapter walks you through the steps involved in putting together a RealSystem presentation, explaining bandwidth and timeline issues.
The clip is the basic unit of a streaming media presentation. The following chapters explain production issues for core RealSystem clip types.
This chapter gives you the background you need to create a RealAudio clip. It then provides pointers on capturing and digitizing high-quality audio clips.
Read this chapter to learn how to capture high-quality video content and optimize it for conversion to streaming RealVideo clips.
Using Macromedia's Flash, you can produce dazzling animated presentations. This chapter explains how to stream Flash clips with RealSystem.
Using RealSystem markup languages, you can create additional types of streaming clips.
With RealText, you can create text that displays at different times in your presentation. This is a great way to provide video credits and subtitles, for example.
RealPix allows you to coordinate still images into streaming slideshows. When accompanied by an audio soundtrack, RealPix presentations make a great alternative to video.
SMIL is the heart of streaming media, letting you pull together simple or highly complex presentations. Read the following chapters to get started.
After you create your multimedia clips, you write a SMIL file that pulls the entire presentation together. This chapter explains the basic structure and syntax of a SMIL file.
This chapter explains how to add clips to a SMIL presentation, explaining the various streaming and download protocols, such as RTSP and HTTP.
When you stream multiple clips, you use SMIL to group your clips and lay out the presentation. The following chapters explain how to organize your media.
This chapter demonstrates how to add presentation information to a SMIL file to enhance the playback experience and aid viewer accessibility.
This chapter shows you how to make clips play together or in a sequence. Creating groups is the most basic way to set up a SMIL timeline.
When clips play in parallel, you create a layout as described in this chapter. You can even make new clips pop up in new windows.
Unlike a static Web page, streaming media flows. Timing is a key aspect of SMIL, and the following chapters explain how to create a timeline, as well as how to link to other resources.
The SMIL timing commands give you a powerful means to coordinate clip playback. Read this chapter to learn the basics of how to use SMIL to modify a presentation's timeline.
Once you've mastered the basics of SMIL timing as described in Chapter 13, you're ready to learn about the advanced SMIL timing features described here.
Refer to this chapter to learn how SMIL's hyperlinking capabilities let you launch new clips or presentations.
SMIL is a powerful language that lets you add special effects to your presentation. You can also use SMIL to manage bandwidth, and stream different clips to different viewers.
SMIL provides over a hundred special effects you can use when a clip starts or stops playback. This chapter shows you how to create eye-catching transitions.
Read this chapter to learn how to use SMIL animations (not to be confused with Flash animation) to create special effects while clips play.
SMIL lets you stream different presentations based on viewer criteria, such as available bandwidth or language preference. Read this chapter to learn about SMIL's switching capabilities.
Prefetching is a powerful feature that lets you download clip data before a clip plays. This can help prevent presentation rebuffering.
When you finish production, you're ready to make your presentation available for viewing as described in the following chapters.
If you want to integrate your presentation seamlessly into your Web page, follow the instructions in this chapter.
This chapter gives instructions for moving your streaming clips to RealSystem Server and linking your Web page to them through a Ram file. It also explains how to use a Web server to deliver simple presentations.
The following appendixes gather useful information that will help you whether you're a novice or a professional.
If you are new to RealSystem, this appendix answers basic production questions and points you to additional resources on the Internet.
Consult this appendix when you want to carry out a specific production task, but don't know where to find the answer in this guide.
This appendix covers the types of color values that you can use with SMIL, RealText, and RealPix attributes.
The remaining appendixes summarize the markup languages used in RealSystem.
Once you understand SMIL, use this appendix as a reference for SMIL 2.0 tag and attribute values.
This appendix summarizes RealText markup, which is explained in Chapter 6.
Refer to this appendix for quick information on RealPix markup, which is explained in Chapter 7.
Use this appendix as a quick reference to the Ram file parameters described in Chapter 21.
This appendix provides a quick reference for common file types used in RealSystem streaming.
If you create streaming clips in different languages as described in Chapter 18, you use these codes in your SMIL file to indicate the language choices.
RealNetworks makes this guide available in the following formats for download to your computer:
.chm file for Windows 98 and later operating systems. It is identical to the HTML+Javascript version, except that it does not contain any sample files. The HTML Help version is smaller in size than the HTML+Javascript version, and it includes a search function.All of the online versions of this guide are available for individual download from RealNetworks' Technical Support Web site at:
http://service.real.com/help/library/encoders.html
The following table explains the typographical conventions used in this production guide.
Most RealNetworks® manuals are available in both PDF and HTML formats from the RealNetworks documentation library. The library's main page is at http://service.real.com/help/library/index.html. In addition to this production guide, you may need the following resources:
Start with this guide if you are new to streaming media or RealSystem iQ. Written for the beginning user, it explains how to put together a basic presentation using different production techniques. Download this guide from http://service.real.com/help/library/encoders.html.
Available at http://service.real.com/help/library/encoders.html, this guide explains how to use JavaScript or VBScript within the RealOne Player three-pane environment, or for media embedded in a Web page.
The basic reference for the RealSystem Server administrator, this guide explains how to set up, configure, and run RealSystem Server to stream multimedia. You need this guide only if you are running RealSystem Server yourself. It is available at http://service.real.com/help/library/servers.html.
RealNetworks offers SDKs for RealSystem Server and RealSystem Producer. Designed for programmers, SDKs help you to integrate applications with RealSystem, or create new plug-ins for RealSystem Server and RealPlayer. Get the RealSystem Server SDK at this site:
http://proforma.real.com/rnforms/resources/server/realsystemsdk/index.html
The RealSystem Producer SDK is available here:
http://proforma.real.com/rnforms/resources/producer/producersdk/index.html
To reach RealNetworks' Technical Support, please fill out the form at:
The information you provide in this form will help Technical Support personnel respond promptly. For general information about RealNetworks' Technical Support, visit this Web page:
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