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Streaming Audio Files - Help
The basics of adding streaming files to your site for playback on demand.
You've got your website more or less constructed now but want to add audio files that automatically stream over the Internet. Adding these files are not such a bid deal. Properly done they need not take up too much space on your server account.
Simply put streaming audio files are made so that the sound will start playing as soon as enough information comes down the line. You don't have to wait until the entire file is downloaded. You can use this for lengthy audio clips. People are more willing to try out a streaming file than they are willing to download a 5 meg file on a dial up connection.
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Why do I need this information on streaming?
Smaller host websites and large established talk shows can archive show clips and other interesting audio. Shows with large budgets (like syndicated shows) don't need this page ... they already probably have a professional web design company or it's done in house. Those starting out in radio will want to use their own personal website with audio sort of like an online resume or business card.
How much room will I need to host streaming?
Naturally this will depend on how much you want hosted. A general rule is that one minute of streaming audio will take up 1 megabyte of server space. This applies to a decent quality talk format audio clip. If you want to post stereo music files you'll need to double or triple that amount. The more compressed the original wav file the lower the resulting real audio file. As explained in the audio section you can save sound in different levels of "depth" depending on how much a demand you will place on the software. Simple talking need only be saved at a certain "sampling" rate, much lower than is required of music. You can mix in some music with your talk clip and still keep the lower sampling rate, good for keeping bumper music or jingles in with your airchecks.
Consider using streaming for long audio clips AND posting a short sample clip in wav or MP3 format. If you have a lot of space you can post files in streaming and MP3 and let the visitor decide what they are willing to play.
Most paid hosting packages offer plenty of space for audio. In 2005 the average space offered is 500 megs to 1 gig of space.
The file types
Real Audio format and then the rest ...Because you will want cross platform compatibility (see article below) this section will deal primarily with using "Real Audio" streaming file types. The file extensions for this is .RM, .RA, and .RAM
.RM = Real Media (interchangeable with RA, rm files are created with several types of audio editing software and when using the Real Networks Producer software)
.RA = Real Audio (interchangeable with RM)
.RAM = This file will instruct your browser to open up the Real Audio Player, find the location of the actual RM file and so start downloading it for streaming. RAM files are basically simple text files. A Real Audio file without an accompanying RAM file usually won't stream but instead will require a complete download. If you don't have a RAM file for your RM file you can create one or contact us for a template file.You can also use the Windows Media Player to stream certain files. Depending on how large or "rich" those files are they will stream just fine or buffer interminably. File extensions for the Media Player generally ends with .WMF - The Media Player clips can work just fine for you but this section won't cover them in depth.
The software
Real Networks - www.real.com - provides a basic program, Producer, to convert wav files to Real Audio files. They constantly moves stuff around their website and finding the free version of that program is tedious but worthwhile. You must be willing to read the instructions on how to create a RM file BUT you don't have to use the publish function. The publish function simply creates the RAM file that makes the Real Audio Player load on demand as well as a web page that contains all the relevant info. You can save the resulting RM file in your web folder locally, upload that as well as your own RAM file. I suggest you try doing it the default way with the Producer software first and only create your own RAM files if you have a problem uploading with Producer. Some servers hold websites in confusing ways and it might be hard to configure Producer to get the files to upload to the proper directory.
Using Real Audio's Producer software is relatively easy if you have already worked with editing audio files. Virtually all people that started out on the bottom in radio stations are quite skilled at working with audio. You won't be able to learn much from me about mixing the file but I will suggest some items for you to keep in mind when converting.
Keep the original wav file small. The temptation is to create some very rich sound. I've worked with people who wanted to convert 25 meg - one minute - wav files into real audio. Not gonna happen without numerous buggering delays during download. Real Audio compression can only shrink the file so much.
If your wav file is under 3 megs for a one minute clip you should be OK. If the original wav file sounds great and is way smaller than that don't worry. I've seen great wav files converted to real audio that take up a fraction of what I've used and they sound great. The two things to listen for is the original wav file and the resulting real audio file.
Keep the original wav file in mono, not stereo, IF you are posting mostly talk.
Experiment with converting several wav file sizes to get the best real audio quality.
You will lose some audio quality when converting to real audio. Don't try to convert talk wav files that are under 12K sampling.
12 to 16 K sampling at 8 bit mono works just fine for talk or talk with limited music. Program Directors tend to like hearing 15 minutes of your work.
Once the file is converted to real audio and your finished with producer close up all your audio software and launch the Real Audio Player. Open up the converted RM file and try playing it. You won't be able to see if there is a buffering problem (a result of too high a file size or bad network conditions) but you will be able to test the audio quality.
Always have a friend test the audio link on your server, don't depend on your own browser since you might have made a mistake in the upload.
If your server space is limited it's better to have fewer high quality samples of your work than a large number of crummy files.
Keep MP3 and wav files ready and saved in case some Program Director wants more samples in a higher quality format.
More help with this will be posted in the future.
Other software ...
SoundApp - Sound player for the Macintosh.
Here is a background article on Real Networks
Real Networks
Excerpt by Richard Lowe Jr. January 2002
One of the big problems on the Internet is the fact that by far the vast majority of people use slow dial-up connections. In spite of all of the hoopla about DSL and Cable, perhaps 90% to 95% of all of the people in the United States are still on dial-up. In addition, most of the rest of the planet has not been wired for high speed access and probably will not be for some time.
This introduces a real problem to companies that want to sell or distribute multimedia on the web. How do you do that without requiring downloads that are hours (and even days) long? Many users will wait an hour or two for their favorite Britney Spears video, but they may not be as willing (or as able) to wait for a movie trailer or sound clip. And very, very few people will wait for an advertisement, even if the video is wonderful.
Many video standards were created in an effort to overcome this basic problem. Two different philosophies arose: streaming and non-streaming. In streaming video (and audio) you don't have to wait for the entire movie to download; the movie begins playing as soon as enough of it has been received by your system to begin. Non-streaming, on the other hand, must be fully downloaded in order to be played.
In 1995, a company call Real Networks created a new standard for streaming audio and released a program called RealAudio. At first this was used to distribute pre-recorded information. On September 5th 1995, the first live broadcast using RealAudio was the Seattle Mariners vs. The New York Yankees game.
Over the years since, Real Networks has constantly and aggressively upgraded their technology to include video as well, and to allow for a paid and subscription model.
Distribution of a free player (an upgraded paid version) was one of the primary reasons that the Real format became so popular so fast. In addition, Real videos and sound files could be played on Macintosh and Windows systems, making it more cross-platform capable than the competition.
The Real Networks formats are proprietary, which means only that the company and authorized agents may use them. You can purchase the software to create audio and video Real format files, but they are not cheap.Notes: Real Networks provides a free scaled down version of its "Producer" software for the novice.
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