Web Developer.com(r) Guide to Producing Live Webcasts

Rating:
Summary: vague opinion
Review: A rather long read, though the case studies are supremely useful. Dosen't have the CD-ROM full of useful programs that other books in this field have. Useful, but generally long-winded.

Rating:
Summary: vague opinion
Review: A rather long read, though the case studies are supremely useful. Dosen't have the CD-ROM full of useful programs that other books in this field have. Useful, but generally long-winded.

Rating:
Summary: Great Overview of Webcasting
Review: This is an excellent book that reviews how to produce live webcasts. It reviews the practical side of producing all kinds of webcasts from simple wordcasts to audio webcasts, including Internet Radio, to video & animation broadcasts.

Starting with an overview of the characteristics of webcasts, the book highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of online broadcasting. The authors include a brief history of online broadcasting and how the technology is being used.

The webcast production process is reviewed in detail, starting with the considerations behind developing a practical webcasting strategy. The book continues with webcasting equipment requirements including audio & video capturing, connectivity, and webcasting servers. There is an extensive discussion of the various practical elements of producing a live webcast, including microphones, audio cables, mixing boards, and other devices used in audio and video production. The book's overview of the production process concludes with promoting the webcast and production planning & management.

The book continues with an in-depth treatment of the specific production considerations of the full range of webcasts, from low bandwidth datacasts and wordcasts to high bandwidth videocasts and animacasts. Of interest to many readers will be the sections on estimating costs of the various forms of webcasting, although these are somewhat dated.

In the final section of the book, the authors provide their thoughts on the future of the webcasting industry. This section is generally excellent, however the book was published in October of 1998 and therefore the legal discussion does not include consideration of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

The authors, Jeannie Novak and Pete Markiewicz, are the founders of Kaleidospace, a promoter and distributor of the works of artists and musicians via the web. They have written other books on the Internet and the web.

The book contains excellent links to additional resources, although a few are no longer accessible -- no surprise for any book with links to the Internet one year after being published. In addition, specific webcasting tools have been superceded by the state of the art developments. However, the focus of the book is on the practical aspects of webcasting, not specific technologies.

I recommend this book for those interested in the practical side of producing live webcasts of any kind. It is a particularly outstanding book for those webcasters with limited experience with the "capture" side of audio and video, from the microphone to your computer's sound or video card.

Review by Mike Powers, Radideo.com Guide, November 1999