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Summary: Timely information on web video
Review: Alesso has packaged and delivered a wealth of information on web video that is up-to-date and much needed by many folks. The book combines practical how-to information with solid perspectives on technology and trends. Nuts-and-bolts information on bandwidth, capture cards, editing, streaming, and formats like SMIL form a practical foundation for insights into business models, future broadband convergence consequences, and ideas about HDTV over the internet.I thought the book captured the essential technical and conceptual elements that a reader needs in order to understand both the big and small pictures of e-video. Professional web site developers will appreciate the deeper aspects of the book, while consumers can easily use the how-to basics to put video on their own personal site.
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Summary: Delivers a wealth of how to information
Review: Alesso has packaged and delivered a wealth of information on web video that is up-to-date and much needed. The book combines practical how-to information with solid perspectives on technology and trends. Nuts-and-bolts information on bandwidth, capture cards, editing, streaming, and formats like SMIL form a practical foundation for insights into business models, future broadband convergence. The book captured the essential technical elements that professional web site developers will appreciate, while consumers can easily use the how-to basics to put video on their own personal site. e-Video also provides a roadmap of the future of broadband video. This roadmap is useful to developers making appliation choices. The discussion of possible future paths for broadband video are also useful to investors evaluating the prospects of established and new companies. It provides not only a conceptual framework to enable a comprehensive understanding the convergence of technologies, but also a detailed guide through the complexities. Alesso provides a companion Web site that duplicates some of what is on the CD-ROM, but the site also provides updated current information. The book also provides additional references to provide the reader easy access to additional information on the broad diversity of topics covered. A valuable resource and how to guide.
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Summary: Delivers a wealth of how to information
Review: Alesso's book offers a comprehensive how-to guide to all aspects of web based video production. The language is easy to understand for the layman, yet provides all the necessary technical details and recommended tools for those intimately involved in video production. E-video is an insightful look at broadband technologies and applications for the future from an expert in the field. Hope to see more from this author.
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Summary: Excellent resource
Review: Alesso's book offers a comprehensive how-to guide to all aspects of web based video production. The language is easy to understand for the layman, yet provides all the necessary technical details and recommended tools for those intimately involved in video production. E-video is an insightful look at broadband technologies and applications for the future from an expert in the field. Hope to see more from this author.
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Summary: Dated and Win-centric
Review: Dated-at one time this may have been cutting edge material but now . . .no. the web pages do have one nice feature, the SMIL calculator but I'm sure you could find another one floating around. the web pages have not been kept up to date and really look it. The majority of the book relates to Window boxes. You'd think the web would be more non-platform specific. Also seemed patronizing towards Apple and Sun with no mention of Linnux . I was required to buy the text for a class otherwise I'd try to send it back. If the author(s) were really interested they could edit the book to leave out and add in material but I guess not. This was copyrighted in 2000 so I'd guess this might be more current, but I was wrong. Bad mistake . . .
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Summary: e-Video, an excellent guide to broadband video
Review: e-Video is an excellent source of information on internet video. The book will serve the needs of users and developers of video technology by providing one source for information needed to produce, manage and deliver video over the internet. e-Video also provides a roadmap of the future of broadband video. This roadmap is useful to developers making appliation choices. The discussion of possible future paths for broadband video are also useful to investors evaluating the prospects of established and new companies.
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Summary: Dated and Win-centric
Review: The CD-ROM that comes with this book is virtually useless. The web page samples do not work as advertized and I couldn't find any of the sample code that the book promised. To make matters worse, the web site that the book references for further information contains no source code that I could find and instead tries to sell the visitors on buying video services from them rather than doing it yourself. Here is a sample of the great advice from their FAQ. Q12: Why can't my in-house computer resources team do this for me? They probably could do an adequate job if given the time, training and leading-edge technology required to encode audio and video for the net. Most in-house computer resource teams, however, have equally pressing duties that have nothing to do with encoding. Just as you wouldn't buy video dubbing equipment or a photo film processor to do jobs in-house, it makes little economic sense to do your own encoding when you can have it done faster, cheaper and better with an outside digital service bureau. Not exactly the sort of advice that you would want from a book that you purchased to help you to produce your own video for the web.
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Summary: Useless CD-ROM included with this book
Review: The CD-ROM that comes with this book is virtually useless. The web page samples do not work as advertized and I couldn't find any of the sample code that the book promised. To make matters worse, the web site that the book references for further information contains no source code that I could find and instead tries to sell the visitors on buying video services from them rather than doing it yourself. Here is a sample of the great advice from their FAQ. Q12: Why can't my in-house computer resources team do this for me? They probably could do an adequate job if given the time, training and leading-edge technology required to encode audio and video for the net. Most in-house computer resource teams, however, have equally pressing duties that have nothing to do with encoding. Just as you wouldn't buy video dubbing equipment or a photo film processor to do jobs in-house, it makes little economic sense to do your own encoding when you can have it done faster, cheaper and better with an outside digital service bureau. Not exactly the sort of advice that you would want from a book that you purchased to help you to produce your own video for the web.
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Summary: e-Video and the Internet Revolution
Review: This new book presents a big picture analysis and roadmap of how internet video and the developing convergence of standards is leading to new applications of technology, thus adding additional fuel to the internet revolution. It provides not only a conceptual framework to enable a comprehensive understanding the convergence of technologies, but also a detailed guide through the complexities of new applications which is critical during this pre-shakedown phase of e-video. The insights from this book are invaluable in conducting practical technology evaluations of new technologies. The book provides how-to examples that are entry points into the topics discussed in the book. The book also provides additional references to provide the reader easy access to additional information on the broad diversity of topics covered. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in understanding the ongoing internet revolution and the expanding role of e-video.
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Summary: I've seen none as good as "e-Video"
Review: Until now, there have been very few introductory books available that cover Web multimedia, and I've seen none as good as "e-Video." "e-Video" is divided into four major sections: Opportunity, Production, Compression, and Delivery. Although these can (and must) get a bit technical to be useful, I found Alesso's style understandable. Video Opportunity explains the impact and opportunities for video on distance learning and ecommerce. The author discusses the nuts and bolts of file sizes, Internet transmissions, and the differences between dial-up and broadband connections. Video Production explains techniques for producing, capturing,and editing video. Video Compression covers the three major Web streaming formats from Microsoft, RealNetworks, and Apple. Alesso even explains the underlying multimedia XML standard, SMIL, that is becoming the foundation for those formats. Finally, Alesso describes the delivery of network video, including future strategies for broadband and high definition TV over the Internet. Having a companion CD-ROM is always good, and this one is a gem. It includes a well designed eVideo HTML "site" (on the CD-ROM with download links for free software and a series of video lectures, including many "how-to" videos that explain the use of common Web video delivery systems, such as Real and QuickTime. Alesso also delivers a more general 10-minute video that explains the process of preparing, capturing, editing, and delivering video over the Web. How well does this book measure up? I shared the book with a work acquaintance who has a commercial video background, and I had trouble getting it back from him. Any shortcomings? Video technologies change rapidly, and some information (like PC configuration) is a bit dated. Still, Alesso corrects this by providing a companion Web site that duplicates some of what is on the CD-ROM, but the site also provides current information. Alesso practices what he preaches on his site, by providing slow, intermediate, and fast access versions. With mainstream publishing tools quickly adding support for video understanding Web video is going from optional to required. To get a head start, I highly recommend this book.
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