VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Jeff McNeal]

While (or whilst for our U.K. contingent) we're on the subject, I'd like for anyone who cares to help, to indulge me in a little experiment.

I have two files on my website. Both feature the same audio content, but one contains video and is more than twice the size of the other. The .wmv file is quite a bit larger, but it seems to "stream" somehow. It's hard for me to tell whats going on because I'm not sure how much local caching is going on. Care to help me out? I'm not asking anyone to listen to the demo, just to let me know how many seconds elapse from the time you click the link until the audio starts to play for you. and while (whilst) you're at it, be sure to mention what your internet connection is (DSL, cable, etc.) So please be sure to keep your eye on the clock once you click the links.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing if the download times are within my comfort level or not.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.jeffmcneal.com/Jeff%20McNeal%20-%20Trailers.wmv

http://www.jeffmcneal.com/Jeff%20McNeal%20-%20Trailers.mp3

[Spacegypsy]

Hi Jeff - the MP3 was more or less instant - within 1.5 seconds, and the wmv was about 4 or 5 seconds - both of these were with the Windows Media player closed - so part of the start up was the program opening.

[Jeff McNeal]

Wow! That's actually excellent. They were slower opening for me. The wmv takes about 4-5 seconds and the mp3, 8-9. Either one is tolerable, especially considering the more or less decent quality of the audio.

Are you on cable modem?

[Spacegypsy]

Yes, I'm on cable modem - sorry, I put it in the header of my last message instead of the body of the message.

Yes, they loaded pretty fast even compared to how long it takes to load stuff on this PC usually!

[allensco]

Hey Jeff,

I'm on cable modem here running as fast as my ISP will let it. Firefox is my browser of choice. I also used IE for the test.

With Firefox...
I couldn't play the .wmv file...it comes up as a text document instead of a media file and crashed my browser (Firefox 1.07). I did try right-clicking to download and play...but again, the link tried to come in as a text document.

With IE...
the .wmv file came up and played just fine...took about 6 seconds from click to start of play.

With Firefox...
The mp3 file had to be downloaded first, but played just fine. From click to start of play took about 12 seconds (including acknowledging the download).

With IE...
same thing....the mp3 file downloaded first then played. Took about 18 seconds from click to play (including acknowledging the download).

Both sounded great Jeff!

[Jeff McNeal]

Thanks for the report, Allen. Now THAT'S interesting. Much slower for you, but much the same experience I have when loading with MSIE (which is all I use). The larger wmv actually loads quite a bit faster.

Also interesting to know that wmv files crash Firefox. I know a lot of people like Mozilla, but I tried it and didn't like it all that well. Gives me pause for thought though. Thanks again!

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread, but the topic seemed consistent with the original question, I thought.

[Frank F]

Not too bad for either.. 3.5 seconds on the .mp3, 8.9 seconds for the .wmv. I am on DSL (a slow one at that). Both "stream" with no problem (Click to play). Keep the video... it's nice to see what you're hearing.

Frank F

[brianforrester]

Hey Jeff,

It was fast! I'm using a cable modem shared between multiple pc's and the wmv took just over 1.5 seconds, while the mp3 was just under 1 second. The actual time delay came from the cpu kicking in to open Windows Media Player.

Happy streaming/click to downloading :wink:

Cheers,
_________________
Brian Forrester Voice Overs
www.brianforrester.com
brian@brianforrester.com
778.668.5715

[ConnieTerwilliger]

9 ish seconds - wmf
2 ish seconds - mp3
SBC DSL
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Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[Dave]

Hi Jeff,

FWIW...

From Houston via RoadRunner/IE with multiple programs running (including listening to a Live365 station)...

The wmv file started playing 3.5 seconds after clicking the link.

The mp3 file started playing 2.0 seconds after clinking the link.

These times include the time for WMP loading up.

Dave
_________________
. If at first you don't succeed, then bomb disposal probably isn't for you.

[Jeff McNeal]

I think we probably have a good enough sample now to see what's going on.

Many thanks to all!

It's really been interesting to see the varying times, but I feel assured that these demos are loading "fast enough" to suit my needs -- hopefully! :wink:

[allensco]

Hey Jeff....just for your info...I ran a speed test on my connection today and here are the results:

2005-10-11 18:54:31
**My download speed : 613561 bps, or 599 kbps.
A 74.8 KB/sec transfer rate.
**My upload speed : 496898 bps, or 485 kbps.

That's using the DSL Reports speedtest server in California. Not too bad. Also keep in mind, regardless of the connection speed, it will take longer for some 'puters to load and play the files compared to newer, more powerful machines. I'm running a 1.4 ghz AMD Athlon with 1 gb ram. This machine, which I built, is almost 5 yrs old but still does a great job (not that I'm trying to make excuses for it!).

It was interesting to see how fast everyone's connection is too!

[kgenus]

Here's the golden carrot ... or nugget ... or whatever you think it is...

Streaming is no different than any other type of link on a webpage ... the code is in fact the same, very simple. If you do not know how to create links, do some homework at www.WebMonkey.com - it's a freely available resource .... or pay someone.

Here we go. I'm assuming the following:
/ <-- root web directory (where your html files are located)
/audio <-- root audio directory (where your mp3 files are located)

Let's say you want to stream Commercial.mp3, it's located at /audio/Commercial.mp3 on your web server and is accessed via the web by typing http://yourwebsite.com/audio/Commercial.mp3 in your browser. On your desktop, create a text file called Commercial.m3u, the content of the file is ONLY the fully qualified path to your demo (i.e. http://yourwebsite.com/audio/Commercial.mp3). Save the file.

Sidebar: If you are using Microsoft Windows it may associate the filename with an application and hide the extension so the name you see in front of you may not necessarily be the name of the file, you'll need to disable "Hide extensions of known file associations." The feature was stupid. Again, even though you name the file Commercial.m3u Windows may automatically name the file Commercial.m3u.txt double-check that you have the right filename.

Use your FTP software to upload the file to the same directory your audio is located in, in this case /audio. Modify your html file adding a standard link like you would any other MP3 link but call it stream. Create a 56k mp3 file from your original WAV (not the 128bit mp3) and place that on your website, create another m3u file and offer a LoFi stream as well. Simple.

That's it, you've just created streaming, or "steaming" content as someone said. This is not an embedded audio file that loads automatically, nor is it like a Shoutcast server that is streaming audio all the time. When an individual or robot visits the site, the link will be displayed and they'll have another option on which to click.

Today your website, tomorrow the world!

Kevin
_________________
Genus

[anthonyVO]

My votes for "click to download".
Just put a link to your mp3 file. Alot of web browsers are treating audio file links like streaming - in other words, they wait to download (into its cache) a good amount of the file and then starts playing it before it completely downloads.
So nowadays there is rarely a need to stream, unless you're attempting to protect intellectual properties, but even then there are ways around it.

-Anthony