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Information Technology Services

Home » Streaming Media » Compression

  1. Streaming Support

  2. Streaming Home
  3. Partnership of Services
  4. The Streaming Process
  5. Compression
  6. Access Methods
  7. Audience
  8. Best Practices
  9. Production Tips
  10. Teaching with Streaming Media
  11. FAQ
  12. Showcase
  13. Policies

Compression

Our Helix server can stream media across the Internet in three major formats:

All of these formats will adequately support your streaming needs. It may help to know some information about your target audience or those accessing your media. Generally, PC users will find it easier to view media in the Windows Media Player, while Macintosh users may prefer QuickTime. It may also be advantageous to stream in multiple formats to try and cover a broader audience group.

Information Technology Services recommends the use of any format that is supported by our Helix server. However, users may have trouble accessing material from off-campus locations. As far as we know, this problem has only occurred with the use of QuickTime. The University firewall makes it hard to manipulate media encoding within this format. Given that the Helix server is built by Real Media, encoding in this format alleviates any off-campus obstacles. Further, the .rm file type is now supported by both PC and Macintosh platforms.

List of accepted audio and video input formats:

We maintain the most recently updated compression software available in order to provide quality service. With these programs, clients can get maximum flexibility with advanced control of audio/video parameters such as:

Audio normalization
Analyzes your audio to find the loudest sounds, and adjusts the audio to maximum volume.
Contrast/brightness
Contrast changes the range of dark to light pixels in a linear fashion. Brightness makes the image lighter or darker. These two filters can improve the compression quality.
Fade in/out
Fade in/out lets you create a black or white fade segment at the beginning or end of your movie.
Video noise reduction
The video noise reduction feature reduces video noise in your content without causing it to look fuzzy. Reducing noise can increase video encoding quality.
White/black restore (with image smoothness slider)
Squeeze gives you the option to control the levels of white and black in your video.
 
Information Technology Services
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Technical Support 336.256.TECH (8324)