Webcast FAQ

Questions about Webcasting Planning, Terms and Technology

1. What is the difference between webcasting and streaming?
2. Which website does the audience log into - the client's or the service provider's?
3. What is the difference between webcasting and audio or video conferencing?
4. Remote or on-site signal capture - does it matter?
5. What is a player?
6. What does "transfer" mean?
7. What's the difference between "bandwidth" and "bit-rate"?
8. What do I need to know to plan a successful webcast?
9. What are the major variables affecting cost?
10. How do we measure the success of a webcast?
11. What do I need on my computer to experience a webcast?
12. Where are your webcast centre locations?
13. Who are some of the clients that your webcast team has worked with?
14. Do you specialize in any particular aspect of webcasting?
15. Do you offer complete Audiovisual & Staging services, or only AV services for the webcasting part of the event?
16. How much do you charge for a webcast?
17. How much advance notice do you need to produce a webcast?

1. What is the difference between webcasting and streaming?
The terms are used interchangeably. But there is a small difference:

"Webcasting" covers the whole process, referring collectively to all the steps in producing a webcast event from capture and encoding of content, to web development to create players and other tools, through to delivery to the audience.

"Streaming" refers specifically to the technical process of delivering the webcast to the user's desktop player program. The word reflects how the technology works: content is not downloaded and stored on the user's computer. Rather, it just "streams" through in real time, vanishing as it goes.

2. Which website does the audience log into - the client's or the service provider's?
Truly a frequently asked question! Viewers access the webcast through your website and are automatically linked to our advanced edge servers. So although they are not "on" your website to view the webcast, they'll never know it because Batipi's identity is completely invisible to your viewers.

3. What is the difference between webcasting and audio or video-conferencing?
Webcasting is a "one to many" medium. It enables an unlimited audience, regardless of location, to experience a presenter's message that is broadcast over the internet. Web access is all the online participant needs.

Video or audio conferencing, on the other hand, is a "group to group" medium, enabling remotely located groups to interact with each other, generally using telephone lines, from a specially equipped facility at both ends. Yes, a video or audio conference can be webcast simultaneously as well - in fact, we do this often.

4. Remote or on-site signal capture - does it matter?
It depends on your communication goals, and the quality of the original signal. Some events do not require the best possible sound quality, so the diminished quality that may result from remote capture (depending on quality of the original signal) need not be a problem. Broadcasting from a remotely captured signal can be like listening to a radio interview where the interviewee is on the phone, rather than in the studio. We can capture your signal in a number of ways - but nothing really equals the quality of sound captured live at the source.

5. What is a player?
A player enables you to view a webcast. It's the interface between your computer and the webcast content. Think of a webcast player as a machine, such as a VCR or CD player, that looks like a computer window.

6. What does "transfer" mean?
"Transfer" is webcasting-speak for the process of delivering a webcast to an on-demand viewer from our specialized streaming edge servers.

7. What's the difference between "bandwidth" and "bit-rate"?
The words are used interchangeably. However, "bandwidth" technically means the size and capacity of your internet connection (dial-up, high-speed, or cable). "Bit-rate" refers to the speed with which data (bits) can pass through the connection (bandwidth). The choices for webcasting are generally 56k, 150k or 300k. Note that "k" means kilobytes of data per second.

8. What do I need to know to plan a successful webcast?
Simply apply the rules of good business communication:

• Plan well in advance, so all the challenges (including technical ones) can be identified and addressed smoothly.
• Clearly target your audience, understand its characteristics, and focus your communication goals and strategies accordingly.
• Hone your message presentation to maximum clarity visually and aurally.
• Measure and evaluate your success.

9. What are the major variables affecting cost?

• Service option: will your event be live or served on-demand after the event, or both?
• Complexity: will content be captured from one source sequentially or from multiple sources simultaneously, such as several speakers in event break-out rooms?
• Format: do you want audience to have a choice of viewing in RealPlayer or Windows Real Media? (Our packages offer one format, your choice.)
• Duration: will your event run 1 hour, 4 hours, or multiple days?
• Size: how big is the webcast file to be stored and transferred to users?
• Packaging: how much development is needed to encode and "package" your presentation for the web?
• Options: do you need Registration & Log In? Question & Answer manager for live interactivity? Ad insertions? E-commerce linkage?

10. How do we measure the success of a webcast?
With webcasting, measurement is so easy, and refreshingly precise. Every webcast we produce includes a statistical report: number of visitors and unique visitors, when they visited, duration of viewing/listening, and sources of visitor traffic and, if you elect to have Registration as well, email addresses and company names of your visitors.

11. What do I need on my computer to experience a webcast?
The vast majority of late-model computers come equipped with everything you need: at least a Pentium processor, a sound card, and a Player program (see above question) downloaded free from the internet.

12. Where are your webcast centre locations?
Our webcast team operates sales and production teams in 4 major centres: Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. We also have production teams available to us in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

13. Who are some of the clients that your webcast team has worked with?
A partial list

• BMO Investorline
• Canaccord Capital
• Canada's five leading banks
• Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
• Canfor
• CIBC World Markets
• Economic Development Edmonton
• Finning Canada
• Knowledge Network
• Manulife Financial
• Pharmacia
• Catalpa Communications
• Telus
• Toronto Venture Exchange (formerly TSE)
• Workers Compensation Board of Alberta

14. Do you specialize in any particular aspect of webcasting?
Our webcast team has the expertise, equipment and staff level to handle every application and scale of webcasting, to meet the needs of business communications. We are known, however, as live events specialists — the people you go to when your event absolutely positively has to be flawless.

15. Do you offer complete Audiovisual & Staging services, or only AV services for the webcasting part of the event?
Yes, we provide end-to-end service by partnering with leading live event and AV production companies across North America. This means you only have to work with a single service provider. The cost to you will be the same whether you contract your AV staging directly, or let us handle the total project.

16. How much do you charge for a webcast?
For most organizations, a basic webcast is easily affordable. To make cost comparisons easier we offer simplified pricing in our complete webcast packages. We start with a pre-priced "end to end" package that most closely matches your event profile. Then options can be added to customize to your needs.

17. How much advance notice do you need to produce a webcast?
If an urgent last minute communication lands in your lap, we can handle it. Typically only a few days notice is needed depending on the complexity of your live event. For highly complex events, a two-week lead time is ideal.