Directories: where are your files anyway?

Browser:
Software on your computer which requests and displays "html" or web pages. Exporer, Netscape, and Safari are kinds of browsers.

html:
HyperText Mark Up Language: The code used to format and display web pages on your browser. HTML determines, font, color, justification, layout, images, etc.

Server:
The programs that make documents accessible on the web are called "servers".
It is also common to call computers which run the programs "servers".
Server is the software or program that delivers streaming media to the audience as well. In a live stream, audio and video files must be sent through an encoder in order to stream off the server.
The servers we will be using are:
"vpa.csusm.edu" for streaming QuickTime Realtime and Progressive movies
"nemmy.csusm.edu" for streaming RealPlayer movies. Can also stream Windows Media
"courses.csusm.edu" for serving html pages and their associates files such as jpgs.

Host name:
Each server has a host name (www.csusm.edu) so your browser can connect to the right server.
Usually this is "www" but this is not always true. (courses.csusm.edu).
The host server for html files for this class is: courses.csusm.edu
The streaming servers for the streaming files in this class are: nemmy.csusm.edu and vpa.csusm.edu

Protocol:
A transmission method used over the internet to deliver email, files, audio, video, etc. Some set the rules for how information is exchanged between servers, players and encoders for streaming media.
RTSP: Real Time Streaming Protocol (to stream videos in realtime)
HTTP: Hypertext Transport Protocol (to deliver html files and other web documents)
FTP: File Transfer Protocol (used to "put" and "get" files from servers to your desktop

Player:
The software on your computer used to watch and listen to steaming media or other kinds of interactive files. It renders visible and audible the streams it receives. It can be stand alone or be a plug-in inside of the browser. The two players we will use mostly in this class are RealPlayer and Quicktime Player.

Encoder:
Encoding a file employs an algorithm to reduce the size of the file for streaming. Encoding can happen prior to the stream with an application such as Cleaner 6, RealProducer, Sorenson Squeeze, within an editing application or while streaming live.

Codec:
Compression/Decompression. Each codec uses different algorithms to reduce data size, package the file to transmit it, and decompress it for viewing. You must decide on the codec which best suits your media; Sorenson Video 3 (SV3), H.263, and MPEG are all codecs used for streamig video. AAC, QDesign, and Qualcom Purevoice are all used for streaming audio. MPEG is a popular codec with many recent changes. To learn more about MPEG, you can read the glossary pages of Cleaner 6 in your course reader and visit the MPEG site.