Wait a minute, don't skip this page! This is a serious topic!
Okay, it's really not television, but close. We are definitely not
talking about sitcoms and re-runs.
STREAMING VIDEO
Webcasting video over the World Wide Web is the latest triumph of the Internet. Text took
wing with e-mail, the World Wide Web brought us the global image, and now the picture moves!
Technically, they call this stuff streaming video, because it doesn't get downloaded before it plays
(avoiding delay as well as copyright issues). Click a link on a web site or in an e-mail message,
then with only a minute's wait, you can be watching a training seminar or a lecture by your
favorite law professor.
REQUIREMENTS
Fat "pipes" really pay off in streaming. The slower your Internet connection, the more you'll
need to squint and wait. Dial-up access via 56K modem is usually satisfactory, though motion is
jerky and the screen is typically reduced to business card-size. (Don't even bother with 28.8
except for audio-only webcasts.) The more speed, the better. DSL, cable, T1, or T3, big Kbps
(Kilobits per second transmission speed) can really make a webcast sizzle.
To watch a webcast, besides an Internet connection, you'll need "player" software. Don't worry,
it's free and surprisingly easy to download; installation is automatic. Like a physical TV set, the
player software lets you control the volume, stop, fast forward, rewind, or re-start the video.
THE BIG 3
Player software for streaming video comes in three flavors:
Windows Media Player™ from Microsoft (resident heavyweight),
RealPlayer™ from RealNetworks (works on PC and Mac — the pioneer), or
Quicktime® player from Apple (for the Mac domain).
Generally, RealPlayer (called RealAudio long ago, when life was simple)
offers the best solution (it's cross-platform and leads in features), but it must be downloaded and
brings with it annoying advertisements.
Microsoft Windows users will find Windows Media Player quite appealing
— since it's already installed! It's been bundled with Windows since Win95. Mac users
have Quicktime built-in. Make your own decision.
WHAT'S ON TONIGHT?
Now, for your viewing pleasure, I offer ... drum roll please ... this month's selection of
two webcasters, one public, one private:
JURIST - “Law School Video Lectures”
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http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/live.htm
This web site of the University of Pittsburgh Law School presents over 100 videos from 1999 to
date of lectures, conferences, panels, classes, speeches, debates and special events at various law
schools. (Requires RealPlayer.)
This is an extensive archive of videos, which breaks into two groups:
-
Current events (Iraq; Corporate Crisis and the Enron Scandal; Terrorism, Civil Liberties and
9/11)
-
23 substantive categories: Administrative Law, Antitrust Law, Biotechnology and Bioethics,
Civil Rights and Race, Commercial Law, Communications Law, Constitutional Law, Contract
Law, Corporations Law, Courts and Judges, Crime and Punishment, Cyberspace Law, Disability
Law, Elder Law, Election Law, Environmental Law, Family Law, Feminist
Jurisprudence/Women and the Law, Intellectual Property and Copyright, International and
Comparative Law, Islamic Law, Labor and Employment Law, Law and Legal Theory, Law
School and Legal Education
Just a click or two and you can see Alan Dershowitz debate “The Morality of Attacking
Iraq,” Gary Hart discuss “Terrorism and the Law,” Rev. Jesse Jackson lecture
on “America's Response to Terrorism,” Anita Hill speak about the “Scholarly
Legacy of A. Leon Higgenbotham,” and over 100 substantive legal discussions.
Brobeck Phleger & Harrison
http://www.brobeck.com/news_events/ads.asp - now closed
The web site of this now defunct law firm once offered a robust, well-implemented presentation
of three repurposed 30-second TV ads in the areas of IP, M&A, and VC (for Windows Media
Player, RealPlayer, and Quicktime). The Quicktime webcast was beautiful even at 56K.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle (1-31-03), when the firm announced its intent to close,
Brobeck management “delivered the news to shocked employees in a series of
videoconferences.”
In fact, the Brobeck closing was not communicated via webcast (they have a well-developed
video conferencing system that links all their offices), but it is interesting to use the event as an
example to bring the tradeoffs into focus, video conferencing vs. webcasting.
This is a big category, but generally videoconferencing devices allow live 2-way broadcast to
similarly equipped conference rooms. Calls to elicit comment from the firm have not been
returned, but my guess is that Brobeck management sweated through several live presentations
one-after-the-other to flights of employees grouped into conference rooms simultaneously in all
their offices. The video was probably not recorded due to the litigation potential. Assuming this
is true, two problems arise: the message probably varied as mood and energy levels waned over
the course of the day, and personnel who were not in the office that day probably missed it.
A webcast on the other hand would allow live 1-way broadcast to employees anywhere in the
world with an Internet connection. (Add a telephone conference call for 2-way audio.) A
webcast has a strong advantage in that it can also be made available for later viewing “on
demand”, while its lack of 2-way capability may not be a drawback in this type of
situation. I think recording the presentation, then making it available as an on demand webcast
provides the best approach; it allows editing (a huge advantage), standardizes the message, and
improves access.
Too many webcasts, not enough time.
If you see streaming audio or video you
think would be of interest to our readers, please
the URL and description.
Has your firm produced a webcast? We want the details!
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