Many Web sites stand out above the rest by broadcasting live events and streaming digital media to their customers. With media streaming, customers can view real time media over the Internet as soon as it reaches their computer, rather than waiting in frustration to download large videos. Today, Xserve and Mac OS X Server, combined with Apple QuickTime, can help deliver a powerful easy-to-deploy solution for cross-platform media streaming. Whether you want your Web site to deliver training, news, entertainment or product information, streaming media solutions can greatly enhance your customers’ interactive experience.

Though Apple technology makes it somewhat easy to deploy streaming media solutions, many businesses just don’t have the bandwidth, time or technological expertise to create effective streaming media on their own. Depending on the type of media to be produced, the process can get complicated. Fortunately, help in developing an integrated solution for broadcasting and streaming multimedia solutions is available via the Apple Solution Experts programme. Members are skilled at utilising the tools offered by Apple to create inexpensive, end-to-end Internet solutions.

Every company has unique needs. Members of the Apple Solution Experts programme are experienced and certified in the technologies necessary to provide personalised solutions. Many members are Apple Certified Technical Coordinators (ACTC), uniquely qualified to provide technical support and maintain the Mac OS X Server platform. Because of their specific training and technical skills, ACTC members are ideally qualified to help deliver effective media solutions. Not only are they well versed in server technologies, they are also experts in networking and storage solutions, file and Web serving, and desktop management.

Many members also have the expertise needed to set up and administer QuickTime Streaming Server and Mac OS X Server. For example, to deliver simulated live and on-demand streaming, media must be compressed, given hint tracks, and uploaded to the steaming server. These tasks are simplified with the help of an Apple Solution Expert.

Step 1: Determine your needs, audience and budget
Your first step is to assess what your Web site is trying to accomplish. Depending on the type of business, your audience may vary from students needing to gather information to customers looking to purchase a product. You’ll need to determine whether you want to show live events, such as concerts, news, speeches and sports coverage, or deliver simulated live events of pre-recorded media, where all users connect to the stream at a designated time. Another media option, on-demand or ‘anytime’ access events, are more effective for lectures, interviews, presentations and other pre-recorded information that doesn’t require a designated connect time.

Members of the Apple Solution Experts programme can help you understand exactly what you require to deliver a powerful, easy-to-deploy solution for cross-platform media streaming — whether it’s new hardware equipment or upgrades to your existing equipment. Members are trained to understand both your technical needs and how to fit upgrades into your budget.

Step 2: Determine the elements of your solution
Next, you must determine your equipment needs, including both hardware and software. QuickTime Streaming Server and QuickTime Broadcaster are pre-installed on Xserve. This provides a complete, integrated solution for streaming and broadcasting over the Internet. Combined with Mac OS X Server, you have power and flexibility without additional licensing fees or per-stream charges — an enormous saving in comparison to other media platforms.

Members of the Apple Solution Experts programme can help you make your purchasing decisions based on the type of streaming you plan to produce, whether it’s audio, video or both. They can also recommend third-party products for greater optimisation, such as Funnel Web Analyzer, which measures visitor demographics, server load and user interaction.

Step 3: Implement the solution to update your office
Now that you’ve determined the elements needed for your solution, you may need some assistance to put them into place. Members can help setup and administer QuickTime Streaming Server, prepare your content for streaming, upload your media content, and post it to a Web page. If you’re broadcasting live events, their expertise will be helpful in achieving more encoding control or additional options for custom configurations.

Once your solution of choice is in place, members can also provide training so that you can implement future streams on your own.

Step 4: Obtain ongoing support and maintenance
After you experience the success of your first media streaming, you’ll want to maintain your new competitive edge with additional interactive enhancements. Members of the Apple Solution Experts programme can make it easy for you to stay on top of technology. They bring a high level of technical expertise to your company on an as-needed basis, without the expense of a full-time IT staff. They can also provide follow-up support to ensure you are using your new tools to their fullest potential. The relationship you develop with a member of the Apple Solution Experts programme can be ongoing, utilising different aspects of their expertise as your needs change.