Long Format Video is Back!
What was the problem?
An upgrade to our web server in November 2007 resulted in the inability to serve video clips longer than 5 minutes in length. In order to deliver long format video clips, a Flash Media Server license needed to be purchased. Before purchasing a license we decided to evaluate other streaming technologies.
After much testing, we decided to use the free Darwin Streaming Server technology from Apple.
The advantages:
  | Long standing streaming technology. |
| Free licensing. |
| Ability to Podcast (look for Podcasting in the future). |
| Ability to deliver video to the iPhone. |
What has changed?
Instead of using Flash video, we are now streaming in QuickTime video. QuickTime can be viewed using a free video player that can be downloaded from www.quicktime.com.
The streaming server technology allows you to jump to any part of a video, without the need to download the entire video file. For example, a typical Mayor's Night Out video is 600MB in size, with the streaming server technology you can now jump to the end of that video with only a few seconds of buffering.
What can you expect now?
All long format video will now be streamed in Apple QuickTime format. You need to have a minimum of version 7 to view our video. Also, a broadband Internet connection is required. Dial-up is not recommended.
Latest Long Format Videos:
Mayor's Night Out - January 2009
Visit Video Central for more video clips.
