Want to watch video.. of course you do, thats why we sit in front of the TV for hours. Most media sites have worked this out and hence video is appearing on more and more websites. But what is the experience like? You usually click “Watch Video” then get hit with all these choices.. do you want high res , low res, medium res? How bout Quicktime, Windows Media, Realplayer? Which one would you like? By the time you are through you’ve probably forgotten what you wanted to watch, so next you get to stare at the first frame of the video while the rest “buffers”. Not really a compelling experience!
Check out Foxtel’s new site built buy the team at Different. Before you do (wait, come back!) have a think that this site is dynamic (the data is always changing based on XML feeds), the video streams are secure (so the content creators can look after their IP) but the main thing is.. the video starts instantly, the server detects the bandwidth and gives me the correct resolution and I can lean back in my chair and press the full screen button.
Ok, so i work for Adobe and since Adobe makes the Flash Media Server technology behind this site i’m a little biased, but who could argue that this is the way video should be on the web?
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