What follows is a beginners outline to getting started with streaming.
The phases involved in preparing and delivering your streaming media are normally four.

1) Encoding of the video/audio
2) Uploading the media files to the streaming server
3) Preparation of the link (metafile)
4) Publicising your streams


1) Encoding of the video/audio
Encoding is the method used to transform video or audio into a digital format suitable for streaming. The encoding must respect the formats used by standard streaming systems, and the maximum data transfer rate a user+s Internet connection can sustain. iFactory offers a complete encoding service for streaming and progressive video.

2) Uploading the media files to the streaming server

Your iFactory streaming hosting includes an FTP access with password. Simply upload the media to the server and place it in the appropriate directory Flash, Real, WM or QT.

3) Preparation of the link (metafile)
To enable users to access a streaming file it is necessary to create a connecting file, that contains the exact location of the streaming server where the encoded files is located. This link file is called "metafile". The metafile needs to be saved on your web server, not the streaming server.

The metafile is the file that you can also send via e-mail to your users, all they will have to do is click the link to connect to the stream.
The metafile can also be integrated in your web page.

It is possible to create an automatic script object for your HTML page using our link generator

For more information on how to create different metafiles click one of the following.

Quick Time
Windows Media
Flash


4) Publicizing your streams
This can be done via e-mail, all you do is attach the metafile created in phase 2, all the user needs to do is click the link. You can publicize your streaming videos directly from your web page too, see links above.