One of the more common questions we hear at V2 is what is the difference between a Webcast and a Web Conference? And where does video production fit into all this? In today’s blog we will simplify the difference between the two and explain how video production or Streaming Video Services fits into the equation. We’ll touch on the technology behind each, the workloads they require and offer some typical use cases.
A Webcast is a media presentation that is broadcast over the Internet using streaming media technology. A professional video production team is brought onsite to the broadcast location. A video signal of the proceedings is pushed through an encoder which is then streamed out to an online audience via a Flash-based console such as ON24 or INXPO. This type of online event is designed less for collaboration and more as a broadcast. Some examples where you may use a Webcast are for large events such as a corporate quarterly or yearly wrap up, investor relationship meetings or large e-learning seminars.
Web Conferences on the other hand are usually smaller, more collaborative meetings that allow users to both view and share resources such as PowerPoint presentations or PDFs as well as allow you to desktop or application share content, all over a TCP/IP connection. These meetings may also include polls and question & answer sessions to elicit audience feedback and participation. The presenters in Web Conferences may speak over a standard telephone line or by utilizing VoIP technology (or a combination of both), depending on the web conferencing platform they’re using. Participating in a Web Conference may require an additional software download although that is not always case. Ideal scenarios for holding a Web Conference may include a marketing product rollout, smaller group training sessions or internal team meetings.
So where does video production fit in? It’s more of a stand-alone process of capturing moving images electronically, editing those images and then broadcasting the final, polished product a number of different ways. Obviously when you think of video, television or home videos uploaded to YouTube come to mind. The way we think about it is more from the corporate video side where a client of ours would host it on a video streaming server. They could then share it with their employees for training purposes or other corporate communications via their website or thru a Flash-based web console and broadcast in a Webcast or a Web Conference.
And that’s where we come into the picture! Need Event Production Services to assist with your video production needs or to produce your webcast? Need a skilled Event Producer to guide you through your important Web Conference? We can do that! Contact Us today and let us know how we can help.