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Introduction

RealSystem™ gives you the power to stream compelling multimedia presentations over a network. It includes RealServer™, the most advanced streaming media server available, along with RealPlayer® and RealPlayer Plus, the world's most popular desktop applications for playing streaming media clips. This production guide will help you produce any multimedia presentation, whether it is a simple video on your home page or a multimedia extravaganza.

Tip
To experience the many possibilities of streaming media, download RealPlayer from http://www.real.com, and then visit http://realguide.real.com.

How this Book Is Organized

This production guide tells you how to assemble a RealSystem presentation. Although the book provides tips on producing great content, the more you know about producing audio, video, and graphics in general, the faster you will be able to put together a great streaming presentation. If you already know the basics of HTML, you'll find it easy to pick up Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), the language used to assemble RealSystem presentations.

Note
This guide does not explain how to use RealSystem tools such as RealProducer™. For specific information about using a particular tool, refer to the tool's user's guide or online help.

Chapter 1: What's New in RealSystem?

If you're familiar with previous versions of RealSystem, this chapter will give you a quick update on the many changes in this version of RealSystem.

Chapter 2: Planning a Streaming Media Presentation

If you are new to streaming media, this chapter walks you through the steps involved in putting together a RealSystem presentation, explaining bandwidth and timeline concerns.

Chapter 3: Producing Audio

This chapter gives you the background you need to create a RealAudio® file. It then provides pointers on capturing and digitizing high-quality audio content.

Chapter 4: Producing Video

Read this chapter to learn how to capture high-quality video content and optimize it for conversion to streaming RealVideo® clips.

Chapter 5: Producing Animation

Using Macromedia's Flash, you can produce dazzling animated presentations. This chapter explains how to stream Flash clips with RealSystem.

Chapter 6: Assembling a Presentation with SMIL

After you create your multimedia clips, you write a SMIL file that pulls the entire presentation together. This chapter explains how to use SMIL to specify when and how each part of your presentation plays.

Chapter 7: Extending SMIL

RealNetworks® has developed several extensions to SMIL that enhance its media-streaming capabilities. This chapter explains these extensions, which work only with RealServer and RealPlayer.

Chapter 8: Playing Clips in a Web Page

If you want to integrate your presentation seamlessly into your Web page, follow the instructions in this chapter.

Chapter 9: Inserting Ads into a Presentation

This chapter explains how to use SMIL to insert ads into your streaming presentation.

Chapter 10: Delivering a Presentation

This chapter provides step-by-step instructions for moving your streaming clips to RealServer and linking your Web page to them. It also explains how to use a Web server to deliver simple presentations.

Chapter 11: Broadcasting a Presentation

Refer to this chapter if you plan to broadcast an audio or video event.

Appendix A: Quick Answers to Common Questions

If you are new to RealSystem, this appendix answers basic production questions and points you to additional resources on the Internet.

Appendix B: Quick Steps for Streaming Clips

This appendix lists the basic steps you take to get a clip to stream from RealServer or a Web server.

Appendix C: Advanced Production Techniques

For advanced users, this appendix conveys useful production techniques that help you get the most out of RealSystem.

Appendix D: SMIL Quick Reference

Once you understand SMIL as described in Chapter 6, use this appendix as a reference when writing SMIL files.

Appendix E: SMIL Language Codes

If you create streaming clips in different languages, you can use these codes in a SMIL file to indicate language choices.

Appendix F: File Type Reference

This appendix provides a quick reference for common file types used in RealSystem streaming.

Conventions Used in this Book

The following table explains the typographical conventions used in this production guide.

Notational Conventions
Convention Meaning
variables Italic text represents variables. Substitute values that are appropriate for your situation.
emphasis Bold text is used for emphasis.
[options] Square brackets indicate optional values you may or may not need to use.
choice 1|choice 2 Vertical lines separate values you can choose between.
... Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from the example.

Additional RealSystem Resources

Most RealNetworks manuals are available in both PDF and HTML formats from the RealNetworks documentation library. The library's main page is at http://service.real.com/help/library/index.html. In addition to this production guide, you may need the following resources:

Technical Support

To reach RealNetworks' Technical Support, please fill out the form at:

The information you provide in this form will help Technical Support personnel respond promptly. For general information about RealNetworks' Technical Support, visit this Web page:


Copyright © 1998-2000 RealNetworks
For information on RealNetworks' technical support, click here.
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This file last updated on 12/12/00 at 15:34:02.
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