Files within Files within Files

Actually, the distinction between a streaming media file (such as a RealAudio clip, or a Flash animation) and a sequential multimedia presentation may be a rather confusing one. The former is created with a particular authoring tool, to be played by a particular bit of software we choose to call a plug-in. The latter is created to a supposedly open standard, with any desired combination of authoring tools, to be played in a browser. Come to think of it, what's a browser, anyway? Does it have to be a "Web browser" such as IE or Communicator, or can we say that the RealPlayer and the QuickTime player have graduated from lowly "plug-ins" to "multimedia browsers?"

The difference between a mere streaming "file" and a complete "presentation" may seem to be a semantic one, but it's significant, because it brings us a step closer to a distributed network model of computing. Instead of creating a self-contained file to be delivered over the Web, we're creating a file that assembles other files (audio, text, graphics, etc.) over the Web in real time, thus moving a little more power from our individual machines onto the network.

Boundaries are blurring everywhere you look these days - between browsers and players, between music delivery and music distribution, between the Web and TV, and between Web sites and applications. It's an exciting, if complicated, time to be a multimedia developer. The Internet audio revolution is just beginning, and some form of sequential multimedia markup language, whether SMIL, HTML+TIME, QuickTime, or all three together, will be an important element of the new media scene.

Further Reading

Audio for the Worldwide Web
Explains how to include audio in Web pages.

Streaming Media World
If you need more details on all the stuff discussed above, this is the place.

Multimedia for the Web
Resources for Web developers here at the WDVL.

Internet.com Multimedia Section
Links to a vast array of Web multimedia resources.

Web Audio Workshop
A series of articles on Web audio and online music distribution.

The Tapeless Studio
Reviews of audio hardware and software.

Authoring Tools
Web Audio 2000