In the early 1980s, the Mac changed the publishing industry as we knew it, which in turn started a computer revolution. The formula, it seems, is to enable an average Joe to communicate to a large audience in a professional manner for very little money. Every time this formula is followed we become more dependent on and empowered by our Macs. The same formula allowed us to reinvent commerce with inexpensive Internet store creation and later to restructure the music industry for musicians, giving them inexpensive audio production and CD-burning tools to use at home. Average Joes communicating professionally to a large audience for not very much money. Well, it's happening again. This time the formula is being applied to the broadcasting industry. Got a video camera, a tripod, a Mac and a high-speed Internet connection? Guess what, you are in the broadcasting business. Now, not every Mac-head will immediately start producing and broadcasting content 24/7, but there are a whole bunch of opportunities out there for those who want to start smaller. Every time someone gets in front of an audience, there are people who can't make it to that meeting but who would like to hear the speaker. There are people who would like to hear the lecture over again in the future. And there are also plenty of people who will pay to hear, at their convenience, experts discourse on any topic. For example, next week I will be organising the Internet broadcast of key speakers at a conference on alternative and ecological medicine. Nothing complicated. A single FireWire Mini DV camera, a tripod, a wireless microphone, and a single spotlight on a stand. The keynote speakers will not be broadcast live this time (perhaps at future conferences) but the recordings will be available for posterity in the form of streaming video on the conference sponsor's Web site. The recordings will also be available as content for continuing education courses for medical professionals and possibly as a bonus on CD for new subscribers to the medical journal that helps produce the event. Once the videos have been recorded and edited, there will be no shortage of people who want to view them. When I started researching Mac software solutions for this project, I was expecting the applications to be tremendously expensive. Then I discovered Apple's QuickTime Broadcaster . It's free and incredibly simple to use. Broadcaster encodes the video so it can be broadcast in viewable form, such as Mpeg 4, and simultaneously saves a copy to your hard drive. If numerous people are going to view the video at the same time (up to 4,000 of them) you will also need the free QuickTime Streaming Server . Streaming Server runs on OS X and requires a broadband connection to the Internet. Streaming Server was designed for use on an OS X server and, as such, AppleCare tech support only supports the application if it was bought with a server. (Apple isn't going to give you extensive tech support on a free product). Streaming Server has many features that make it stand out, but its biggest is that it doesn't require a server tax. This means that, unlike other cross-platform streaming applications like Real and WindowsMedia, you don't pay a royalty to Apple for every download. If you just want to broadcast as a Web radio station (no video, audio only) you can use the same tools - Broadcaster and Streaming Server - and utilise the included application Playlist Broadcaster. Streaming Server will broadcast your messages, lectures and music as MP3s. And for this, all you really need is a microphone, your Mac, an Internet connection and a Web address where people can find you. As you become more successful as a broadcaster, you may want to upgrade to something fancier to deliver more professional results. I recommend Live Channel from Channel Storm , US$999. This award-winning application enables you to control multiple cameras and microphones, to use pre-recorded content and to control the broadcast as you would in a multimillion-dollar studio. Transitions, titles, voiceover narration - you can drag-and-drop whatever is needed into your broadcast cue and really look like you know what you are doing. The market for Web broadcasting is huge. From business executives broadcasting strategic staff meetings and educators broadcasting lectures to celebrities rallying fans to come and see them, an inquiring world wants to see what's happening. And the key to profit-making is that, with the right content, the world will still pay to see your videos 20 or 30 years down the road. E-mail Dave Horrigan at horrigan@electriciti.com with your Mac queries.
