VDOLive is a architecture for web video delivery, created by VDOnet Corporation.
VDOLive is a server-based, 'true streaming' architecture that actually adjusts to viewers' connections as they watch movies. Thus, true streaming movies play in real-time with no delays for downloading. For example, if you clicked on a 30 second movie, it would start playing and 30 seconds later, it would be over, regardless of your connection, with no substantial delays.VDOLive's true streaming approach differs from QuickTime's 'progressive download' approach. Progressive download allows you to watch (or hear) as much of the movie as has downloaded at any time, but movies may periodically pause if the movie has a higher data rate than the user's connection, or if there are problems with the connection or server, such as very high traffic.
In contrast to progressive download, the VDOLive server talks to the VDOPlayer (the client) with each frame to determine how much bandwidth a connection can support. The server then only sends that much information, so movies always play in real time. In order to support this real-time adjustment of the data-stream, you must use special server software to place VDOLive files on your site.
The real-time adjustment to the viewer's connection works like this: VDOLive files are encoded in a 'pyramidal' fashion. The top level of the pyramid contains the smallest amount of the most critical image data. If your user has a slow connection, they are only sent this top portion. The file's next level has more data, and will be sent if the viewer's connection can handle it, and so forth. Users with very fast connections (T1 or better) are sent the whole file. Thus, users are only sent what they can receive in real-time, but the data has been pre-sorted so that the information they get is the best image for their bandwidth.
Because VDOLive uses a different type of Internet protocol than the standard one used by web sites, it may not work for some users behind firewalls and other web obstacles.
VDOlive player
VDOlive players are simple to set up. Initially, confirm that you are using the most recent software for your operating system. The most recent version, 2.0, is available as an assistance program for many different browsers or as a plug-in for the Netscape browser on Windows and Macintosh platforms as of this writing. Although it is not necessary, the Windows 95 standard feature Video for Windows enhances the functionality of the VDOlive player.VDOlive server
UNIX (all prominent variants) or Windows NT/95 are two distinct hardware and software platforms on which VDOlive server may be deployed. Again, make sure you have the most recent version of either the VDOlive Personal Server or the VDOlive Video Server, which you can get from VDOlive's website at http://www.vdo.net/. As of this writing, version 2.0 is available.Clips creation
You can create your own video clips in VDO format using the software tools (VDOlive Personal Tools) that come with both versions of the server. The most recent version is only compatible with Windows 95 or NT.One of the tools can be used to digitize analog video and audio from a source that is analog (such as VHS or Beta). (You must also utilize Video for Windows and a dedicated video capture hardware for this conversion.) Another 'tool' enables users to convert previously created uncompressed videos to the VDOlive format. These converted videos are then saved as AVI files, which a VDOlive server may send out. You may also use tools to manage videos in Quicktime or MPEG formats.
Depending on the compression rate, a typical 160x120 movie with 15 frames per second and 24 bits per pixel uses between 200KB and 1000KB per minute.