Streaming - A Practical Guide to Video and Audio Compression - page 362

20.13 International Webcasting Association

Although not a standards body, the International Webcasting Association (IWA) provides
a forum for a number of companies who are involved in webcasting to collaborate and
ensure that their services are interoperable. They exist to promote streaming on the
Internet and other networks, and they operate a mailing list to inform subscribers of news
and announcements.
Television services are beginning to be delivered over broadband connections with
an IP protocol. This format is sometimes called IPTV. As IPTV becomes more popular, the
IWA may be a useful place to start your enquiries when trying to locate webcasting com-
panies.

20.14 Summary: Now I Know About Streaming

We have now looked at the implications of streaming servers—the implications of low and
high traffic levels and the underlying technologies that streaming depends on.
Of course, a stream needs to be played back to a user's TV or PC screen unless it is
being recorded to hard disk. That means a stream player is required. But which one shall
we use? In the next chapter we'll assess some possibilities and find out about the players
that are available.

International Webcasting Association (IWA): http://www.webcasters.org/