Streaming video is becoming, if not already, the most important component of the members area in a paysite affecting retention. As such, ensuring that the streaming vids in your members are functional, viewable, pleasurable, and reliable is a critical concern for a webmaster.

As there are several formats available to choose from, wmv, real,
qt... and there are multiple options to choose from when selecting your compression settings, etc... I wanted to see what other sites are doing.....

Here are some questions that are of interest to me.

1. What is the prefered "streaming" format of clips from the surfer's perspective?

2. Do surfers prefer streaming, or videos they save to HD then play back?

3. What compresssion tool, and what settings do most webmasters use to prepare their clips for publising on their website?

4. Is there a standard set of compression settings that have been proven over time to yield the best download size versus clarity of presentation to the viewer?

5. How do you "test" your clips from a surfer perspective... as an example, you have a customer in australia having trouble with your clips... you know they are working for you locally, but he says he can never get the clips to work on his end... how do you test that,
keeping in mind that most surfers are not very technically adept when
it comes to browser settings, media viewer settings etc..

6. Would a website get better streaming results by using a streaming
server or can reliable results be delivered by just using compression and embedding code for each individual clip?

Lots of questions... but I hope that we can get lots of answers...

Thanks