If you want to do a professional quality hosted Webcast you might expect to pay $1,000 or more. At least you might expect that kind of pricing if you don't know about BrightTalk a service due to be launched on Sept. 8 (the company, BrightTalk, currently offers a number of other services but its new, eponymous service isn't, as of this writing, visible on the site).

BrightTalk describes what it does as a utility service. What this means is that it provides the tools and you make it happen (it can also supply support and production assistance if you really need it).

Being a utility model BrightTalk prices its service for different levels of use: The Enterprise Channel for organizations that want to run an unlimited number of Webcasts of unlimited durations with slides and video (POA); the Premium Channel for unlimited Webcasts of up to 90 minutes with slides only ($949 per month); and the Starter Channel, which allows for three slides of 30 minute Webcasts in the first month then one 30 minute Webcast per month thereafter (for free!).

Once you’ve registered with BrightTalk creating a Webcast is simple: You name the show, give it a description, name the presenter or presenters, set the duration as well as start date and time, set whether it is to be public or private, and assign tags. Then, if you plan to use slides, you upload a PowerPoint presentation (this is currently just a basic service – transitions and multimedia aren’t supported yet) and if needed you can define voting forms for multiple choice polls that you can ask your audience to complete during a Webcast.

To promote your Webcast BrightTalk generates code so you can embed your channel on a Web site or blog. You can also use BrightTalk’s opt-in e-mail list service to promote your Webcast, which raises one of the few downsides of the BrightTalk service: People who want to view a Webcast have to be BrightTalk subscribers.

Reminders are sent to subscribers of your Webcast the day before and 15 minutes before the presentation starts. When the Webcast’s scheduled time is reached you should have dialed in to a line to present the audio portion of your presentation and you begin presenting. The Flash-mediated user interface allows your audience to hear your presentation and watch your slides, it also allows attendees to ask questions and to vote as well as rate the Webcast.

Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, columnist and blogger.