Race ground rules
Testing service providers is a bit more difficult than testing software or hardware products. In this case, we needed the cooperation of hundreds of people at a number of companies. This study would not be possible without the enormous talent and resources made available by WatchIT.com (content creation); Streamriver Networks, a division of Media100 (for digitizing, encoding and compressing original on-demand content); Keynote Systems (for the measurement of the performance of the service provider networks); New Phase Media (for creation of the project on-demand Web site); and EchoStar Data Networks (for Dish Network access and satellite time for the live-event broadcast phase).
From a starting list of more than 60 companies that offered special services for developing, hosting and delivering streaming media in one form or another, we narrowed the list down to 25 companies that could offer application assistance as well as network transport and special content management options in their service packages. At the highest level, our objective was to focus on and test the process corporate IT managers need to use when evaluating service providers with the skills and infrastructure to reliably deliver streaming media in live-broadcast content delivery or on-demand scenarios. The emphasis was on these two streaming scenarios where they intersect with third-party enterprise network-based audiences.
Go online to find out more details of what was required of the participants (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 2025).
The live-event testing included three phases: network performance measurement; responses to an RFP provided by Network World to the participants; and a first-hand experience between Perey Research & Consulting and the participants for a separate live event. In this case, the live event was a 30-minute Webcast conducted by Perey Research & Consulting.
The on-demand portion included two phases: network performance measurement and responses to an RFP provided by Network World to the participants.
The live-event testing occurred on Sept. 26, from noon to 1 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. The on-demand testing took place from midnight on Oct. 24 to midnight on Nov. 7. Two weeks of measurements were taken.
A more complete test plan detailing our tests is available on our main streaming media page (scroll down to test plan).
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