In the early days of the Internet, anything seemed possible. The Web promised a new frontier, where anyone could become a celebrity without ever leaving the comforts of home. That was the dream, anyhow. But what is the reality?

While Web video offered many new opportunities, the fact was that the infrastructure wasn’t ready to follow up to the promises. Understanding this problem requires a look back at the way things were, compared to where they are today.

In the early 90’s, when the Internet began its invasion of everyday life, almost everyone connected to the Net via
dial-up modem connections. Most modem speeds weren’t what they are today. Nowadays, many dial-up users connect to the Internet using a 56kbps modem, the fastest connection speed for a standard dial-up modems. Unfortunately, many phone companies use their wires in such a way that 26kbps is the fastest connection.

Web video required the use of greater bandwidth than dial-up, because broadband bandwidth allows more data to be sent at a time. When data-transfer speeds vary greatly, data bottlenecks occur. Bottlenecks are particularly a problem for Web-based video, since video playback quality is time dependent. Most networks use shared connectivity, meaning that network users compete for available bandwidth: the more users on the network at a time, the lower is bandwidth.

While broadband refers to many types of connections, the most common at the average user level are cable modems and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections. Users there can access the Internet from 50 - 100 times faster than with a dial-up connection. Broadband is critical for successful Web video, because it finally offers the increased bandwidths necessary to handle a data that digital video requires. Web users can finally watch and deliver digital video the way it was intended to be seen: full-screen, smooth-moving and visually sharp video.

One of the main reasons that digital web video is now a reality is that many of the Internet provider companies have heavily invested in their network infrastructures to provide the availability of broadband. What broadband offers to Web users is not unlike what cable television offered viewers during the age of antenna-only television.
It’s beneficial to many different markets, such as advertising, entertainment, video conferencing and distance learning services and not only the digital video. It’s simply the best way to get the most out of content on the Web, both as a viewer and also as a creator.

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