Thanks for tuning in again as we further explore the cutting edge of legal community communications — “webcasting” over the Internet. Each month we focus on examples of streaming audio/video from law firms and law-oriented organizations.
We have found an oasis in the world of streaming video, where it’s lovely cool and shaded from the sun — and they even care about dialup users! That’s right, you are lucky to be along as we explore the conflicting tides and currents of streaming video. This month we look at the collection of seminar webcasts offered by an important legal community resource — especially useful to those seeking CLE credit.
WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?
Practising Law Institute — with 180 employees in New York and San Francisco — is a well-known name in CLE circles. Founded in 1933, PLI is a “non-profit continuing legal education organization chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.”
“Practising Law Institute”
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http://www.pli.edu
Essentially a producer and distributor of seminars, conferences and training materials, PLI has explored a variety of media formats. From printed materials, to audio cassettes and CDs, to videotapes, PLI materials are now also available via webcast.
HISTORY
In the late 1990's, as the technology jelled and the market was proven, PLI determined the potential of webcasting as “a very powerful distance learning tool.” “We realized that this was definitely a good way to distribute our content,” a spokesman explains. After a few years of converting taped seminars into on-demand webcasts, they jumped into live webcasting in 2001.
In 2003, PLI produced over 100 webcasts, mostly streaming video, a few as audio only. Most of their programs now start as live seminars which are caught on video and encoded and webcast ‘on the fly.’ The fact that live webcasts are not edited helps to keep costs down and reduce processing time. “We try to keep editing to a minimum to provide webcast and on-demand users the same experience as our live customers,” explains a spokesman. Skipping the editing phase also improves PLI’s ability to webcast timely topics, helping it stay flexible to “capitalize on whatever seems to be hot in the market at the time.” Presently, they produce five or six webcasts per month.
OFFERINGS
The PLI website offers numerous programs which may be attended in person (at their New York and San Francisco facilities) or enjoyed on audio CD or videocassette. For immediate gratification, from the convenience of your desk, a wide range of legal topics is available online via streaming audio or video
(click ‘Online CLE’):
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over 200 ‘On-Demand Web Programs’ (taped webcasts) ranging from $79 to $1,995.
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48 ‘Upcoming Webcasts’ (live) ranging from $149 to $2,095.
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9 ‘Online Patent Courses’ for $129 each, or $750 as a package.
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13 ‘Interactive Courtroom Online’ programs for $249 each.
(Programs range from 1 hour to 2 days.)
INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION
Webcasting is “definitely a growing part of our business,” says a spokesman. To get there, PLI has over the years evaluated many of the new formats for storing and playing audio and video, including VHS, DVD, and MP3. Apparently, the firm sailed effortlessly through an interesting paradigm shift: from recorded media (audio and video tapes sold by mail) to broadcast media (programs available globally via webcast).
“We’re small enough to not let our size get in the way; we have around 180 employees in our SF and NY organizations.... We’re large enough that we do have the resources, but small enough that we don’t have to cut through a lot of bureaucracy to get things done.” A nimble organization certainly has helped in tackling their biggest challenge — “Staying as much ahead of the [technology] curve as we can.”
DIALUP SUPPORT
Watching a webcast is certainly easier with a powerful computer and a broadband Internet connection. But PLI support is robust and comprehensive, taking pains to include even dialup users with modems as slow as 28.8 kbps.
PLI webcasts support both major media players (Windows Media Player and RealPlayer) and offer users several transmission speeds:
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audio only (for dialup users),
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audio+video, and
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groupcast, a high resolution audio+video stream for big screen projection.
FEEDBACK
Though new technology always poses problems for some categories of users, “We get a lot of positive feedback.... The online product has taken off and is doing extremely well — much better than we would have anticipated so quickly.”
One successful tactic has been to offer users many opportunities to provide feedback. Viewers’ comments are solicited at registration and at the end of seminars. PLI also uses focus groups and is generally hungry for input from its customers.
TIME INVESTMENT
How much time does it take to produce a webcast? That question revealed an interesting statistic: “Including all of our production, which involves coordinating the pre-production before the live event, making the program happen as a live event, supporting the customers during that live event, producing an archived version of the program, and maintaining that archived version as well as continuing our customer service throughout, I would say about 6 to 8 man hours per hour of live webcast.”
EQUIPMENT
PLI seminars originate in well-equipped training facilities, with multiple cameras and sophisticated multimedia control rooms. “We have several high end digital audio/video workstations, a full broadcast-quality production studio built around our training centers in San Francisco and New York.”
PROBLEMS
“One of our biggest problems is the lack of reliability with the Internet itself — not being able to control point to point, not being able to control the number of hops ...” Certainly as high speed connections proliferate amongst Internet users, and as Internet skill levels rise, webcasting problems will ease. His big wish: “That firms make more capital investment in their networks.”
THE FUTURE
What of the future? More webcasts, certainly, and also refinement of an older concept with a twist: Telephone briefings via streaming audio. “Also development of more interactivity,” a spokesman adds. “We’d like to see some more interactive training modules on DVD. I think it’s a good medium for it.”
His advice to law firms interested in webcasting: “Keep pushing forward.”
Too many webcasts, not enough time.
If you see streaming audio or video you
think would be of interest to our readers, please
URL and description.
Has your firm produced a webcast? We want the details!
If you'd like a clickable list of the web addresses from this and past columns,
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