The great thing about video is that it can be streamed independently of the rest of the Web page so it won't slow down users with slow connections or those that don't want to bother listening to or watching that content.

Streaming refers to the concept of beginning to view the content before the download is complete. In other words, with a five-minute video, if properly streamed, after the first 30 seconds are downloaded, the video would begin playing. Then, in the background, the rest of the video continues to download, always keeping a 10- or 20-second buffer in front of what the viewer is seeing.

On the other hand, a non-streaming video would require the user to wait for the entire file to download before being able to start watching.

The other element that makes it nicer than dynamic content that starts automatically is the user can choose whether or not they want to watch or listen to what you are offering.

Many people consider it rude to have loud music or distracting animations that start automatically upon entering a Web site. On the other hand, a clear link on a fast-loading page where the user can expect to wait for a download in exchange for additional dynamic content is the professional way to go.

If you do decide to add streaming content to your Web site, you need to keep in mind two main factors: the size of the file and the type of the file. Controlling these two factors will determine how many people will be willing and able to view your content.

The actual size of the file is determined by the width and the height of the viewing area and the quality of the audio and video. It is a constant trade-off when dealing with this type of content on the Web between how big the video needs to be, how good the quality needs to be and how long the viewer will be willing to wait for the download.

The bottom line is, the bigger the size and the better the quality, the longer it will take to download. And, if it takes too long, your customer won't bother to wait for it.

As far as file types, there are three main formats being used to stream today. Those are Real, Quicktime and Windows Media Player.

Each of them have different tools for creating the content and each of them have free players allowing the general public to view the content. Of course, each format also has its pros and cons as far as better quality, smaller file downloads or being more universally compatible with most computers out there.

Given those three factors, you can either a) select the option that is most important to your target audience, b) provide all three versions and let the user choose which one they prefer, or c) try all three to find which one suits your needs best.

For more information on these companies, visit the following Web sites:

Real.com - http://www.real.com/

Quicktime - http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

Windows Media Player - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/

For some examples of local pages streaming dynamic video content, check out these Web sites:

Yuma Office Equipment - This company has taken promotional videos supplied by their manufacturers and offers them to be viewed on their Web pages. Visit http://www.yumaofficeequipment.com/ and click on the products link or the Toshiba Story link.

Chuckawalla Rhythm Kings - This Yuma band has imported their own video content and then converted that to streaming media for their fans to watch as they perform one of their popular songs. Go to http://www.chuckawallark.com/ and click on the Big Fog Album link to view this content.

So, if you are considering different ways to spice up your Web site and add some dynamic content to draw in more customers, consider online streaming video.