LMC-TV Debut: Streaming Video of Candidates Debate

by Judy Silberstein

(March 16, 2006) LMC-TV debuted “streaming video” on Thursday, March 16, just in time for Village of Larchmont voters to take advantage of the first video feature: the candidates’ debate conducted by the League of Women Voters on Monday, March 13.

Click Here to Reach LMC-TV's
Streaming Video of the LWV Debate

Video streaming had been on the “to do” list for a few years, but a request for the service this week from a Larchmont voter without cable access bumped the item to the top of the list, according to LMC-TV’s executive director, Erik Lewis.

Streaming video allows viewers to watch a feature whenever they wish. All it takes is a computer, the correct media software and a connection to the Internet. The software comes with most computers and is also downloadable for free from many Internet sites. LMC-TV advises that the Windows Media Player is the best option for viewing their videos.

“Streaming our programming to the community is great,” said Mr. Lewis, contacted a few minutes after the streaming went online at the LMC website. “It expands our service to Larchmont and Mamaroneck”

Until now, residents required cable service in order to view LMC programs on their television sets. Satellite TV subscribers or viewers from outside of Larchmont/Mamaroneck were out of luck, unless they wanted to purchase cassette tapes of programs for viewing from a video recorder.

Cable subscribers could make use of “Request TV” to ask LMC staff to rebroadcast shows at agreed upon times, and that feature is still available. But streaming video is truly “on demand” and the viewer has complete control over when and where to watch – from home or from out of town. Fast forward and rewind is also under the viewer’s control.

Mr. Lewis expects to have additional streaming features in the next few weeks, and ultimately hopes to have a wide selection, including programs from the archives.

At this point, however, the feature is aimed more at the audio than the video aspects of a show. In order to reach the largest possible audience, LMC-TV has compressed the information into relatively small files so even viewers with slow dial-up connections to the Internet can use the service. The audio quality is not affected, but the picture is small and grainy.

Until recently, it was unclear if there was a demand for the streaming service. “We started getting a lot of inquiries from people who have satellite TV and can’t get on the cable station,” said Carrie Krams, associate director at LMC-TV. She's been working feverishly for the past few days to get the debate video up and running. There are plans to purchase new equipment to make the job easier and faster.

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