We were lucky enough to have Jon Stethridge, the MD of Unique Media with us today to teach us about streaming media. His company does work for clients such as HP and NTL, and his work has taken him round the world (although his claims of being "bored" with constantly flying to the USA did not wash).

We were shown the difference between a progressive download (where the file is played while it is being is downloaded), and streaming video/audio (where the images are shown as they reach the computer, and no file is kept in the cache).

We also discovered the various technologies of delivering streaming media, and the pros and cons of each approach.

To round off the day, Jon had brought in one of his streaming media PCs (packed in an impressive looking flight case) and we got to set up and partake in our own webcast. This was surprisingly straightforward, and fun.

Jon, in his infinite generosity, has given us streaming accounts with his company for two years, free of charge! Coming Soon: MeiTV.com.

I've ironed out the problems, and now the Urdd RSS feed is ready.

The page can be seen here.

Click on the 'Eisteddfod 06' button for the feed.

I've done some basic styling, which is fine for now, but the real thing would be better looking.

We have been back in the office for a week now, refreshed after the Christmas break.

We have been given a Self Directed Brief: to use what we have learned to create something for our portfolios.

I thought of doing something to show the companies that I'll be with in March, and so I have built a RSS 0.91 feed for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd's results.

Eisteddod watchers can then open my custom Urdd feed reader on their desktop which will periodically and automatically check for results and display them on the page.

This feed can also be accsessd through a conventional feedreader, for more savvy web users.

I will also look into using the feed for other media, such as mobile phones.

The reader can be accessed through this page, and clicking on the button. The feed istelf is here.

I have really enjoyed this and will be looking further into creating RSS and Atom feeds.