I am developing a web site for the mass communication department of a local university. We've set up an embeded interface to stream our pre-recorded video using the below code.


Code:
<div title="testVideo">
							
		<object classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B"   codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab" width="320" height="256">
			<param name="src" value="./meida/MadDadSample.mov" />
			<param name="controller" value="false" />
			<param name="autoplay" value="true" />
			<object type="video/quicktime" data="./media/MadDadSample.mov" width="320" height="256">
			  <param name="autoplay" value="true" />
			  <param name="controller" value="false" />
			</object>	
		</object>

Now to the questions.
I'd like to better understand the process by the video is delivered to the end user's browser. So far as I understand that the camera sends analog signal to a capture card that converts to digital and encodes to a particular codec. In this case, there's Real Media software that encodes to Real Video and sends to the university server (here's where I get a little fuzzy). I'm not sure how the stream is sent to the server, nor how it's viewed as it's streamed.
We'd like to use a web interface to display the live stream, just as we're using one to display the pre-recorded streams. I've seen one setup that seems to use the same object file I'm using (set up for Real Media instead of the Quicktime above), but for a file called "live.rm" rather than a pre-recorded file. In such a case, is the file read as it's saved?
So, working backward from the browser...
How does one code a cross platform xhtml viewer for a live stream from a Real Media server? Would another codec be better / easier? How does one send a stream from the recording pc to the server pc and then from the server pc live to the end-user's browser?

In the end, there's going to be a meeting between the Mass Com department, the Computer Department, and I may be involved in the meeting as well. I'd rather not sound like an idiot in the process.
Thanks.