Overview

Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, Ph.D.*

* Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, Hong Kong Baptist University (Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China).

The technology of streaming media over the Internet is one of the most exciting multimedia developments at the beginning of the 21st century. Streaming media is the transmission of audio and video from one computer to another (McEvoy, 2001, p. 118). Streaming is heavily dependent on bandwidth, and creating streaming media always involves tradeoffs between image quality and playback versus fast download times and accessibility (Schenk, 2001, p. 340). But just as the capabilities of consumer electronics have increased with broadband, the content quality has also improved dramatically. Right now, millions of users are regularly listening or watching content provided by countless Web sites and portals around the world every day.

What Streaming is and is not

Streaming occurs when audio or video content is sent across a network and displayed in real time, either as a self-contained segment or displayed through animation using a program such as Flash. Typically, streaming entails little or no waiting; just the few seconds needed to buffer the file before it is played back on the receiving computer using a suitable player. This action is accomplished through a special streaming server that uses Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) and Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). This constitutes true streaming because the content is not downloaded onto a client hard-drive.

A second type . what is called progressive streaming . uses a regular HTTP Web server.