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WHAT IS STREAMING?

 We found some good information explaining what streaming is, you can read more about streaming by clicking on the links available

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider. Streamlisted.com provides this kind of links, links that will take you to the source of the streaming. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). We mostly have streaming links regarding movies and video content. The verb ‘to stream’ is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. Internet television is a commonly streamed medium.

Streaming video is content sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer in real time. With streaming video or streaming media, a Web user does not have to wait to download a file to play it. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream of data and is played as it arrives. The user needs a player, which is a special program that uncompresses and sends video data to the display and audio data to speakers. You can find more information on what you need in our how to watch section. A player can be either an integral part of a browser or downloaded from the software maker’s Web site.

Live streaming, delivering live over the Internet, involves a camera for the media, an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content. This system changes al the time, new things are created and new ways of streaming invented.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media

http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/definition/streaming-video

Streaming or media streaming is a technique for transferring data so that it can be processed as a steady and continuous stream. Streaming technologies are becoming increasingly important with the growth of the Internet because most users do not have fast enough access to download large multimedia files quickly. With streaming, the client browser or plug-in can start displaying the data before the entire file has been transmitted.

For streaming to work, the client side receiving the data must be able to collect the data and send it as a steady stream to the application that is processing the data and converting it to sound or pictures. This means that if the streaming client receives the data more quickly than required, it needs to save the excess data in a buffer. If the data doesn’t come quickly enough, however, the presentation of the data will not be smooth. We try to find the best streaming links with the fastes possible data sending.

There are a number of competing streaming technologies emerging. For audio data on the Internet, the de facto standard is Progressive Network’s RealAudio.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/streaming.html

Generally speaking, streamed data can be any information/data that is delivered from a server to a host where the data represents information that must be delivered in real time. This could be video, audio, graphics, slide shows, web tours, combinations of these, or any other real time application.

Streaming can probably best be looked at from an educator’s perspective as no more than a broadcast, whether live (synchronous, or stored (asynchronous).

One benefit that streaming provides is the enabling of a broadcast from nearly any location that is served by the Texas A&M Network, or any capable device with an IP address, and then delivering that broadcast to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, depending upon course requirements and student needs, of course.

Technical Considerations

Streaming technologies have seen some pretty fierce competition among the main players who have been pushing this means of content delivery. Video formats such as MPEG are standards based encoding formats that currently do not lend themselves to streaming as easily as the proprietary formats such as Quick Time and Real Networks…. in today’s network environment.

Formats

• MPEG I – Motion Picture Experts Group Standard. Various standardized MPEG encoding schemes have been developed to address the wide range of needs for the delivery of digital video. MPEG I is used extensively. MPEG I is relatively inexpensive to encode and can be decoded by most desktop PC’s today with many popular software applications, which are included in most desktop operating systems today.

• MPEG II- This higher bit rate/quality format (1.5Mbs – 50Mbs) is used commercially for distribution of most digital video that the public currently uses. Digital Satellite service providers DVD production/authoring houses, and Digital Television broadcasters use the MPEG II format. Making use of the higher bit rate and improved encoding algorithms, MPEG II is capable of achieving broadcast quality.
• MPEG IV – This variable bit rate encoding scheme is the underlying encoding method that is useful for streaming applications where the users have a wide variety of connection speeds. The client – server connection adjusts the stream rate according to connection bandwidth and monitored performance. Windows media makes use of MPEG-IV, although in a proprietary way. The Quicktime player also can receive MPEG-IV and conforms more closely to the MPEG-IV standard.
• Apple- QuickTime has been used extensively in the graphics design and production industry for years. The use of this format by so many media industry professionals and the development of affordable codecs, powerful production tools, and free robust player software keeps this format in strong contention to be a dominant system for years to come. QuickTime has the ability to be encoded and streamed at multiple bit rates. This can help to ensure that the user receives the best possible experience available for the connection speed they have at the time while simultaneously making the same content available to those connected at the lowest speeds, the dreaded 28.8 modem.
• Real Networks has developed a proprietary streaming system that provides many useful tools for deploying, managing, serving, and streaming content. Their system has seen wild growth since it’s introduction and continues to improve as more providers adopt it. Streamed content may be encoded on the fly at multiple bit rates, enabling user access to content even if connected to the Internet via a 28.8 modem, production values notwithstanding. Continuous improvement in Real Network’s system have resulted in VHS quality video at bit rates half of that needed for MPEG I.
• On-demand vs Live Streaming Streaming live content or delivering on-demand content pose different problems that need to be resolved for success.
• Live Streaming – Live streaming of video/audio is relatively easy and inexpensive to originate. Streams for video/audio or any real time content may be encoded at multiple rates to permit access even to those using a 28.8 modem while simultaneously providing higher rate streams for the highest quality experience to those at on campus locations or anyone with a faster connection to the Internet. See format descriptions above.

While streaming permits users access to content from any location, it is unlikely that the instructor will be able to successfully interact real time with the potentially hundreds or even thousands of users viewing. Live streaming should be viewed as a tool to be used not exclusively but as an adjunct to existing distance learning efforts where more flexibility in time & location are desired. A feature that shouldn’t be overlooked however, is the ability to save/store live streamed content for possible inclusion later in on-line course work. For instance, video encoded today for a live stream may be stored on a local file server and clips of the video could be plugged into a fully developed on-line course offering.

• On-demand Streaming – On-demand means just that. Fully realized, whenever the content is required, it is available to those that request it, wherever they happen to be (connected to the Internet that is). On – demand streams may be archived live streams as mentioned above or be included in fully produced on – line course offerings.
• Near – demand Streaming – Near demand streaming refers to a situation where content is not available 24 – 7, but rather is provided on-demand within time constraints. For example, digital media may be uploaded to a streaming server daily, weekly, or monthly, permitting access for only the time period specified or archived streaming content may actually be scheduled for broadcast at a specific time as requested by educators.

On/Near Demand Streaming Issues

Do you have the rights to encode, stream, or otherwise use the content in the manner that you desire?

Digital rights management is currently a very hot issue with many commercial entities vying for the right to manage (and subsequently profit from) all internet delivered content.

http://imedia.tamu.edu/about/what-is-streaming

Streaming Video came about mainly due to the limitations of dialup Internet connections being too slow to show video. Back in the days before cable or broadband access, if you wanted to watch a video, you had to download the entire video before you could watch it – and on a 56k modem that would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

So the technical bods created a technology called “streaming.”

Here’s Wikipedia’s definition:

“ … multimedia that is continuously received by, and normally displayed to, the end-user while it is being delivered by the provider.”

The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g. radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g. books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb ‘to stream’ is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

OK, here’s how it works: once you click a link or visit a URL for a streaming video, it will start the streaming process by transferring part of the video over. Whie you are watching this first part, the server will continue to send over the rest of the video file in the “background” – so you don’t have to wait until the whole video has finished transferring before you can start watching.

Here’s another way to think about it: When you sit down and watch TV or listen to the radio, you are viewing/hearing a signal that is continously being sent, right? That exactly how streaming video works.

If you want to take the analogy further, think of books, video and CDs as non-streaming sources – you have to be in possession of the whole item before you can use it.

The technology behind streaming video has been around for a while now, but didn’t really pickup until high-speed Internet access (ADSL, Cable, etc.) started to become available.

Now that connection speeds are fast enough (and getting faster every year), TV companies are starting to experiment with delivering programs online. Over here in the UK where I’m based, the main terrestrial channels (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5) are all starting to make certain programs available online for upto 7 days after they are shown so people who missed them can watch them again.

Indeed, the BBC have had their “Listen Again” online archive for all the national and local BBC Radio stations available for a few years now and it was just a matter of time before it happened for their TV programs too.

And this isn’t just limited to the UK: the US and the rest of the world are finally cottoning onto the potential of “Internet TV” so the next 12-18 months are definitely going to be an exciting time.

http://camstudio.org/streaming-video-resources/what-is-streaming-video.htm

You can find more information about streaming by searching on www.google.com