Streaming media

"Streaming" and "Streamed" redirect here. For other uses, see Stream (disambiguation).
"Media streaming" redirects here. For the feature in Microsoft Windows, see DLNA.
This article is about streaming media in general. For the music listening format specifically, see Music streaming service.

On websites such as YouTube, videos such as this short NASA film about spacesuit design are played instantly depending on the user's internet connection, and the video is partially downloaded in the background.
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Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a stream of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time;[1] this contrasts with file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains an entire media file before consuming the content. Streaming is presently most prevalent in video-on-demand, streaming television, and music streaming services over the Internet.

While streaming is most commonly associated with multimedia from a remote server over the Internet, it also includes offline multimedia between devices on a local area network, for example using DLNA[2] and a home server, or in a personal area network between two devices using Bluetooth (which uses radio waves rather than IP).[3] Online streaming was initially popularised by RealNetworks and Microsoft in the 1990s[4] and has since grown to become the globally most popular method for consuming music and video,[5] with numerous competing subscription services being offered since the 2010s.[6] Audio streaming to wireless speakers, often using Bluetooth, is another use that has become prevalent during that decade.[7] Live streaming is the real-time delivery of content during production, much as live television broadcasts content via television channels.[8]

Distinguishing delivery methods from the media applies specifically to, as most of the traditional media delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, videotapes, audio CDs). The term "streaming media" can apply to media other than video and audio, such as live closed captioning, ticker tape, and real-time text, which are all considered "streaming text".

  1. ^ Patrikakis, Charalampos; Papaoulakis, Nikos; Stefanoudaki, Chryssanthi; Nunes, Mário (2010), Daras, Petros; Ibarra, Oscar Mayora (eds.), "Streaming Content Wars: Download and Play Strikes Back", User Centric Media, vol. 40, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 218–226, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-12630-7_26, ISBN 978-3-642-12629-1, retrieved 5 May 2024
  2. ^ "DLNA Network Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  3. ^ Fayyoumi, Ebaa; Idwan, Sahar; Muhared, Hiba; Matar, Izzeddin; Rawashdeh, Obaidah (November 2014). "L2CAP-based prototype media streaming via Bluetooth technology". International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations. 14 (3): 221. doi:10.1504/IJNVO.2014.065785.
  4. ^ The history of streaming media - PC Plus (PDF). 2012.
  5. ^ "Music consumption at all time high powered by streaming and video apps | Complete Music Update". Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Bonnington, Christina (12 April 2018). "Even Ikea Has a Connected Speaker Now". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  8. ^ "What is live streaming?". Cloudflare.