What is Streaming Media?
Streaming refers generally to the ability to split sound,
video, or animation files into little pieces and to serve them a
piece at a time, so that a player on the receiving end can begin
playing the pieces it has already received without having to wait to
find out what else might be coming along.
There are two main types of streaming that you may come
across. Most web hosts will claim to have the ability to "stream"
RealAudio, Real Video, QuickTime or other multimedia formats, but it
is important to understand that this usually refers to "streamed
downloading", otherwise known as "progressive streaming".
Progressive
Streaming
With
progressive streaming, a file is downloaded from the server, but it
is served in such a way that the player knows it can start playing
as soon as it receives the start of the file, and that the rest of
the file will follow. With this type of streaming, the entire file
will still be downloaded and stored on the visitor's computer.
Many hosts aren't very supportive
of sites that serve a lot of multimedia files, since these files use
the most disk space and bandwidth and cost the host the most money,
so be sure to get an idea of your host's attitude towards multimedia
files before signing up. In addition, some hosts (especially free
hosts) place restrictions on the types of files that can be stored
on the server (for example, some hosts don't allow mp3, avi, or mpeg
files to be uploaded.
Real-time
Streaming
If you are serious about streaming, or
serving a lot of multimedia files, you probably want to consider a
web host that offers real-time or server-based streaming.
With real-time streaming, the
media is usually broadcast to your browser directly from a special
server that is dedicated to managing streaming connections with the
media player. Three popular types of streaming servers are the
QuickTime Streaming Server from Apple, the Real Networks Server or
the Windows Media Server.
With real-time streaming,
the file is stored on the streaming server, but the entire file
isn't downloaded to the player, it is broadcast a moment at a time,
so that the player just plays what it has received as it receives
it, much like a television. Unlike with television, however,
real-time streaming allows you to jump
around or skip ahead to any location in the media
clip.
Real-time streaming is great for live broadcasts, long
movies, spoken audio, presentations, and other files where the
viewer may want to skip around, or doesn't want to download a huge
video file.
Real-time streaming servers usually cost money and are
therefore rarely included in low-cost hosting packages. Some web
hosts offer streaming servers for an additional fee, and some web
hosts don't support real-time streaming at all. Also different hosts
support different server types. Real Networks' Server is the most
common, with Quicktime being a bit harder to find.
Do I need Streaming Media?
If you plan
to have streaming audio or video, especially if you think you will
need real-time streaming, you will need to be sure that your web
host offers the streaming server you prefer. Be aware that streaming
media takes up more web space and bandwidth than a typical web site,
so plan ahead, since you will also want a hosting package with these
additional resources.
