In the advancement of the Internet technology, people now defy space and time. Everyone now can view what is happening at the other side of the globe and exchange information with people who are miles away. This is all because of media streaming.
Media streaming is, indeed, a powerful tool that enhances the look and maximizes the performance of Web sites. It involves providing multimedia broadcasts which make use of video, audio, and animation. Media streaming does not only make the page interactive, it also makes it easier for people to share information.
This is what enables people to see what is happening from the other side of the world. There is now such a thing as "webcasting," where people can either do live streaming, as in live recording of an event and transmitting it through the Internet for other users to see or they can just put on media streaming some files that have been recorded or taped earlier. This only shows that any event, once captured and streamed online, can be accessed any time by anybody who visits a certain page.
In essence, how does media streaming work? It is usually transmitted by a media server application. The process and the play back now is the responsibility of the client player application, once received. The client application, which is usually an audio or video player, starts playing back the streaming media even if it has not yet received the complete file. While the complete data has not yet been received, the received data shall be stored in what is known as the buffer. After receiving the complete data, the player can play it over and over again.
Since media streaming is protected by Copyright Laws, users who upload are safe and secure as it leaves no copy or any portion of the copy left on the device that receives the data. This protects the rights of those who uploaded, as no copy can be reproduced without their consent.
Media streaming has, indeed, simplified it all for Web hosting provider. The use of other hardware and software for audio, video, and animation won't be needed anymore as there is also media streaming to do it for you. Those hardware and software may cost Web site providers real high, and with media streaming, it has not only made uploading interactive components cheaper, it has also made it more accessible and easier. However, media streaming requires excellent network connectivity, which is why it is advisable to use a reliable hosting provider. It is because hosting providers include multiple connections in different networks as part of their packages.
Media streaming is perfect for corporations who make use of the Internet to attract investors and clients. Since there is now the easier way to create and upload interactive and lively multimedia presentations and other content in their Web sites, they can attract more people to try their services and products. With just the use of digital video cameras, web cameras, music players, and other gadgets, they can easily upload these into their servers. They can either make use of their own equipment or maximize Apple's Xserve Server appliance which has the QuickTime Broadcaster and QuickTime Streaming Server to accommodate the streaming requirements. They can also afford hiring managed services to be sure of the technical expertise of the staff that will monitor the media streaming operations.
On the other hand, for small companies who do not afford to make use of these most advanced technologies, they can still use media streaming through simpler formats such as the Window's Media format provided by Microsoft and the Real Media format. These formats specialize in the encoding and transmitting processes of streamed content.
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