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What Is Streaming?

"Streaming" is the delivery of media, such as movies and live presentations, over a network in real time. A computer (a streaming server) sends the media to another computer (a client computer), which plays the media as it is delivered. With streaming, no files are downloaded to the viewer's hard disk. You can stream media at various rates, from modem to broadband.

Just as you need a web server to host a website, to send streams over the Internet or a local network, you need a streaming server, which transmits video and audio streams on request. For small audiences, the same computer can run web server software, mail server software, and streaming server software. For larger audiences, one or more computers are typically dedicated as streaming servers.

When a user requests a stream (using client software such as QuickTime Player), the request is handled using Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). Streams are sent using Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). A streaming server can create streams from QuickTime movies stored on a disk, and can transmit live streams to which it has access.

With QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) software, you can deliver:

• Broadcasts of live events in real time
• Video on demand
• Playlists of prerecorded content