What is streaming media

Streaming media refers to a technology and process that compresses a series of media data, sends the data in segments over the Internet, and instantly transmits audio and video on the Internet for viewing. This technology allows data packets to be sent like a stream; without this technology, the entire media file must be downloaded before use.

Streaming media files are generally defined in a bit hierarchy, so stream data packets do not necessarily have to be byte aligned, although usually media files are packaged in this byte alignment. The three major operating platforms for streaming media are provided by Microsoft, RealNetworks, and Apple.

Application of Streaming Media Technology

The rapid development and popularization of the Internet have provided strong market momentum for the development of streaming media business, which is becoming increasingly popular. Streaming media technology is widely used in all aspects of Internet information services such as multimedia news releases, online live broadcasts, online advertising, e-commerce, video on demand, distance education, telemedicine, online radio, real-time video conferencing, etc. The application of streaming media technology will bring revolutionary changes to network information exchange and will have a profound impact on people's work and life.

A complete streaming media solution should be a perfect integration of related software and hardware, which roughly includes the following aspects: content collection, video and audio capture and compression encoding, content editing, content storage and playback, Application server content management publishing and user management, etc.

Streaming media technology and sound information are compressed and put on the website server, allowing users to watch and listen while downloading, instead of waiting for the entire compressed file to be downloaded to their computer before they can watch it. This technology first creates a buffer on the user's computer, and pre-sets the next piece of data as a buffer before playing. When the actual network connection speed is lower than the speed required for playback, the playback program will use a small section of the buffer. data, which can avoid interruption of playback and ensure playback quality.

The above is the detailed content of What is streaming media. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!