streaming video

A one-way video transmission over a data network. It is widely used on the Web as well as company networks to play video clips and video broadcasts. Computers in home networks stream video to digital media hubs connected to a home theater. Unlike movie files that are played after the entire file has been downloaded and stored, streaming video is played shortly after only a small amount is received. The data is not stored permanently in the destination computer.

If the streaming video is broadcast live, then it may be called "real time video." However, technically, real time means no delays, and there is a built-in delay in streaming video (see real time video).

It's Already in the Buffer
Watching momentary blips in video is annoying, and the only way to compensate for that over an erratic network such as the Internet is to get some of the video data into the computer before you start watching it. In streaming video, both the client and server cooperate for uninterrupted motion. The client side stores a few seconds of video in a buffer before it starts sending it to the screen and speakers. Throughout the session, it continues to receive video data ahead of time.

Videoconferencing Is More Demanding
Videoconferencing is more taxing on the network than streaming video. It requires real time, two-way transmission with sufficient bandwidth for video coming in and going out at the same time without being able to buffer any of it. See Windows Media, videoconferencing and streaming audio.

The Streaming Concept

Extra packets are buffered in memory in order to compensate for the unpredictable delivery over the Internet.

Filling the Buffer

"Buffering 70% complete" means 70% of a reserved area in memory is filled. When it gets to 100%, the software (Windows Media Player in this example) will start "playing" the video.