Editing Streaming media (section)

{{Short description|Multimedia delivery method}}
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[[File:NASA Spacesuit Development.webm|thumb|upright=1.35|thumbtime=78|On websites such as YouTube, videos such as this short NASA film about spacesuit design are played [[Real-time computer graphics|instantly]] depending on the user's internet connection, and the video is partially [[downloaded]] in the background.]]
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'''Streaming media''' refers to [[multimedia]]  delivered through a [[Computer network|network]] for playback using a [[Media player (disambiguation)|media player]]. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of [[Network packet|packets]] from a [[Server (computing)|server]] to a [[client-server model|client]] and is rendered in real-time;<ref>{{Citation |last1=Patrikakis |first1=Charalampos |title=Streaming Content Wars: Download and Play Strikes Back |year=2010 |work=User Centric Media |volume=40 |pages=218–226 |editor-last=Daras |editor-first=Petros |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-12630-7_26 |access-date=5 May 2024 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-12630-7_26 |isbn=978-3-642-12629-1 |last2=Papaoulakis |first2=Nikos |last3=Stefanoudaki |first3=Chryssanthi |last4=Nunes |first4=Mário |editor2-last=Ibarra |editor2-first=Oscar Mayora|url-access=subscription }}</ref> this contrasts with file [[downloading]], a process in which the end-user obtains an entire media file before consuming the content. Streaming is more commonly used for [[video on demand]], [[streaming television]], and [[music streaming service]]s over the Internet.

While streaming is most commonly associated with multimedia from a remote server over the Internet, it also includes [[offline]] multimedia between devices on a [[local area network]]. For example, using [[DLNA]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://campaign.odw.sony-europe.com/tvme/mySony/my008/BRAVIA_DLNA_EN.pdf |title=DLNA Network Guide |access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref> and a [[home server]], or in a [[personal area network]] between two devices using [[Bluetooth]] (which uses [[radio waves]] rather than [[Internet Protocol|IP]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fayyoumi |first1=Ebaa |title=L2CAP-based prototype media streaming via Bluetooth technology |last2=Idwan |first2=Sahar |last3=Muhared |first3=Hiba |last4=Matar |first4=Izzeddin |last5=Rawashdeh |first5=Obaidah |date=November 2014 |journal=International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations |volume=14 |issue=3|page=221 |doi=10.1504/IJNVO.2014.065785 }}</ref> Online streaming was initially popularized by [[RealNetworks]] and [[Microsoft]] in the 1990s<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://boyetblog.s3.amazonaws.com/PCPlus/324.Streaming.pdf |title=The history of streaming media - PC Plus |year=2012}}</ref> and has since grown to become the globally most popular method for consuming music and videos,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Music consumption at all time high powered by streaming and video apps {{!}} Complete Music Update |url=https://archive.completemusicupdate.com/article/music-consumption-at-all-time-high-powered-by-streaming-and-video-apps/ |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref> with numerous competing subscription services being offered since the 2010s.<ref name="StreamingWars" /> Audio streaming to [[wireless speaker]]s, often using Bluetooth, is another use that has become prevalent during that decade.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bonnington |first=Christina |date=12 April 2018 |title=Even Ikea Has a Connected Speaker Now |url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/04/ikea-launching-connected-speaker-to-compete-with-amazon-echo-google-home.html |access-date=5 May 2024 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> [[Live streaming]] is the real-time delivery of content during production, much as [[live television]] broadcasts content via television channels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is live streaming? |url=https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/video/what-is-live-streaming/ |website=[[Cloudflare]]}}</ref>

Distinguishing delivery methods from the media applies specifically to, as most of the traditional media delivery systems are either inherently ''streaming'' (e.g., radio, television) or inherently ''non-streaming'' (e.g., books, [[videotape]]s, [[audio CD]]s). The term "streaming media" can apply to media other than video and audio, such as live [[closed captioning]], [[ticker tape]], and [[real-time text]], which are all considered "streaming text".