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Streaming is the process used when a media file (for example: audio, video, or animation) is broken into smaller pieces so it can be viewed or heard as the pieces are received, rather than waiting for the whole file to be transferred before it is displayed. (This is similar to receiving and reading a book one page at a time instead of waiting for the whole book to arrive before starting to read it.)
Streaming allows you to view large data files without long delays, and to view live events in real time. In addition, RealOne Player can select the best available bandwidth of the provided media (some media is streamed at more than one bandwidth) so the media stream matches the transfer/download speed available to you.
One of the protocols that can be used to optimize the bandwidth of a presentation is Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL). SMIL presentations send different streams for each of the components of a presentation (for example: a video stream, audio stream, and text stream). Each stream has a different optimum bit-rate associated with it. The result is that a complex presentation can be streamed with a much lower bandwidth than if the whole presentation was limited to the format and bandwidth of the largest media type.
The aspect that most affects your experience on the Internet and any type of Streaming Media is bandwidth. Usually this means the maximum speed (Kbps) of your Internet connection, but it can also refer to how many data streams a server can handle, as well as other network constraints. If RealOne Player had to download data faster than your connection can handle, such as viewing a 256Kbps stream over a 56Kbps connection (you can see the bandwidth of any stream on your Status bar), the presentation will have to regularly pause to let the system catch up. To avoid this, a media provider will stream RealMedia in multiple bandwidths at the same time, such as at 56Kbps and at 256Kbps. RealOne Player will choose the data stream with a bandwidth that best matches your system. Of course, a narrower data stream will be of lower quality, but it is less likely to be interrupted than a wider data stream.
When media is being streamed, the bandwidth does not always remain constant. Often it will fall below what is required to stream the presentation smoothly. To avoid pauses due to delays or slow transmissions, RealOne Player will cache, or buffer, a portion of the media stream before beginning to play it. (This is evident by " Loading xx%" shown in the Status bar when you start playing a clip.) When the bandwidth through your connection is low, or data drops (bad data transfer that must be re-transmitted), RealOne Player takes data from the buffer. When bandwidth returns to normal, RealOne Player puts data into the buffer until the cache is refilled. When you attempt to view a high-bandwidth clip over a low-bandwidth connection, RealOne Player will attempt to create as large a cache as possible before beginning playback.
Generally speaking, Streaming Media refers to media information that is being presented on the Internet. The data stream originates on the Internet, is transferred by modem/data-line to your computer, is decoded by a player, and is viewed by the consumer. Recorded Media is a data file that is directly accessible from your computer (on a hard drive or network drive) such as an audio CD track on a CD, or an *.rm or *.mp3 file.
Note: From a purely technical standpoint, media that is being played from a local drive (recorded media) is still being streamed to the player software, but this process is much faster than media that is arriving from the Internet. For the purpose of this discussion, Streaming Media refers only to media that is arriving from the Internet.
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