How Video Streaming Works

Streaming providers use distributed content delivery networks (CDN) to store content in locations around the globe that are closer to users.

FREMONT, CA: Previously, websites were mere text pages with or without an image or two. Today, anyone with fast enough Internet can stream high-definition movies or make a video call over the Internet. This is possible because of streaming technology. Streaming is the casting of audio or video files from a server to a customer. It happens when consumers watch TV or listen to audio on Internet-connected devices. The media being played on the device is stored remotely and is transmitted over the Internet with streaming.

Streaming is real-time, and it is efficient than downloading media. If a file is downloaded, a copy of the whole file is saved onto a device, and the video cannot play until the file finishes downloading. If it is streamed instead, the browser plays the video without actually copying and saving it. The video loads quickly instead of the entire file loading at once and the information that the browser loads is not saved locally.  A downloaded video file is like a lake, in that it takes up a lot of hard drive space. Streaming video is like a stream or a river, in that the video's data is continuously, quickly flowing to the user's browser.

Some streaming methods use UDP and some leverage TCP. UDP and TCP are protocols, meaning they are leveraged for moving packets of data across networks. Both are harnesses with the Internet Protocol (IP). TCP opens a connection before transmitting data, and it ensures data packets arrive in order. Unlike TCP, UDP does neither of these things. TCP is more reliable, but transmitting data through UDP does not take as long as it does through TCP, although some packets are lost along the way.

Streaming media players load a few seconds of the stream ahead of time so that the video or audio can continue playing if the connection is interrupted. This is known as buffering. Buffering makes sure that videos can play seamlessly and continuously. However, over slow connections, or if a network has a major deal of latency, a video can take a long time to buffer.

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