Streaming media

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Digital content
Ebook Software Streaming media
Retail goods and services
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Comparison shopping Social commerce Trading communities Wallet
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Super-apps
v t e

Streaming media refers to multimedia for playback using an offline or online media player that is delivered through a network. Media is transferred in a "stream" of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time;^[1] this contrasts with file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains an entire media file before consuming the content. Streaming is presently most prevalent in video-on-demand, streaming television, and music streaming services 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^[2] and a home server, or in a personal area network between two devices using Bluetooth (which uses radio waves rather than IP).^[3] Online streaming was initially popularised by RealNetworks and Microsoft in the 1990s^[4] and has since grown to become the globally most popular method for consuming music and video,^[5] with numerous competing subscription services being offered since the 2010s.^[6] Audio streaming to wireless speakers, often using Bluetooth, is another use that has become prevalent during that decade.^[7] Live streaming is the real-time delivery of content during production, much as live television broadcasts content via television channels.^[8]

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, videotapes, audio CDs). 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".