Streaming media refers to the technology and process of real-time transmission of video and audio on the Internet for viewing. It compresses a series of media data and sends the data in segments through the Internet. This technology allows data packets to be sent like a pipeline. If we do not use this technology, we must download the entire media file before using it.
Streaming media transmission can transmit live video or movies pre-stored on the server. When the viewer is watching these video files, the video data will be played by specific playback software immediately after being delivered to the viewer's computer.
Streaming media actually refers to a new method of media delivery, including audio streaming, video streaming, text streaming, image streaming, animation streaming, etc., rather than a new media.
The main technical feature of streaming media is streaming, which allows data to be transmitted like streaming water.
Streaming refers to the general term for the technology of transferring media (audio, video, etc.) over the network. There are two main ways to achieve streaming: progressive streaming and real time streaming.
Progressive streaming is sequential downloading, where users download files while watching online media. In this process, the user can only watch the downloaded part, but cannot directly watch the undownloaded part.
In other words, the user always sees the information sent by the server after a certain delay. Since standard HTTP servers can send files in this form, it is often referred to as HTTP streaming.
Progressive Streaming files are placed on a standard HTTP or FTP server, which is easy to manage and basically has nothing to do with firewalls. Progressive Streaming is not suitable for long clips and videos with random access requirements, such as lectures, speeches and presentations. It also does not support live broadcasting.
Real-time streaming must ensure matching connection bandwidth so that the media can be viewed in real time. During the viewing process, the user can watch the content before or after the media at their will. But in this transmission, if the network transmission condition is not good, the received image quality will be poor. Real-time streaming requires a specific server, such as Quick Time Streaming Server, Realserver, or Windows Media server.
These servers allow more levels of control over media sending, so system settings and management are more complicated than standard HTTP servers. Real-time streaming also requires special network protocols, such as RTSP (realtime streaming protocol) or MMS (microsoft media server). When there is a firewall, these protocols are sometimes screened, so that users cannot see the real-time content in some places. Real-time streaming is always transmitted in real time, so it is especially suitable for on-site events.
When using streaming media technology, audio and video files should adopt corresponding formats, and files of different formats need to be played with different player software. There are mainly the following types of audio and video files using streaming media technology:
In addition, MPEG, AVI, DVI, SWF, etc. are all file formats suitable for streaming media technology.
The streaming media system includes the following 5 aspects: [4]
The views expressed herein are for reference only and don't necessarily represent the official views of Alibaba Cloud.
Live stream shopping is a rapidly growing e-commerce trend. However, audio-visual technology may be unfamiliar territory for many front-end engineers. This article explores the world of Taobao live broadcast and uncovers a variety of information about streaming media technology, such as text, graphics, images, audio, and video. It also introduces players, web media technology, and mainstream frameworks. This article envisions opening the door to the realm of frontend multimedia.
Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the start of the fall semester for all elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in China was delayed for some time after Chinese New Year. In response to this, Youku announced the launch of its "Homeschool Plan" to provide free live-streaming tools for teachers, as opening school doors wasn't an option. Live classrooms were launched on Youku as early as February 10.
To accomplish a superior live-streaming experience for China's educators, Youku had to ensure a smooth and interactive experience during live-streams despite a larger than normal demand on its systems.
Considering this, the Youku live streaming media team looked into various methods to reduce the latency of streaming media on their site so there would be minimal latency, an indiscernible amount. Their goal was to reduce the average latency of live-streams from an average of 0.3 seconds to being less than 0.6 seconds.
In the end, they were able to achieve this striking goal, despite a dramatic increase in demand, by optimizing live-streaming classrooms. In the reminder of this article, Wang Jinzhou, a senior engineer from the Alibaba Entertainment team, will share just how the team was able to achieve this goal.
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The media and entertainment markets are booming. Young generations demand instant access to content from anywhere at any time. Technology is the driving force behind this digital media revolution, and 5G network connectivity is accelerating this trend further. Alibaba Cloud’s one-stop media solution provides media organizations with a range of powerful multimedia services to produce, upload, process, manage, and deliver your digital media content with ease and intelligent insights across multiple formats, platforms, and locations.
Broadcast Live is an integrated hybrid solution using Alibaba Cloud services and the 3rd party technologies. With this solution, you are able to easily establish a highly available global platform to manage a broadcast event for your audience with great experience on mobiles, PCs, TVs, and other smart devices, without the need to install, configure, and manage costly infrastructure. What's more, this solution is easily redeployed at any Alibaba Cloud regions, and live broadcasts are able to be deployed and operated globally in minutes rather than weeks or months. The solution is also able to scale and be running concurrently many times in the same location, not bound by infrastructure constraints
ApsaraVideo Live is a live streaming platform for both audio and video based on leading content hosting and delivery networks and large-scale distributed real-time transcoding technology.ApsaraVideo Live provides high-definition and uninterrupted live audio and video services that are convenient and accessible, with low latency and high concurrency.
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