Understanding Streaming: Types, Importance, and Concepts, Slides of Data Communication Systems and Computer Networks

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STREAMING

STREAMING

CONCEPTS

Assist with understanding

Understanding Streaming

In more tech-related terms:

Streaming is the transferring or movement of packets of data (voice, audio, and/or video) across the Web in a steady sequential “stream”, from a “streaming server” through a path on the network to the computers of one or more users

The Importance of Streaming

Streaming has become increasingly important with the growth of the Internet, particularly for: Playing music Transmitting pictures, films, and animation Videoconferencing Global communication Saving companies & personnel time and money Training and educational purposes Security control

Types of Streaming

There are two basic types of streaming:

True streaming Pseudo streaming

True Streaming

Media streams are downloaded from a server to a user’s computer and are listened to or viewed as they arrive Using True Streaming, users can view or listen to media files On Demand in Real Time “On Demand” means right away upon request “Real Time” means while an event is occurring

TRUE STREAMING

“Streaming”, as used in this

presentation and general usage,

means “True Streaming”

User simplicity

A www World Wide Web user merely clicks a link on a Web page & within seconds video or audio material streams into his computer and starts playing The user expects to listen to or view a steady and blissfully continuous data stream The user attributes pauses in his viewing to heavy Internet traffic or poor connections Most users are unaware of the complexity behind the scenes

BASIC STREAMING-RELATED

CONCEPTS

A few basic concepts are

necessary to an understanding of

streaming

Digital vs Analog

Computers such as PCs (Personal Computers) are “digital” computers Digital computers operate on data in digital form, not analog form Data in analog form must be converted to digital form in order for it to be processed on a digital computer Digital data must be converted back to analog form to be heard as “sound”

Audio

Audio is sound within the acoustic range available to humans An audio frequency (AF) is an electrical alternating current within the 20 to 20, cycles per second range used to produce acoustic sound in computers AF is measured in cycles per second (cps) called “hertz” after a German physicist The range of human hearing is roughly from 0 to 20,000 cps (0 Hz to 20 kHz)

Band

(frequency band)

A specified range of frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum Each band has a defined upper and lower limit Broadcast transmission is at high frequency rates, usually expressed in kilohertz (kHz) or megahertz (MHz) Band usage is assigned and regulated nationally and internationally

Bandwidth (cont.)

Analog: bandwidth is expressed in terms of the difference between the highest and lowest frequency signal components, where frequency is measured in cycles of change per second (hertz) Typical signal bandwidths: voice, 3 KHz; TV broadcast signal, 6 MHz - about 2000 times wider than voice bandwidth

Bandwidth Bottleneck

In actual telecommunication, a path consists of a succession of links, each having its own bandwidth If the bandwidth of one link is too low or too much data is trying to pass through it at once, that link will be slower than other links The slow link is said to have a “bandwidth bottleneck” If significant, users may experience a break or pause in the continuity of the incoming file