A   S t r e a m i n g   M e d i a   P r i m e r :    

W H A T   I S   S T R E A M I N G   M E D I A ?

congestion, etc.) are equivalent. But however long the download takes, when all is said and done, the 

quality of the playback experience will be the same, assuming all other relevant factors (e.g., processing 

capability, video support, quality of monitor and speakers, popcorn, etc.) are equal. 

For streaming media to play back smoothly, a continuous, steady  stream  of data must be delivered 

a stream that won't  choke  the pipes. In other words, you need to produce a fi le that streams at a 

low enough bit rate (data transfer rate) for the connection to handle. Reducing the bit rate of a media 

fi le enough to fl ow smoothly through a narrowband connection means sending much less data than a 

broadband connection is able to handle much less data than we are used to seeing when we watch 

broadcast television; much, much less than when we play a DVD. There are several ways in which the 

bit rate can be reduced: 

   the physical dimensions (area) of the video frame can be made smaller

   the number of frames per second (fps) of the video can be lowered, and/or

   the amount of information in each frame can be reduced through compression. 

When any or all of these strategies are employed, the quality of the playback experience suffers. 

If a media fi le is encoded to optimize playback for the least common denominator a typical 

narrowband connection at 28.8 Kbps, for example the quality will be relatively low. A user with a 

higher bandwidth connection, such as cable modem, DSL, or a corporate T 1 line (which, with current 

technology might support  near broadcast  quality) can play any streaming media clip that has been 

encoded for transmission at their connection speed or lower but they will suffer poor quality un 

necessarily. However, a user with a low bandwidth connection, who attempts to play a stream that has 

been encoded for higher bandwidths, will experience choppy playback and delays. The best solution 

the emerging streaming media industry has come up with to date, is to publish streaming media content 

as multiple streams, encoded for an assortment of bandwidths, in order to accommodate a wide variety 

of end users. This is called multi bit rate encoding, or MBR.

WHO'S STREAMING IN THE REAL WORLD?

There's a whole lot of streaming going on 

According to Nielson/NetRatings, streaming media consumption skyrocketed to an all time high in 

November 2000, with 35 million Web users at home accessing streaming content, a 65% increase 

from 21 million in November 1999. Nielson/NetRatings indicates that fi gure accounts for 

36% of all Internet users, as compared to 28% during the same period in the prior year. Nielson/

NetRatings also reports that people with high speed Web connections 11.2 million home users in 

November 2000 are more likely to consume streaming media content. Active users with a broad 

band connection in the home (over 56 Kbps) were 50% more likely to access streaming media 

than their dial up counterparts (56 Kbps and below).

11

Trends show streaming usage by Web users at home is skyrocketing

Audience                                                   November                November             Percent

Demographic                                                1999                            2000                 Increase

Females                                                        9 million                   16 million                77%

Males                                                            12 million                 19 million                56%

Kids/Teens                                                  4 million                    7 million                 65%

namic Mediay

Seniors                                                          700,000                   1.4 million                95%

 And lots more streaming to come

obe D

A Q42000 report by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffrey indicates that the implementation of streaming media 

d

to meet consumer demand will drive the next wave of Internet growth. The report predicts that total 

A

spending on Web streaming media will grow from $9.7 million in 1999 to $21.6 million by 2004. 

8

11   Streaming Media Usage Spikes 65 Percent,  InternetNews.com, December 2000, http://www.internetnews.com/streaming news/article/0,,8161_532781,00.html