Communication Technology Update, 9th Edition

8

Streaming Media

Jeffrey Wilkinson, Ph.D.^*

The technology of “streaming” media over the Internet is, at its simplest, the transmission of audio and video from one computer to another (McEvoy, 2001, p. 118). Early predictions were that streaming was the new broadcasting, and, in the late 1990s, hundreds of radio stations offered their signals online. Because the quality of the streamed content has always been dependent on bandwidth, live audio/radio has been possible since the mid-1990s, and continues to be an extremely popular application. Video cntent (because of its size) has been slower to develop. Compression technologies and widespread broadband Internet connections, however, have enabled greater use, and demand for streaming video is rising ...