Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP)

Several solutions have appeared for the problem of timely, reliable delivery, but perhaps the most important solution to the Internet streaming puzzle is Realtime Transport Protocol (RTP). RTP defines a packet format and a standard method for transmitting audio and video streams over TCP/IP. The name announces RTP as a transport protocol, but the reality is a bit more complex. RTP does not replace the primary transport protocols but is, instead, built on top of UDP (see Figure 19.1) and uses UDP ports to reach the Internet.

Figure 19.1. RTP uses UDP to provide network streaming.

You might be wondering how ...

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