What is Video Streaming, and How Does It Work?
Video streaming is a popular way to build relationships with customers and generate revenue today. Companies and enterprises craving additional income streams obtain IPTV solutions. Video streaming for government also brings many benefits.
All facilities find content suitable for delivering to their audiences: educational videos, breaking news, and movies and shows. However, technically, video streaming is not as simple as it may seem. Let’s observe the whole process and cover such terms as IPTV video transcoding, encoding, and others.
What is Video Streaming?
Video streaming is the transmission of media content from a server to an end-user device. It allows viewers to watch videos without downloading them on their gadgets. As a result of video streaming, people can watch high-quality videos on any device connected to the Internet. Moreover, it is even possible to stream, for example, TV shqiptare outside the country.
Videos are usually stored remotely on servers. They are transferred a few seconds ahead of the actual playback to ensure a smooth viewing experience. As a result, a user watches a video without interruptions.
What is the difference between downloading and streaming?
Streaming is a little more complicated process than downloading. When a video file is downloaded, it is stored locally on a receiving device. A viewer can watch a video only after it is fully saved on a hard drive.
When streaming, a video player loads a file a little bit at a time and plays it in real time. The data is not saved locally on a device.
How does Video Streaming Work?
Preparing a video for delivery
Before the video transmission begins, you need a video file prepared for delivery through the Internet. At first, you have a RAW video file that is usually too large for transmission. For this reason, an encoding process is necessary.
Encoder will compress a video into more manageable chunks that are also more suitable for delivery via the Internet.
Furthermore, since all viewers watch videos on different devices, from TVs to mobile phones, one copy of the video in one particular size is not enough for delivery. If the resolution of a video is small, it will pixelate on a Smart TV, damaging the quality of experience for users. High resolution, on the contrary, might slow down the load on a mobile phone. The transcoding process can help here.
Transcoding is the creation of multiple copies of the same video in various sizes and bitrates. As a result, a transmitted file can meet the requirements of a receiving device and an internet connection.
Generally, a video is delivered in small data packets, and a player interprets them as video or audio.
Protocols for delivery
During the transmission, transport protocols are vital – UDP or TCP. They are both used for moving data via the Internet. They help servers communicate so that viewers can watch their favorite videos.
While TCP creates an established connection to ensure reliable data transmission, UDP sends information without error-checking. TCP, in turn, checks for errors and guarantees that data is delivered in the correct order.
UDP is a connectionless protocol that doesn’t check recovery services. With UDP, the data is sent without ensuring that it is received.
TCP is usually best for delivering texts, files, and web browsing, unlike UDP, which works well for live streaming, online gaming, and video conferencing.
Drawing the Line
Video streaming is a complicated process that involves many elements working together. A video file should be prepared for transmission through the Internet. You also need particular protocols operating.
Video streaming can be challenging because such issues as network latency and congestion might occur. On the user side, problems with Wi-Fi, bandwidth, and devices may also influence the speed of streaming. Content providers usually use CDN to enhance video delivery. A great illustration here is TVALB that delivers content from Albanian to viewers in USA and Canada.
