Due to the advancement of technology and the increase in people’s interest in online access to content and the use of the content without delay, streaming has become very popular; Therefore, we introduced the streaming industry; Stream, according to the dictionary definition, is water that flows along a path; But in computer and especially programming, stream means data that is transferred from one place to another (from one file to another); In fact, streaming is the continuous transfer of data (music or video) from a server to a receiver.
For example, when you play a video online, you don’t need to download it, and the data is sent from the server to your device in the form of buffers (we will learn about the concept of buffers later), and you can watch any time of the video at any time. Watch with minimal delay.
When and how was the first stream created?
The world’s first live streaming took place at a time when people were watching VHS tapes on CRT TVs. On June 24, 1993, two researchers and a computer engineer were singing to their music when their colleagues at the Xerox Corporation in California decided to test one of their new technologies, so they showed their colleagues’ performance on a network called Mbone. . People all over the world were very receptive to live music at that time.
After that, in 1995, an internet company developed its live broadcasting capability and started broadcasting a baseball match with the help of live streaming.
After that, many companies started broadcasting live, but YouTube took the most effective step in this field in 2008 under YouTube Live, which was not optimal. Finally, with updates and changes, it became popular among people in 2014. It became very popular. Twitch entered this field, then Twitter in 2015, and then Instagram in 2016, adding this technology to their applications.
How is streaming done?
In streaming, there is a sender and a receiver. The sender uses a server or an independent device to share the content over the Internet, and according to certain conditions, users have public or limited access to it.
During playback, the software saves part of the content (audio and video) in the system, called a buffer. The amount of buffer is determined by software or hardware and is usually in terms of volume and time intervals of 15 to 30 seconds. This feature helps the user to be able to watch the image without being interrupted if the speed of the Internet is slow for a moment. Of course, if the slowness or outage of the Internet lasts for a long time, the sound and video will be interrupted for a while.
In streaming, data is received gradually and as needed. For example, the first part of the data is placed in a buffer, and after consumption, the next part of the data is received. This process continues as long as there are still requests.
Which content can be streamed?
Video and music were the first contents that entered the streaming industry. Due to the advancement of technology, different content, such as games and programs, live events, etc., are also streamed today.
Music and audio content
Streaming and listening to music and podcasts has become very popular among users because you can listen to the content without downloading it! Software such as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, etc., provide millions of available tracks for direct playback at the touch of a button.
Video streaming
Before video streaming techniques, watching videos online was difficult; Users had to download the entire movie first. This problem paved the way for the introduction of video streaming techniques. In this method, the video is broken into small pieces of a few seconds (segments), and when the video playback request is received from the user, the segments are sent and played in order. Due to the small volume of these parts, the video playback does not face many delays. Video streaming is done in different ways. One of the most famous is adaptive streaming.
Today’s most popular video streaming services are YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. Iranian examples include Aparat, Nemava, Filmo, Lenz, etc.
Stream in the game world
If you like video games, don’t miss this section! Maybe in the game world, you have heard the word streamer; A streamer is someone who shares live video of his playing on virtual networks; Twitch is the most used platform for game streaming, and currently, the most watched game on the platform is Fortnite.
The most important step for a streamer is to play well or be a professional gamer! Users do not enjoy playing as beginner gamers; The second most important requirement is a strong system that can display your gameplay well to the user, followed by a suitable platform for content delivery.
What is the live stream?
As the name suggests, live stream broadcasts an event over the Internet. Live to the stream of a soccer match, award ceremony at a festival, Instagram live, online classes, and even video games are examples of live streaming. Today, due to people’s interest in watching live events and its faster speed than downloading, as well as the virtualization of many events and classes, the live streaming market has become very hot.
Live streams are often offered in software, divided into two categories, and sometimes they are also offered on websites.
General Software
This software has extremely strong servers; the most famous of which are YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Twitch, and Instagram Live, and Iranian examples such as Aparat Live, as well as lens and antenna software that are special for sports programs, these software’s are used by the public. It turns out that using them is often free of charge.
professional software
This software, the most famous of which is Adobe Connect software, which uses a user or a dedicated server to communicate with other users and provide content. This software is generally used for training classes, meetings, and conferences. Professional software usually has high costs and therefore is not affordable for home and simple users. However, due to the virtualization of many classes, you are probably familiar with this and similar software.
Websites
Websites with live streaming are often the same web version of the software, such as Aparat or Adobe Connect, which have both software and website.
What is the difference between streaming and downloading?
In the old way of downloading, we save a file on our device and do not have access to its content until it is completely downloaded.
Streaming is downloading in a new way, where the content is divided into several parts, and you can access it moment by moment; As a result, you don’t need to download it completely to use the content.
Another fundamental difference between streaming and traditional downloading is that in traditional downloading, the file is saved on your hard drive, and you can access it every time without using the Internet again. Still, in streaming, the content is not saved on your hard drive, which has the advantage of not taking up space. Your device’s memory or hard drive.
Does streaming also have security risks?
Yes, considering that not all software and streaming sites are legitimate, they may threaten your security! The fact that you do not download the content does not mean that the infected site does not enter the infected content into your system! To create security, you can use a strong antivirus to protect you from malware. You can also use anonymous IPs.
What are the types of streams?
The stream is divided into several categories based on the type of content presentation, which we will learn about later.
Providing content on a permanent or temporary basis
In this case, the content file is placed on a private or public server that is valid and suitable for the content, such as Youtube or Sound Cloud, so that other people can access it at any time. This method is very popular and practical, and every day, millions of files are presented on related sites and applications worldwide and available to everyone.
Presenting content life
In this method, i.e., live streaming, the content is made available to users online and live. This method is used in training classes, meetings, conferences, sports networks broadcast, game streams, etc. Due to the time limit of its use, this method has a smaller audience but has its fans.
Combined method
In fact, on some platforms, after the live performance of an event, they save it for a while so that those who missed the event can still access it. As Instagram is live, it can be saved for a limited time after the performance for the rest of the audience.
How to stream content?
Considering the advancement of technology and the popularity of live streaming among people, you might want to use this technology; In the following, we will introduce the tools needed for streaming.
high-speed Internet
Perhaps the most important requirement for live streaming is high-speed Internet; If you use a weak internet, the constant content interruptions will annoy the users.
Maybe you want to know the speed for presenting the content you want. The required internet speed depends on the volume and quality of the desired content. For example, a speed of 512 kilobytes per second is enough for low-volume content, but to stream a video with 720p quality, two megabytes of speed is needed. A higher speed, about five or ten megabytes per second, is needed for higher qualities.
A suitable platform for streaming
Depending on the specialized or general nature of the content and the desired presentation method, you can get help from various software such as Adobe Connect or YouTube, etc. If you want to use internal software, Aparat, Namava, etc., are available.
Specialized streaming equipment
Today, normal users use software such as YouTube, Instagram, etc., to live stream. Still, for specialized streaming, you need equipment so that the quality of the streaming increases and the audience is not dissatisfied.
One of these pieces of hardware is from the capture card family. You can use all kinds of analog and HD capture cards from simple companies to professional manufacturers compatible with the software you want. Capture cards produce specialized products in the field of streaming with high software compatibility, which has resulted in the satisfaction of users.
Also, a strong system is another requirement. If you take a video of yourself, you need a good camera.
What is Donate Stream?
Donate means to support, and don’t stream means to support the content producers. For example, donate to the individual page. Don’t Stream helps to make a page more visible, and if you are interested in streaming, you can also create a donation portal after creating the page.
What are the problems facing the stream?
Streaming is not a problem in itself, given its many uses, fewer interruptions, and other benefits; The only problem that may arise is the lack of internet speed and low bandwidth, which causes frequent interruptions and an unpleasant experience in streaming content.
Of course, due to various content qualities and streaming software’s progress, you can choose the desired quality according to your internet speed. Also, in some software, there is an automatic quality adjustment feature that provides a certain quality of content depending on the internet speed of the system. For example, when you watch a video with 720p quality, and the Internet becomes weak, the quality is set to 480p so that the content does not stop playing.
What is the quality of music and video in streaming?
In live streaming, quality determination is determined by the user sending the content. In this type of stream, it is better to consider the quality to be medium and the buffer to be almost high so that both the users can hear and see the quality of the content and receive the entire content of the live stream without interruption. Also, in the constant stream that is done in software such as Aparat, the quality of the content depends on the capabilities of the software and its capabilities and settings that the user can choose based on the speed of the Internet or the size of his screen.
Famous software such as YouTube, Netflix, or native examples of Aparat, Filmo, Natasha, etc., provide video with resolutions from 144p to 1080p and even more.
Low resolutions are suitable for smaller screens such as mobile phones, and higher qualities are suitable for larger screens. For example, due to the increase in the quality of screens, a minimum resolution of 360p is used for mobile phones, and a minimum resolution of 480p is used for the display of monitors and laptops. Image is used. You can also use more or fewer qualities depending on your needs and internet speed.
Due to the increasing progress of technology and people’s interest in faster and online use of the content without downloading, streaming has become a popular and profitable industry. If you are a regular user, you can enjoy watching content and events online, and if you have a business or are a gamer, you can improve and achieve better income with this technology.