Tools of the Trade

All the content that you will stream originates from some source. That source might be a file, a video stored on VHS tape or DVD, a live event recorded through an analog or digital camera, a television broadcast, and so on. While you can acquire content in a variety of ways, getting that content from the source and onto user’s desktops requires three specific tools:

• An encoder

• A media server

• A player

The encoder compresses the content so it can traverse the network. Compression is necessary because audio and video in its native state is too large to fit within available network bandwidth.

The media server delivers the content to the player application that requests it. Usually, the player requests the stream from a page on a Web server. The Web server then sends a message to the media server to deliver the stream. You’re probably wondering what the difference is between a Web server and a media server. Stay tuned. We’ll get to that in a moment.

The player is the window through which the end user—the person requesting the stream—listens to your music or watches your video. It contains various controls that are similar to what you’ll find on a VCR, including fast forward, rewind, pause, play, stop, and lots of other features as well. When watching an on-demand stream (a stream that was recorded earlier), viewers can use these controls to start and stop the stream at will or to repeat favorite sections of it. During a live broadcast, such as a concert or company meeting, such interaction is not possible because the event is being streamed as it happens.