What are the benefits of placing my media files on a streaming server rather than a Web server?
The easiest way to explain this is to compare it to a car with an automatic transmission versus a manual transmission. Streaming servers are able to change data-transfer rates to the end user automatically during playback. Thus, if network congestion arises during playback, streaming servers will accommodate this change in environment and “downshift” the data transfer rate to prevent the media from “rebuffering;” a term used to describe the pausing of player to collect more data before resuming playback. Should the network environment improve, the servers will shift the data transfer rate upward to improve playback quality. With Web servers, the end user must select a “bit-rate” best suited for that end user and remain at that setting throughout playback. Streaming servers provide streaming in UDP Protocol and HTTP Protocol when the end user is unable to accept UDP Protocol streaming. Web servers can only playback using HTTP Protocol. Sound like a lot of gibberish or impossible-to-inte
