What is Streaming Media and How does it Work?
RealPlayer 8 Plus and RealSystem® G2 with Flash are a huge leap ahead for streaming technology on the Internet. RealSystem G2 is the collective name for the newest generation of RealNetworks’ collection of servers and tools that create and serve content to your RealPlayer. Of course, most of the bits and pieces of RealSystem G2 are hidden from you when you watch or listen to clips. What follows is an explanation of how streaming media works and how RealSystem G2 and RealPlayer fit into the scheme of it all (a little techy but in an easy-to-understand way; we want you to be as excited by what’s going on as we are).
“Streaming media” refers to the technology that makes netcasting possible. Audio and video content is distributed through a centralized server, ready to be transmitted live or on-demand to users who request it by visiting a website. When they click on the video or audio file they want to experience, the content is sent as a data stream from the server to the user’s desktop computer. A software package called a “media player” turns the data into a high-impact video or audio experience, played as it is received. Streaming technology eliminates the need to download bulky files.
