Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What Is Live Streaming (AutoRecovered)
What Is Live Streaming (AutoRecovered)
What Is Live Streaming (AutoRecovered)
Live Streaming is a way of transmitting video and audio data over the internet. It is a way to
deliver a video file a little bit at a time. When transmitting a few seconds of the file at a time over
the internet, devices that are watching do not have to download the entire video before
starting to play it. A live stream as the name suggests, is when the streamed video is sent over
the Internet in real time and can be played back in real time...which is where the “live” comes
from. This method of data transmission can be seen in various forms of media such as TV
Broadcasts, Movies, Video Game Streams, and other social media video. To understand
further the difference between regular and live streaming, I will use the comparison of a stage
actor who has a monologue that he has to reciter versus an actor who improvised his
monologue. With regular streaming, the content is pre-recorded or done before-hand and
THEN relayed (passed on) to the audience. Either way, the viewer is still receiving the
content.
The steps involved in live streaming are fairly simple to understand. These are the protocols
that happen behind the scenes. These include: Compression, Encoding, Segmentation,
Content Delivery Network (CDN) distribution, CDN caching (storing), Decoding, Video
Playback.
VIDEO CAPTURE
The very first process of live streaming involves the raw video
that is captured by the camera. In IT we learn that all data and all
means.
CAPTURE CARD
encoding. Additionally, when using an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable
to another.
charge.
HDMI Cables
Encoding involves the conversion of one signal to another. Whether it be analog to digital or
vice versa. In this context, it is converting the raw data into useable information. This is done
so that various devices can interpret the information and give you a pleasant viewing
experience.
Segmentation
Video as it is, includes a lot of digital information. That’s why it takes longer to download
one than say, a pdf file or a picture. It is simply not practical to send out all the video data at
once, so instead it’s divided into smaller segments. This is what contributes to streaming
delay. Where the video feed seen on the internet arrives later than the video seen on the
streaming software.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
After all that has happened, after the live stream has been compressed and encoded and
segmented (this takes a couple seconds), it needs to be made available to viewers who want
to watch it. So in order to maintain the high quality as well as a little latency (delay) as
possible, a content delivery network (CDN) will distribute it. A simple analogy is image you
have a number of packages that you need to be sent to some countries in the Caribbean. You
will need to have a shipping company. CDN servers are located all across the world which
So, after the CDN sends the live stream out to all who are watching the stream. Each device
automatically receives, decodes and decompress the data (within a few seconds). And lastly
for video playback to occur, a media player on the device either on a dedicated app or a video
player inside the browser. A media player interprets the data as visual information and that’s
Example:
Mark starts a livestream on his phone and his friends on the other side of the island, tunes
into the stream on his phone. He then flips the camera around and says “Hello Everyone”. So
to break this down, what needs to happen for this to reach the people watching the livestream
is…his phone will encode and compress that part of the video.
The app that Mark is livestreaming on will send the video that has been encoded and
compressed to the app’s CDN. His friends depending on where they live, will have a CDN
server nearby. Which is how they are able to see the livestream. His friend’s phone will
receive the information via the CDN server nearby where the it will automatically decode the