Status: Preliminary

Definition

A mechanism by which digital media is continuously delivered from a server to a client, typically using a specialized protocol that enables flow control, buffering, and bandwidth throttling. Streaming is commonly used for delivery of media that has no explicit end, for example webcasts or live data feeds. Since the user experience of streaming media is similar to progressively downloaded media (the user begins watching/listening to the content as it is delivered), this term is often used to describe progressive downloads.