I get this question quite often. Streaming is defined as: a method of transmitting or receiving data (especially video and audio material) over a computer network as a steady, continuous flow, allowing playback to start while the rest of the data is still being received.

The important part of the description is the last few words; “allowing playback to start while the rest of the data is still being received”. Way back in the early 90’s when I was designing websites and wanted to show a video, it had to be downloaded completely before it would start playing. In those days, data transmission was “slower than glacial drift”. Often a person would have to wait minutes to hours before they could watch the video.

Then along came Streaming, and we could have much larger video and audio content on our websites which would start playing immediately and download in the background while it played.

The great thing about the internet is the proliferation of video and audio information which is available to be streamed. This might be news from around the globe, the latest action film, or something as mundane as a YouTube video on how to clean wax from a tablecloth.

The number of devices which rely on streaming technologies is growing each year. Many have heard of Roku, Amazon Firestick, AppleTV, Echo, etc. All of these devices are designed for streaming content to you. If you have a “Smart TV” you may have noticed that it provides access to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and any number of other Streaming Services. In the case of a Smart TV, you do not need an additional device to begin streaming content, but you may need to sign up for an account with the service you wish to use.

All of these devices require an internet connection to function. You may have heard the term “Wirecutting” which in this context refers to getting rid of your Cable Provider. Here in St. Augustine we have only 2 Cable providers, and they are our only access to the Internet as well.

If you have questions or need assistance setting up your streaming device, give me a call.