I want to find a host for my content which will include mp3 and video
streaming (to phones etc). Does the HOST have to have certain
capabilities to do this? I want to know what to ask for before I make
the cash plunge. thanks!
There are two ways to stream media. The first is actually progressive
download which starts playing, or streaming, the media after a short
buffering time. The bit rate for the media must not greatly exceed
exceed what the viewing browsers's isp can deliver, or the buffer time
can become nearly as long as the time for full download. The full
download is cached by the browser so, that on a second play, you read
data from the cache rather than from the web - until the temporary
cache gets erased. For single songs or videos, or for a short playlist,
you may use an ordinary html server if you do not expect many will
connect at the same time and your server is not otherwise overloaded.
Otherwise, for much traffic or for extending selections, you need to
use a special streaming media server. Here the media is not downloaded
in full into a cache and is not kept in memory.Hence the download rate
must be less than the maximum bit rate the viewing browser's isp will
support or you get dropouts on no playback at all. Streaming servers
download in a more even manner than an html server and have controls
that will limit connections to the server if the load becomes too great
for good, even streaming. There are streaming media hosts. There costs
usually is determined by the bandwidth used, and it can be rather
expensive. Be sure you choose one that will allow you to limit the
bandwidth, or you could get a huge bill if some nut plays your media
over and over all day, every day. Many sites with streaming content
keep their regular html server for web pages and then link to their
streaming server for media content only.
