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| Video Streaming Software |
Early Issues with Video Streaming
When video streaming first became possible in the early 2000s, there were many
technical challenges that needed to be overcome. Video files are extremely
large, so streaming high quality video over the internet required fast and
reliable connections on both the server and client sides. However, internet
speeds in the early 2000s were simply not fast enough in many areas to achieve
smooth, high definition streaming. Buffering was a constant issue that
frustrated many early viewers. Additionally, video codecs were still being
developed and optimized, so encoding and decoding video streams took a
significant amount of processing power that older computers struggled with.
These technical limitations meant the early experience of video streaming was
often unreliable and low quality.
The Rise of Flash Player
One of the early platforms that helped push Video
Streaming Software forward was
Adobe Flash Player. released in 1996, Flash Player allowed for embedded
multimedia content like video and audio to be streamed within web browsers.
Because it was a browser plugin, it avoided limitations of other proprietary
standalone streaming players. Flash quickly became the dominant platform for
streaming video on the early internet. Many websites relied on Flash to deliver
everything from short video clips to full length movies and live streams. While
Flash helped advance video streaming by providing a common platform, it still
faced bandwidth and performance issues common at the time. But it represented
an important step toward more ubiquitous internet video.
YouTube Launches and Defines Online Video
The true breakthrough that demonstrated mass demand for online video and
streaming came with the launch of YouTube in 2005. YouTube's simplicity of just
uploading and watching videos with no plugins required made it instantly
accessible. Its popularity skyrocketed as people flocked to the site to not
only watch professionally produced content, but also share personal videos with
others. YouTube's immense success proved there was a large appetite for video
content online and spurred further development of streaming technology. It also
demonstrated the potential of user generated video to drive audience
engagement. YouTube's format defined what online video sharing and streaming
could be and remains the largest video platform to this day.
Progress of Streaming Formats and Codecs
Behind the scenes, continued evolution of streaming formats and codecs was
pushing video quality higher. Succeeding Flash, formats like Adobe's H.264,
Microsoft's Silverlight, and Apple's HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) improved
compression efficiency. This allowed the same video files to be streamed at
wider ranges of rates to support diverse internet connections. Codecs like
H.264 that leveraged video compression became the de facto standard supported
by major players. Better encoding of metadata like timeline markers also
enhanced features like trick play support. These format and codec improvements
were adopted by platforms and allowed higher resolution streaming to become
mainstream in the late 2000s.
Rise of Over-The-Top Services
Seeing the immense demand for streamed media, major companies launched their
own over-the-top (OTT) streaming services separate from cable or satellite
providers. Netflix launched its popular on-demand movie and TV streaming
service in 2007, appealing to cord cutters with no broadcast fees. Hulu
followed in 2008 as a joint venture between major broadcasters, offering recent
episodes of TV shows for streaming. In 2010, Apple revolutionized mobile
streaming with the launch of iTunes and its model of selling TV show episodes
individually for the iPad and iPhone. These services not only offered wider
catalogues than YouTube, but also invested heavily in licensing top quality
libraries of content. Their success demonstrated there was big business
potential in internet streaming separate from traditional broadcast models.
Live Streaming Matures
With live streaming of events initially only possible at low quality due to
bandwidth constraints, the 2010s saw technology catch up to enable high quality
live broadcasts online. Pioneering this was services like Justin.tv (later
Twitch), which built audiences for live video game streams in the late 2000s.
As internet speeds rose with the proliferation of broadband and advances like
HLS, processing live camera feeds into H.264 streams became practical.
Companies invested heavily in infrastructure for cloud encoding and delivery of
live streams. Major sports leagues began regularly broadcasting games online,
while platforms integrated features like simultaneous social chatting. By the
mid-2010s, high quality live streaming rivaled cable TV for major live events.
Features Proliferate Across Services
All major streaming platforms continued optimizing user experiences, both for
live and on-demand streaming. Advanced features like profile accounts, watch history,
playlists, closed captions, quality options, offline downloads, simultaneous
streams, and 4K/HDR support became standard across services in recent years.
Personalized recommendations based on past watched titles also drove more
engagement. Platforms integrated varied business models spanning free,
subscription, rentals, and transactional purchases. They expanded content
libraries by financing exclusives and offering large back catalogs. Streaming
sticks and smart TVs with built-in apps made accessing all major services
seamless on any device. Such innovations cemented online streaming as the
primary way people enjoy video entertainment today.
Current State of Video Streaming
Now in the 2020s, the streaming industry is larger than ever before with over 1
billion global subscribers between dominant services. No longer novel,
streaming is simply how mainstream audiences expect to watch any TV show or
movie. Platforms continue enhancing the experience through AI and
personalization to better understand tastes and maintain engagement. Live
sports has become a catalyst driving further subscriptions. As bandwidth
increases globally with 5G adoption, new opportunities are opening for even
higher quality streams and interactive video. While challenges persist around
platform fragmentation and licensing, technological advancements ensure
streaming will remain the dominant model of video delivery and consumption for
the foreseeable future.
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