How to Create Streaming Video

There are different types of video streaming on the internet.he two main methods of streaming video: Streaming servers (true streaming) and HTTP streaming. When creating streaming video, there are two things you need to understand: The video file format and the streaming method.
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File Formats
The most common formats are:
1. Windows Media
2. RealMedia
3. Quicktime
4. MPEG (in particular MPEG-4)
5. Adobe Flash

Streaming Methods
There are two ways to view media on the internet (such as video, audio, animations, etc): Downloading and streaming.
Downloading
When you download a file the entire file is saved on your computer (usually in a temporary folder), which you then open and view. This has some advantages (such as quicker access to different parts of the file) but has the big disadvantage of having to wait for the whole file to download before any of it can be viewed.
The easiest way to provide downloadable video files is to use a simple hyperlink to the file. A slightly more advanced method is to embed the file in a web page using special HTML code.
Delivering video files this way is known as HTTP streaming or HTTP delivery. HTTP means Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, and is the same protocol used to deliver web pages. For this reason it is easy to set up and use on almost any website, without requiring additional software or special hosting plans.
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Streaming
Streaming media works a bit differently — the end user can start watching the file almost as soon as it begins downloading. In effect, the file is sent to the user in a (more or less) constant stream, and the user watches it as it arrives. The obvious advantage with this method is that no waiting is involved. Streaming media has additional advantages such as being able to broadcast live events True streaming video must be delivered from a specialized streaming server.
Progressive Downloading
There is also a hybrid method known as progressive download. In this method the video clip is downloaded but begins playing as soon as a portion of the file has been received. This simulates true streaming, but doesn't have all the advantages.
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Streaming Video Servers
A streaming media or streaming video server is a specialized application which runs on an Internet server. This is often referred to as "true streaming", since other methods only simulate streaming. True streaming has advantages such as:
• The ability to handle much larger traffic loads.
• The ability to detect users' connection speeds and supply appropriate files automatically.
• The ability to broadcast live events.
There are two ways to have access to a streaming server:
1. Operate you own server (by purchasing or leasing)
2. Sign up for a hosted streaming plan with an ISP (Internet Service Provider)
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Operate your own server
Note: This is a serious step and is well beyond the needs of most websites.
To run your own streaming server, you can either purchase a standalone server machine or purchase a streaming server software package and install it on an existing web server. Streaming software is available for all common server platforms such as Linux, Windows, etc.
Some examples of streaming media software:
• Helix Universal Server from RealNetworks. This server supports a variety of formats, including RealMedia, Windows Media, Quicktime and MPEG-4.
• Apple Quicktime Streaming Server, supporting a few formats including MPEG-4 and 3GPP.
• Macromedia Communication Server, specializing in Flash-based video and interactive multimedia.