Streaming Video Transforms the Media Industry _ _ _ _ _ _ Applications

ly arrived. Skeptics argued for years that IP-based video was an overhyped technology that only succeeded in frustrating users by its high failure rate. The criticism was partly justified. Online video suffered from incompatible technologies, network constraints, and poor image quality. Consumers expecting “TV on the desktop” were disappointed to see grainy, choppy video in small windows. But proponents maintained that streaming was first and foremost about access, and that full-screen, DVD-quality video was a matter of time. Developments over the past two years have proved them right. Streaming media is causing a sea change in education, business, and mass media. Millions of people watch live newscasts, sports, and concerts on their PCs. Universities deploy streaming technology to enhance their distance learning programs, and corporations use it to improve knowledge-sharing and cross-company cooperation. Media companies and broadcasters are opening their archives, giving consumers access to thousands of popular and long-forgotten movies, documentaries, and 50 years of television programming. Web casters are proliferating, targeting audiences ranging from homemakers to business professionals, and advertisers insert interactive audiovisual ads in Web pages. Streaming is not limited to PCs. Wireless carriers target mobile phones with made-for-mobile content, and several carriers are preparing to launch live TV services for mobile phones. Streaming combines the immediacy of television with the interactivity of the Internet and is revolutionizing the media landscape. It provides access-on-demand rich media anywhere on any device. Based on Internet protocols, streaming technology enables small companies and individuals to become Web casters with a global audience.