O'Reilly Chapter Excerpt From: Designing Web Audio
Chapter 5
Introduction to Streaming Media
Click to Buy:
Josh Beggs & Dylan Thede
Internet streaming media changed the Web as we knew it-- changed it from a static text- and graphics-based medium into a multimedia experience populated by sound and moving pictures. Now streaming media is poised to become the de facto global media broadcasting and distribution standard, incorporating all other media, including television, radio, and film. The low cost, convenience, worldwide reach, and technical simplicity of using one global communications standard makes web broadcasting irresistible to media publishers, broadcasters, corporations, and individuals. Businesses and individuals once denied access to such powerful means of communication are now using the Web to connect with people all over the world.
The remarkable technology that allows a web site visitor to click on a button and seconds later listen to a sporting event, tradeshow keynote, or CD-quality music is the result of a rather simple but powerful technical innovation--streaming media. Streaming works by first compressing a digital audio file and then breaking it into small packets, which are sent, one after another, over the Internet. When the packets reach their destination (the requesting user), they are decompressed and reassembled into a form that can be played by the user's system. To maintain the illusion of seamless play, the packets are "buffered" so a number of them are downloaded to the user's machine before playback. As those buffered or preloaded packets play, more packets are being downloaded and queued up for playback. However, when the stream of packets gets too slow (due to network congestion), the client audio player has nothing to play, and you get the all-too-familiar drop-out that every user has encountered.
About the Author
Josh Beggs is co-founder and president of Raspberry Media, a Design Firm in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in Web-smart architecture, interface design, and brand development for Internet start-ups. Josh began his career in the multimedia industry as a recording engineer and sound designer. In 1995 he produced the interactive soundtrack for EMI Records flagship CD-ROM, Queensr˙che's Promised Land. After receiving impressive reviews from Billboard Magazine (March 1996) for the soundtrack, Josh went on to explore interactive media design with Raspberry Media. In addition to designing some of the top Web sites on the Internet, he also follows his musical passions as a pianist and recording artist.
Dylan Thede's multimedia experience began in the
cultural mecca of the San Francisco Bay Area in 1985. At a young age, he was
designing sound systems and multimedia presentations for the University of
California at Berkeley. At the University of California at Santa Cruz, Dylan
became a pioneer in the emerging fields of Digital Audio, Digital Video, and
Multimedia and later graduated with a degree in Multimedia and Psychology. He
was one of the pioneers in web design when the World Wide Web burst onto the
scene in 1994. In 1995, Dylan founded AudioVisualize, a multimedia consulting
company that caters to companies who wish to implement multimedia into their web
sites and corporate operations. Besides writing and creating multimedia
projects, he is also a musician and is currently composing and recording music
for an upcoming multimedia CD release.
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