Streaming media are multimedia that are constantly received by, and normally presented to, an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider (the term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback). The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. Internet television is a commonly streamed medium.
Live streaming, more specifically, means taking the video and broadcasting it live over the Internet. The process involves a camera for the video, an encoder to digitize the content, a video publisher where the streams are pushed to (or pulled from the encoder - depending on the encoder) and a Content delivery Network to distribute and deliver the content. The URL can then be viewed by end Users live. Security remains one of the main challenges with this new methodology. However, DRM systems are the best way to keep the content secure.
Streaming bandwidth and storage
Unicast connections require multiple connections from the same streaming server even when it streams the same content
Streaming media storage size (in the common file system measurements mebibytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, and so on) is calculated from the streaming bandwidth and length of the media using the following formula (for a single user and file):
storage size (in megabytes) = length (in seconds)
