Progressive download – streaming?
Jul/090
Http streaming or as it is better known – progressive download, which has been developed as a marketing term by Macromedia as the “poor man’s streaming solution” for their Flash platform. Progressive download is available from Flash 7 onwards and in essence means a “play-as-you-download” method, that works with standard http web servers. The concept is not invented by Macromedia though, as it has existed for some time with the development of streamable file formats.
Progressive download streaming is achieved by downloading a file “progressively” i.e. from the start onwards up to the end and playing it. FlashVideo(FLV) is a streamable file format as the packets of video data are defined in a “row”(or queue) and can be interpreted one by one, without a need to read all the packets to the end first. As a result progressive streaming provides a similar experience to true media server streaming, but without the need of a media server.
Video Self-hosting
Jul/090
Web video can be hosted on a regular web server by using progressive download. This is the do-it-yourself version of web video publishing and is called by some free video hosting. This basic type of video publishing is easy to learn for web designers and is often used by designers that do not have access to better technology or technical knowledge to use it.
Video Sharing
Jul/092
Video sharing is a service that provides the ability to show your video on the web for the general audience or a targeted one on your website. Video sharing services are free(for the content owner/publisher), as opposed to video hosting services. In a sense video sharing is a synonym for “free video hosting“. It is usually personal or viral content and often intended as a community. As opposed to generic file sharing, video sharing is about the actual content and not it’s carrier(the files). This is achieved through a process called video streaming. The primary intent for video sharing services is personal use. Video sharing services are a great resource for viral marketing initiatives in order to create brand awareness.
For a more detailed explanation on the differences between video sharing services and video hosting services read Video Sharing vs. Video Hosting.