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Streaming audio and video over the internet is based on one simple theory: skip the download process and simply play the data as it is being received by your computer. Instead of waiting for the bits to be copied they are converted and played as soon as they arrive.

UMIS has been a heavily involved in digital video compression technology for years. Our extensive IT knowledge combined with our contacts in video has enabled UMIS to take our partner’s expertise in digital video and apply it to streaming video for the web. To see what UMIS can stream for you, contact us.


What is Streaming?

With streaming audio or video you get instant gratification - there is no download wait. Streaming an audio or video file is like playing a CD or tape. You have all the same playback controls like play and rewind the only thing you don't have is the physical media e.g. the tape or CD. However, you can still choose what you want to listen to and when. Streaming also enables you to do live broadcasting, just like a radio or television station - except over the Internet. You can eliminate the need for files altogether as the Media Encoder sends the bits it creates directly over a network to a player, instead of to a file.

For Streaming to Work

For streaming to work, the bit rate of the media must be lower than the bandwidth of the network. Bit rate is the speed at which data is sent across the network - using a plumbing metaphor, if the bandwidth is the size of the pipe the bit rate is the amount of water, or data per second, that can travel through the pipe. Because you are playing the digital media as it is being received, if the network bandwidth is lower than the bit rate of the media than the media will not play properly.

Access to UMIS Streaming FAQs and IAQs

Play Back Quality

If you download a still image over a slow connection the image quality will not be affected, it will just take longer for all the bits to get to your computer as the still image itself does not have a bit rate. On the other hand, streaming media does have a bit rate. As long as the content is playing in the Media Player, the bits are streaming at a steady and continuous rate. The player must receive a stream of bits continuously or the picture and sound will either stop or will play back unevenly.

Think of it this way: when you encode a file for downloading, file size is important and bit rate is irrelevant, however when you encode a file for streaming, the file size is irrelevant and bit rate is important. You can easily stream a very large file, even one that has an undetermined size (such as a live stream), so long as the bit rate is within your bandwidth limits.