Video Streaming: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Most people interact with video streaming nearly daily, whether through corporate video conferences, online education, or streaming services. With the rising volume of video traffic and complex network demands, designing an efficient video streaming network solution has become a crucial issue for businesses. This article will explore the best practices for creating an effective video streaming network, helping you optimise your network architecture for smooth and stable video transmission.

What Is Video Streaming?

Video streaming is a technology that delivers video content from servers to user devices in a continuous data stream. Unlike traditional video downloads, streaming allows users to watch videos in real-time while they are being transmitted, without waiting for the entire file to download. This method enhances the efficiency of video delivery, particularly in scenarios requiring real-time viewing, such as live broadcasts, video conferences, and on-demand video services.

Key Components of Video Streaming

The key components of video streaming include several important elements that work together to ensure smooth transmission and high-quality playback of streaming content.

• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDNs are servers distributed across various geographical locations. When a user streams a video, the CDN closest to their location delivers the content, reducing latency and ensuring faster loading times.

• Video Compression and Encoding: To make video files smaller and easier to transmit, they are compressed and encoded. This process reduces the file size without significantly compromising quality. Codecs like H.264 or H.265 (HEVC) are often used for compression.

• Streaming Protocols: Streaming protocols govern how video content is delivered from servers to users. The most popular protocols include HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH). These protocols break the video into small chunks, allowing adaptive bitrate streaming based on the user’s internet speed.

• Media Players: To play the video on a user's device, media players (either web-based or app-based) decode the compressed video files and display them.

How Does Video Streaming Work?

The process of streaming media refers to the transmission of multimedia data, such as audio and video, over a network to the end user. During this process, several factors must be considered, including data compression, transmission protocols, and network bandwidth. The streaming process can be divided into the following steps:

• 1. Data Encoding and Compression: Streaming media data is typically encoded and compressed to reduce file size and improve transmission efficiency. Common encoding formats include H.264, H.265, and AAC.

• 2. Video Streaming Server: The streaming server is responsible for storing and distributing streaming media data. It sends the appropriate data to users based on their requests.

• 3. Video Streaming Transmission Protocols: The transmission protocol dictates how the data is transferred across the network. Common protocols include HTTP, RTMP, HLS, and RTSP. Different protocols are suited to different devices and scenarios.

• 4. Network Transmission: Streaming media data is transmitted over the network to the end user. Factors such as bandwidth, latency, and packet loss can affect the quality of the transmission during this process.

• 5. Decoding and Playback by End Devices: Once the end device receives the streaming data, it must be decoded and played back. A decoder converts the compressed data into playable audio and video signals, which are then played via a media player.

Video Streaming Transmission Protocols

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

HTTP is the most common transmission protocol, primarily used for on-demand video streaming. It transmits video files through standard web servers, offering broad compatibility and stability. With the HTTP protocol, users can easily watch streaming content on various devices, such as smartphones, computers, and televisions.

RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol)

RTMP is a protocol designed specifically for low-latency real-time video transmission, commonly used in live streaming platforms and online conferencing. It maintains a persistent connection between the server and the client, allowing for rapid data transmission. Although its usage has declined with the rise of HLS and DASH, RTMP remains a mainstream choice for live broadcasts and is still widely employed in certain real-time scenarios.

HLS (HTTP Live Streaming)

HLS is a streaming protocol developed by Apple, extensively used across various devices and platforms, particularly in iOS systems. HLS segments video into small file fragments and dynamically adjusts the video quality based on the user's network conditions (adaptive bitrate). This feature makes HLS especially suitable for video playback in unstable network environments, such as mobile networks.

RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)

RTSP is a network protocol specifically designed for controlling multimedia streams, typically used in conjunction with RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol). RTSP allows users to control streaming media during playback, enabling functions like pause, fast-forward, and rewind. It is commonly used in network cameras and video surveillance systems, as it effectively manages peer-to-peer real-time transmission.

Addressing the Challenges of Video Streaming

FS video streaming solution leverages the combination of the PicOS® operating system, the AmpCon™ management platform, and the Spine-Leaf architecture, employing VXLAN and MLAG technologies to deliver a highly resilient, flexible, and scalable network design. This approach enhances network management capabilities, increases capacity and reliability, and effectively reduces operational costs. By precisely allocating network traffic and adapting flexibly to growing demands, it ensures optimal network performance.

Conclusion

As video streaming becomes increasingly prevalent in enterprises, effective network design is crucial to meet the growing bandwidth demands and complex traffic management challenges. FS video streaming solution enables businesses to build a stable, secure, and flexible video streaming network architecture, ensuring that critical operations run uninterrupted and maintaining competitiveness in digital transformation.