Some people Confused about Buffering. Streaming and Downloading: Here's how to differentiate

This week, I’m going to explain the confused terms as mentioned above. I had a lengthy conversation with my fellow today trying to explain the difference between Buffering, Streaming and Downloading. I thought this would make a great episode for those who are confused about it. Ok let's start;

What is Streaming

“Streaming” is commonly used when referring to shared media. You've probably heard it in conversations about watching movies and music from the internet.

"Streaming" describes the act of playing media on one device when the media is saved on another.

The media could be saved in "The Cloud", on a computer, media server or network-attached storage device (NAS) on your home network. A network media player or media streamer (including Smart TVs and most Blu-ray Disc players) can access that file and play it. The file does not need to be moved or copied to the device that is playing it.

Likewise, the media you want to play could come from an online website. Video sites, such as Netflix and Vudu, and music sites like Pandora, Rhapsody and Last.fm, are examples of websites that stream movies and music to your computer and/or network media player or media streamer. When you click to play a video on YouTubeor a TV show on ABC, NBC, CBS or Hulu, you are streaming the media from that website to your computer, network media player, or media streamer.Streaming happens in real time; the file is delivered to your computer like water flowing from a tap.

Here are examples of how streaming works.

• You watch and listen to streaming video and music as it comes to your computer or network media player.
• A website that streams video will often have a "buffer." Several seconds of video is streamed to your computer or network media player in order to keep the video playing in the event of an interruption of the internet connection.
• You must have a fast connection so there aren't pauses or hiccups in the video playback. Higher quality video -- high definition video with digital surround sound -- requires a faster connection.
• Within your home network, a router must be able to pass on the video stream to your network media player. Audio Video ("AV") Routers or Gigabit routers may be needed to stream high definition videos to more than one TV or player.
• You must have a fast internet connection to stream high definition videos from the internet without interruption. Many video websites will determine the quality of the video streamed to your device based on their estimation of your internet speed. Typically, it is best to have an internet connection of at least 2 megabits per second (Mbps) for standard resolution video. HD video may require over 3 Mbps (4K streaming may require as much as 25mbps) so the video doesn't have to pause as it buffers.
• A streamed file plays from other sources. The source of the media must be connected and turned on, or the streaming stops.
• When streaming from the internet, it is not only the speed of your connection that guarantees a smooth viewing experience. Factors such as the amount of traffic on the website -- that is, the number of people watching videos at the same time -- and the speed of the website's server connection can influence how well the media is streamed to you.
• A streaming file is never saved on your device. Streaming media is either free, as it is on ABC and NBC; or you are charged a monthly subscription to access the media, such as with Netflix and Rhapsody; or you rent the video for a certain length of time, after which it is no longer available without renting it again. You can only play music on a subscription website if you are an active, paying subscriber. Once you stop paying, the media is no longer available.

What is Downloading

The other way to play media on a network media player or computer is to download the file. When media is downloaded from a website, the file is saved to your computer's or network media player’s hard drive.

When you download a file, you can play the media at a later time. Media streamers, such as smart TVs, Blu-ray Disc players do not have built-in storage, so you cannot download files directly to them for later playback.

Here are examples of how downloading works:

• Your device connects to the source of the file, then copies and saves it to your hard drive.
• Usually, you must wait until the download is complete before you can watch the media. Some services, like iTunes and Vudu, allow you to watch while a movie downloads after a sufficient amount of time.
• You can copy the file or move it to other hard drives unless it is a copyright-protected file.
• You can copy or move the file and save it to play on other devices unless it is a copyright-protected file.
• The downloaded file can be streamed to other devices once it has been saved.
• A downloaded file is available whenever you want to play it.
• TV shows and movies that are downloaded are “bought” versus rented and are available without time limit. That is, you “own” the movie or music file.

What is Buffering?

Buffering is actually an action taken to improve the streaming experience; streaming is commonly used on the Internet for media consumption because the viewer only needs the segment of the media they are currently viewing to enjoy the content as opposed to the entire thing with downloading.

The buffer is an allocated data storage space that contains information from the stream that the viewer or user is likely to use. In the case of a media stream like music or a movie, the buffer contains upcoming content the viewer hasn't seen or heard yet. The buffer may also contain recently viewed content for fast rewinding. When streaming programs, the buffer contains parts of the program the user has called and will likely call.

Buffering Improves Streaming

The buffer is designed to hold upcoming information to provide the smoothest possible consumption experience. The buffer is designed to account for inconsistent data provision speed changes and temporary service loss. Additionally, buffering before starting a stream can provide the stream at a higher-quality than in real-time. For example, if an audio stream runs at 256kbps but a listener's Internet connection only runs at 200kbps, the stream could spend 30 seconds preloading the song before starting playback so the download completes at the same time the song playback ends. The same pre-loading concept works for a movie that can play back in 12mbps but the viewer only has an 11mbps download speed.

Streaming without Buffering

Streaming content without a buffer leaves the viewer at the mercy of a constant data stream speed. If a video stream has no buffer or too little buffer, it will start to get choppy, drop in quality or temporarily pause if anything happens to disrupt the connection as it goes from the server to the viewer's device. Things like the source server getting a temporary load increase, the Internet connection fizzling out, a small number of data packets getting lost in the transfer or even someone else on the same network browsing a website can all interrupt the feed.