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PREFACE
QuickTime Streaming
The focus of this guide is QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) and Darwin Streaming Server
(DSS). But before getting into the details of QTSS and DSS, it may be helpful to learn what
streaming is all about and to get an overview of the total streaming solution provided by the
QuickTime suite of products.
What Is Streaming?
Streaming delivers media from a server over a network to a client in real time, from modem
rates to broadband. No file is ever downloaded to a viewer’s hard drive. Media is played by
the client software as it is delivered.
With QuickTime streaming you can deliver
m
broadcasts of live events in real time
m
video on demand
m
playlist broadcasts of prerecorded content
About Streaming Servers
If you want to send streams to people over the Internet or a local network, you need a
streaming server. Just as you need a web server for web pages, and a mail server for email
messages, you need a streaming server to send real-time streams.
The streaming server transmits video and audio streams to individuals in response to
requests from those individuals using client software such as QuickTime Player. The requests
are handled using Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), a protocol for controlling a stream
of real-time multimedia content. The streams are sent using Real-Time Transport Protocol
(RTP), a transport protocol used for transmitting real-time multimedia content over
networks. A streaming server can create streams from QuickTime movies stored on a disk. It
can also send copies of any live streams to which it has access.
LL0329.book Page 7 Wednesday, November 20, 2002 2:09 PM