1Introduction

Streaming media is an exciting addition to the rich media producers’ toolbox. Just as the cinema and radio were ousted by television as the primary mass communication medium, streaming is set to transform the World Wide Web. The original text-based standards of the Web have been stretched far beyond the original functionality of the core protocols to incorporate images and animation, yet video and audio are accepted as the most natural way to communicate. Through the experience of television, we now have come to expect video to be the primary vehicle for the dissemination of knowledge and entertainment. This has driven the continuing developments that now allow video to be delivered over the Internet as a live stream.

Streaming ...

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