Web Design in a Nutshell

Nonstreaming versus Streaming

Audio formats served via the Web fall into two general categories. Nonstreaming audio files need to be downloaded to the user’s hard disk before they can begin playing. Streaming audio files begin playing almost immediately and continue playing as they are downloading. The following is a brief introduction to each approach as well as its advantages and disadvantages. A more detailed discussion of specific streaming and nonstreaming audio formats follows.

Nonstreaming Audio

When nonstreaming audio files (also called “static” audio) are retrieved from the server, they must download to the hard disk in their entirety before they can begin playing on the client end. Unfortunately, audio files are often quite large and require a long time to download, particularly over dial-up modem connections. For instance, a 1-minute WAVE file of CD-quality audio requires over 10 MB of disk space! (Of course, this can be reduced by sacrificing sound quality, as discussed later.)

How it works

Static audio files tend to be in common audio formats, and are transferred via a simple FTP transaction like any other web file.

When the user’s browser detects the audio file, it will either launch an external player or use a plug-in to play the audio. Which player it uses depends on the platform, the browser, its version, and its configuration, therefore the web site designer cannot directly control which player will be used.

Some common Macintosh external players include SoundMachine ...