Streaming

Streaming refers to the playing of media, such as sound or video, in real time as it is downloaded over a network, such as the Internet, as opposed to storing it in a local file first.

Usage
The streaming of audio or video avoids the delay entailed in downloading an entire file first, and then playing it with a separate helper application. Streaming requires a fast connection and a computer powerful enough to execute the decompression algorithm in real time.

History
Early web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator, required plug-ins to gain the ability to decompress and play media data as it is was transferred to the computer over the web. As MPEG formats were standardized, many of these plug-ins were no longer necessary in modern browsers which had built-in support for web video codecs.