What Is Live Video Streaming?

Streaming is a technology for quickly and efficiently sending and receiving media over the internet. Streaming media may include video like movies, TV shows, gaming content, and sporting events, as well as audio like music or podcasts. Media to be streamed is stored on streaming media servers, where it is compressed and broken into a series of small data packets that can be easily transmitted over the internet. When a user requests access to content, the server continuously transmits a bit of the file at a time rather than downloading the entire file. By sending just enough of the video or audio file to stay a few seconds ahead of the viewer, streaming media technology enables a smooth and uninterrupted playback without consuming a lot of time or disk space.

Live video streaming works in much the same way as on-demand video streaming, sending compressed video over the internet in small data packets just fast enough to stay a few seconds ahead of the viewer. However, rather than sending video that’s been stored on a server, live video streaming sends video that’s just been captured on a camera.

Steps in live video streaming include:

• Capture. Video images are captured live by a camera, which may be as simple as a webcam or smartphone camera or as high-end as broadcast-quality equipment.
• Encoding. The video data is compressed to create smaller files and encoded into a different format that allows it to be played on a wide variety of devices.
• Transcoding. The transcoding process creates multiple video file versions that allow high-quality playback on various devices. Transcoding enables adaptive bitrate streaming, where the quality and size of the video files are adapted to the network conditions, internet speed, and the location and type of device the video is played on. A video to be played on a smartphone screen, for example, can be a smaller file than a video that’s viewed on a 70-inch HDTV. When video content is made available at multiple bitrates, the user’s device can select the version that will yield the best viewing based on internet speed.
• Segmentation. This step breaks the video file into small packets of data that can be easily transmitted via the internet.
• Distribution. To enable video to be played with minimal latency and lag, it’s distributed via a content delivery network (CDN), which stores or “caches” multiple versions of the video files on servers located in many different locations, enabling video to be accessed from servers that are closest to users.
• Decoding. As the video data packets are received by a user’s device, they are decoded, decompressed, and converted into a video file for playback.

Live video streaming requires video delivery solutions for several types of functionality.

• Cameras. Cameras for live streaming include simple devices, such as smartphone cameras, as well as high-end equipment that’s specifically designed for broadcast-quality live streaming. Cameras typically include a video capture card that converts video images into data that can be streamed.
• Encoders. Encoders are streaming software or hardware devices that convert raw video signals into digital formats that can be transmitted via the internet. Encoders use codecs and algorithms to condense the video data as much as possible. Encoders also render video data into multiple formats with different compression rates and resolutions, enabling the video to be played with high quality on devices of various resolutions and sizes and with varying speeds of connection.
• CDN. A CDN, or content delivery network, is a collection of servers that are geographically distributed around the world and that store and serve video files closer to users, to minimize latency and improve viewing quality.
• Analytics. Video analytics technology tracks metrics around live video streaming performance quality, audience engagement, and monetization.

Common use cases for live video streaming include:

• Businesses and individual streamers on social media platforms frequently use live video streaming to market products, share virtual events, connect with audiences, strengthen engagement, and increase followers.
• Content providers use live streaming for live broadcast of sporting events, gaming content, political debates, public ceremonies, and news coverage.
• Companies rely on live streaming for a wide range of purposes, including product announcements, internal meetings, executive communications, webinars, sharing live events, and employee training.
• Religious communities use live streaming to broadcast services.
• Hospitals and medical professionals may use live video streaming to assist in surgery and to train medical students.
• Governments frequently live stream public meetings and gatherings to increase citizen involvement.

A live-streaming platform is a software application that facilitates distribution of streaming video to an audience in real time. Businesses may implement their own live-streaming platform or use a site like Vimeo or LinkedIn Live to stream content more easily. TikTok, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live are popular platforms for social media videos, and Twitch is one of the most popular sites for live streaming of video games.

The quality of live video streaming can be affected by several factors.

• Network bandwidth. Bandwidth is the amount of data that a network can transmit at one time. When user demand for data like video content exceeds the network’s bandwidth, transmission of files will slow down, resulting in an interruption of service or degraded viewing experience.
• Latency. While data travels at incredible speeds over the internet, live video streaming is nevertheless affected by the distance between streaming servers and user devices. The farther the distance, the longer it takes a signal to travel from a media server to a user’s device, causing latency.
• Buffering. Buffering is the process of preloading enough of a video or audio file to ensure smooth and uninterrupted playback, even when the speed of an internet connection varies. When a streaming device or media player can’t keep an adequate buffer of content, it will momentarily pause playback to download additional data. While buffering is essential to the streaming process, it can be a major source of frustration for users.
• Scalability. Handling a large number of concurrent viewers requires a robust infrastructure that can scale dynamically to meet demand. Managing spikes in viewership during popular events adds complexity.

As a leader in the content delivery and streaming media industry, Akamai provides live video streaming and video delivery solutions with the scalability and reliability required to consistently ensure high-quality viewing experiences.

Our innovative stream packaging and video transcoding solution streamlines live video streaming workflows by processing a single live stream to reach multiple devices and platforms. Our technology dynamically packages your content in real time using the appropriate protocol — whether it’s HTTP live streaming (HLS) for iOS and Android platforms or HTTP dynamic streaming (HDS) for adaptive bitrate delivery on Flash-based platforms. We also support the latest streaming formats such as MPEG-DASH for live delivery.

Additional live video streaming and video delivery solutions include:

• Adaptive Media Delivery 
  High-quality video delivery for any screen to global audiences
• Download Delivery 
  Deliver large file downloads flawlessly, every time, at global scale
• Dedicated Delivery 
  Deliver broadcast-quality video while maximizing network efficiency