Streaming Audio Simplified

Streaming audio is a form of streaming multimedia which allows Web site visitors to listen to audio files immediately, without having to download them.

A stream of data in the form of MP3 or AAC-encoded audio travels from the server over Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) to a Flash player, which works as part of the Web browser. This form of streaming audio inherently provides more content security than progressive download of audio files over HTTP because it leaves no copy of the content on the client computer.

An audio stream can be made available in two different ways:

On Demand: - The pre-recorded audio file is stored on a server, available to be streamed when the user requests it.
Live: - The audio delivered from a live radio broadcast, live music event, or speech at a particular time.

The main benefits of incorporating streaming audio into a Web site are that visitors can preview music clips quickly, listen to live radio broadcast on a computer and the presence of audio commentary or sound clips can help users navigate, make the site accessible to visually impaired users, or distinguish the site from others. Streaming audio is an effective way to keep users engaged in site content.

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