the firm, the market and the law

TEAMFLY

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Streaming
Media
Demystified
Michael Topic

McGraw-Hill
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DOI: 10.1036/0071409629
abc
McGraw-Hill
In memory of Daniel Lewin—innovator and visionary.
McGRAW-HILL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Bates Broadband Telecommunications Handbook
Bates GPRS
Bates Optical Switching and Networking Handbook
Bates Wireless Broadband Handbook
Bedell Wireless Crash Course
Benner Fibre Channel for SANs
Camarillo SIP Demystified
Chernock Data Broadcasting
Clayton McGraw-Hill Illustrated Telecom Dictionary, Third Edition
Collins Carrier Class Voice Over IP
Faigen Wireless Data for the Enterprise
Guthery Mobile Application Development
Harte Delivering xDSL
Harte 3G Wireless Demystified
Held Deploying Optical Networking Components
Kobb Wireless Spectrum Finder
Lee Lee’s Essentials of Wireless
Lee Mobile Cellular Telecommunications, Second Edition

Louis Broadband Crash Course
Louis M-Commerce Crash Course
Louis Telecommunications Internetworking
Muller Bluetooth Demystified
Muller Desktop Encyclopedia of Telecommunications, Third Edition
Nichols Wireless Security
OSA Fiber Optics Handbook
Pecar Telecommunications Factbook, Second Edition
Radcom Telecom Protocol Finder
Richard Service Discovery: Protocols and Programming
Roddy Satellite Communications, Third Edition
Rohde/Whitaker Communications Receivers , Third Edition
Russell Signaling System #7, Third Edition
Russell Telecommunications Pocket Reference
Russell Telecommunications Protocols, Second Edition
Sayre Complete Wireless Design
Shepard Optical Networking Demystified
Shepard SONET/SDH Demystified
Shepard Telecom Crash Course
Shepard Telecommunications Convergence
Simon Spread Spectrum Communications Handbook
Smith Cellular System Design and Optimization
Smith Wireless Telecom FAQs
Snyder Wireless Telecommunications Networking with ANSI-41,
Second Edition
Sulkin Implementing the IP-PBX
Vacca I-Mode Crash Course
Wetteroth OSI Reference Model for Telecommunications
Whitaker Interactive Television Demystified
CONTENTS

Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Chapter 2 The Medium 9
What Is Streaming Media? 10
A New Distribution Channel 17
No More Downloads 20
Audio/Visual Web Stuff 22
Web Radio 23
Video on Demand 26
Distance Learning 27
Synchronized Multimedia 29
Simulcast 30
Mobile Streaming Media 31
Streaming Chat 32
Corporate Communications 34
Streaming Cameras 36
Special Interest TV 37
Streaming Media and e-Commerce 39
Independent Film Making 41
D-Cinema 42
High-Definition Streaming 45
Time Shifting and Live Pause 47
Streaming and Advertising 49
Interactive Tutorials 52
v
For more information on this book, click here.
Information Blitzes and Search Randomizers 53
Streaming from DVD (WebDVD) 54
How Does Streaming Media Work? 55

Compression 59
Bandwidth 65
Pipes 69
The Personal Computer and Streaming Media 75
Players 76
Microsoft Windows Media Technologies 77
QuickTime and Sorenson 96
MPEG-4 100
Content Delivery Networks 121
Edge Servers 124
Quality of Service 127
Real Video and Real Audio 136
Streaming Media Servers 148
Multicasting 149
Audio and Video Cleaning 156
Synchronized Multimedia 157
Peer-to-Peer Replication 159
Rights Management 160
Other Things That Go “Stream” In the Night 168
Why Was Streaming Media Invented? 169
Corporate Communications 171
WANs Are Cheaper than Airlines 172
Distance Learning and Interactive Learning 173
IPTV 173
Microsoft Video for Windows 174
Microsoft NetShow 175
Real Audio 176
Liquid Audio 177
How It Panned Out 178
Why Is Streaming Media Better? 179

Better Than Text 180
On-Demand Viewing 181
A Universe of Choice 181
Global and General 182
Wide Reach 183
Interactivity 184
Enriched User Experiences 184
Targeted Advertising 185
Contents
vi
Immediately Measurable Response 186
Enhanced E-commerce 186
Mobile and Portable 187
Distribution 188
Content Production Costs 190
Democracy and Media Control 192
Setting the Agenda 192
Encryption 193
The Joys of Unregulated Media 194
Play It Again, Sam 195
Searching and Filtering 195
Copyrights Rule 196
Fingerprinting and Watermarking 198
Archiving 199
Using Metadata 199
Simulcast Synchronized Multimedia 200
Standards Conversions Obsolete 201
Information Density 202
Tracing Sources 203
Trust Networks 203

Viewer Reviewers 205
Not Dictation 206
The Return of Community 207
Everyone Is Beautiful—Avatars 208
Content is King 208
Who Is Driving Streaming Media’s Innovation? 208
Microsoft 209
Real Networks and Intel Architecture Labs 211
Apple 212
Sorenson 213
The Moving Picture Experts Group 213
Other Vendors 214
Research 215
What’s Wrong with Streaming Media? 216
Audience Critical Mass 217
Profitable Business Models 218
Ubiquitous Broadband Networks 219
Standards and Lack of Adherence to Them 220
Quality of Video Service/ Quality of Experience 221
Quality of Network Service 221
Receivers and Players 224
Contents
vii
Content Providers—Where Are the Big Names? 225
Fresh Searches 226
Web Publishing Issues 227
Mobile Networks and Devices 229
Cost-Effective Content Production 230
A Killer Application? 231
When Will Streaming Media Be Ready for Prime Time? 232

Broadband Penetration 233
The Fight for Rights 236
Digital Rights Management 236
Mobile Media 241
Appliances and Receivers 242
Finding a Killer Application 242
When Standards Prevail 243
Sound Business Models 243
Media Search Engines 244
Fast Seeking Support 245
Chapter 3 The Audience 247
Who Will Watch? 248
Demographics 248
The Multitasking Viewer 249
Values 250
Expectations of the Media 251
Community Spirit 252
The Need for Speed 252
Expectations of Search Relevance 252
The Need to Contribute and Interact 253
Respect for Digital Rights 253
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Streaming Networks 254
Protection from Perversion 256
Silver Surfers 257
Serious Business 257
Learners 258
How Will We Watch Streaming Media? 259
The PC Platform 261
Set-Top Boxes and Beyond 261
Mobile PDA and Web Tablets 262

In the Car 263
In Public Places 263
At the D-Cinema 264
Contents
viii
On the Fridge 265
Around the House 265
Surveillance Centers 266
When Will We Watch? 267
The Competition for Attention 268
Time Is Precious 269
Saving Time 270
Every Business Is in Show Business 271
Getting What You Need 273
When You Don’t Know 273
When You Want to Know More 274
Anywhere 275
Anytime 275
The Simulcast Experience 276
Personal Streaming Universes 277
Why Watch Streaming Media? 277
Better Than Books? 279
Fast Variety 280
Whenever You Want 281
A Personal Information Shadow 282
Video Beats Text 283
Informative and Interactive 283
The Best Mentors 284
The Best Salesmen 284
Body Language 285

Intimate Connections 286
Natural Modes of Thought 286
What Will We Watch? 288
Hyper News 289
Effective Education 291
Help at Hand 292
Love Interactions 293
Immersive Entertainment 293
D-Features 294
Video Instant Messaging and Mail 294
Special-Interest Magazine Shows 295
Archives and Vaults 295
Streaming Auctions 296
Fly-By, Walkthrough Streaming 297
Extreme Retailing and E-Commerce 297
Honey, I Shrunk the Children 297
Contents
ix
TEAMFLY

Team-Fly
®

Chapter 4 The Business 299
How Will Anyone Make Money with Streaming Media? 300
Was “Free to Air” Ever Really Free? 302
Pay-per-View Streaming 303
Streaming by Subscription 303
Streaming Subsidized by Advertising 304
Streaming Subsidized by E-Commerce 304
Trading Private Data for Streams 305
Government Funded Streaming 305
Protecting Rights 306
Better Bandwidth Utilization 306
Multicasting 306
Stream Fountains 307
Cheaper Bandwidth 308
Mobile Connectivity 308

Replacing Travel with Bandwidth 309
Who Will Make Money? 309
Content Owners and Creators 309
Bandwidth Profligates 310
Optical Network Service Providers 310
Optical Network Equipment Manufacturers 311
Consumer Electronics Industry 312
Desktop Streaming Media Authoring Tool Vendors 312
When Will Streaming Media Make Money? 313
When Will the Audience Reach Critical Mass? 316
When Will Practical, Inexpensive Receivers Arrive? 316
When Will Bandwidth Be Cheap? 317
When Will Connectivity Be Easy? 318
When Will Compelling Content Be Produced? 318
When Will the Quality of Service Be Acceptable? 319
When Will Standards Prevail? 320
When Will Cost-Effective Production Techniques Arrive? 320
When Will The Legal Issues Be Solved? 321
Why Will Streaming Media Make Money? 322
What You Want, When You Want It, Wherever You Are 322
Your Personal Data Shadow 323
Feel the Quality 323
Honest, Doc 324
Trust Me, I’m Streaming Media 325
Everyone’s a Media Mogul 325
Involving, Immersive, and Interactive 327
Contents
x
Overturning the Old Order 327
Rights Guarded 327

Free Samples 328
Uncensored 328
An Enriched World Wide Web 329
Why Digital Television Can’t Compete 329
Chapter 5 Upsides—Downsides 333
How Significant Is Streaming Media? 334
Sizing the Potential Market 334
Sizing the Potential Audience 337
Streaming Media and Democracy 337
Streaming Media and Ignorance 338
Streaming Media and Knowledge Capital 338
Streaming Media and the Speed of Business 339
Streaming Media and Privacy 339
Streaming Media and Community 339
Streaming Media and Advertising 340
What Could Go Wrong? 340
Quality Never Improves 342
Abuse of Privacy 343
Laws Lag Behind Technology 345
Bandwidth Revolution Stalls 346
Business Models Never Mature 348
Receivers Never Materialize 349
Content Owners Don’t Trust the Channel 349
The Audience Is Busy Doing Other Things 350
The Audience Rejects Rights Management/
E-commerce Security 351
Lowest Common Denominator Programming Prevails 352
It’s Outlawed 353
Conclusion 354
Appendix A MPEG-4 Profiles 357

Visual Profiles 358
Visual Profiles for Natural Video Content 359
Visual Profiles for Synthetic and
Synthetic/Natural Hybrid Visual Content 360
Additional Visual Profiles 361
Audio Profiles 362
Contents
xi
Graphics Profiles 364
Scene Graph Profiles 365
Appendix B MPEG-2 and MPEG-4
Coding Compared 367
Appendix C Audio and Video Sweetening
Techniques 369
Audio Sweetening 370
Video Sweetening 377
Appendix D Real World Streaming
Media Encoding 383
Encoding Machines 384
Software-Based Encoding Tools 385
Encoding Labs 386
Precompression Signal Conditioners 387
Video Capture Cards 388
Appendix E Video and Audio Compression 389
Introduction 389
Transform Coding 390
Planar Transform 391
Interframe Transform Coding 393
The JPEG Standard 394
Compression Techniques 396

DCT and JPEG 398
The MPEG Standard 400
Basic Provisions 401
Motion Compensation 403
Putting It All Together 404
Profiles and Levels 407
Studio Profile 409
How MPEG-2 Was Tuned for High Quality of Experience 410
MPEG-2 Layer Structure 411
Slices 412
Pictures, Groups of Pictures, and Sequences 412
Vector Search Algorithm 415
Motion Vector Precision 415
Contents
xii
Motion Vector Coding 415
Encoder Prediction Loop 416
Dual Prime Prediction Mode 420
Adaptive Field/Frame Prediction Mode 420
Image Refresh 421
Discrete Cosine Transform 422
Entropy Coding of Video Data 425
Spatial and Signal-to-Noise Scalability 428
MPEG-4 Video Compression 429
Very Low Bit Rate Video (VLBV) 430
Shape Coding 430
Texture Coding 431
Boundary Coding 432
Coding Arbitrary-Shaped Video Objects 433
Sprites 433

Advanced Coding Extensions (ACE) 434
Fine Grain Scalability 435
Error Robustness 435
Concatenation 437
Typical MPEG Artifacts 439
SMPTE RP202 440
Digital Audio Data Compression 442
PCM versus Compression 443
Audio Bit Rate Reduction 443
Prediction and Transform Algorithms 447
Processing and Propagation Delay 450
Bit Rate and Compression Ratio 451
Editing Compressed Data 452
Audio Compression Schemes Important to Streaming 452
References 462
Bibliography 463
Web Resources 464
Glossary 465
Sources 481
Bibliography 503
Index 505
Contents
xiii
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PREFACE
This book, my first, was written under fairly difficult circumstances.
The project coincided with the birth of my second child and first daugh-
ter, high-pressure project deadlines relating to the Aqua streaming
media encoder, the building up of a business with only bootstrap
finance, a near-death experience and dealing with the negative conse-

quences of the September 11, 2001 atrocity, the U.S. high-tech recession
and the Nimda virus. I am particularly pleased to have completed this
book during all of that.
The book’s content may strike the reader accustomed to technical
books as somewhat unusual, since there are chapters dealing with the
social, political and business issues relating to the technology. The rea-
son for including such peripheral information is that I strongly believe
technologists ought to understand their technologies within a human
context. If a technology does not serve humanity and improve people’s
lives, what justification is there for its existence?
Scientists and engineers must take responsibility for what they
thrust upon humanity. I have never agreed with technologists who hide
behind the beauty of their creations in order to avoid having to confront
the problems their technology creates. I also cringe at business decisions
made solely on the basis of technical argument, without some basic
understanding of the people the technology is for, what it will do for
them and why they might buy it. Only by understanding the context
within which a technology will exist can technologists make sound judg-
ments about how to shape their products, fashion the features and cre-
ate solutions that are relevant to people’s real lives. Too many bad appli-
cations and products get made because the designers don’t take into
account the context of their work.
Technical books that failed to give the “big picture” have always tend-
ed to bewilder rather than clarify. The old adage of not being able to see
the wood for the trees always applied. I have endeavored to set my own
xv
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explanations of streaming media technology against a background of the
issues surrounding the technology. I hope that my peculiar and particu-
lar viewpoint serves to illumine the process of demystification.

The book could have been very much longer, since there is a lot of
ground to cover in explaining everything about streaming media. Conse-
quently I have, in places, reluctantly resorted to sketches rather than
detailed examinations of various aspects of the technology and medium.
This is a fast-moving technology, so I expect much of the book to date
very rapidly. By concentrating on the underlying principles rather than
the specifics of various current solutions, however, I hope that the work
will serve the reader for many years to come.
M
ICHAEL TOPIC
Ripley, Surrey

Preface
xvi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I used to read the acknowledgments in other books with a good deal of
skepticism, but having now written a book of my own, I have come to
appreciate just how essential the efforts of other people are in the
process and what a great debt they are owed. I, therefore, offer my hum-
ble thanks and appreciation to the following people:
Peter Symes for suggesting that I write this book and for making the
necessary introductions. I hope my book is half as good as yours. Steve
Shepard—thanks for the helping hand and encouragement when I was
in over my depth on telecommunications protocols and optical network-
ing. Laura Clemons—thank you for your insight and for taking the time
to write down your thoughts on where the industry was going and where
it had been. Your input was not only authoritative, but also inspira-
tional. Nancy Arculin Jandorf—I am eternally indebted to you for your
critiques of the first drafts, suggestions for added clarity, unfailing
encouragement, and for continually reminding me that I could do this

project. John Portnoy—thank you for being there over the years and for
your generous information on the film industry and its internal work-
ings. Ben Roeder—thanks for introducing me to the Kendra project and
for giving me some understanding of what it is like to be a broadband
service provider. Ross Summers—thanks especially for the insights into
the streaming media industry and for tramping through all the trade
shows with me, while protecting “the project” like a lion. Julian
Medinger—thank you for clear-headed thought and for explaining digi-
tal rights management to me in words of one syllable. Ray Baldock,
Mike Cronk, Beth Bonness and Tim Thorsteinson—thank you for grant-
ing me access to the streaming media industry from close quarters and
for your thoughts and ideas on the future of the industry. Without your
help and support, this book could never have been written. Mark
Leonard and Rob Charlton—thanks for helping to debate and clarify
various issues concerning data synchronization on mobile computing
xvii
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devices and for having the intelligence to play a part in shaping the
industry according to what you can see. There are many people in the
industry, who I met at trade shows and conferences, or else interviewed
as part of my consultancy work, that generously spent time debating
various hot issues with me, adding insight and opinions to my partly
formed views. Listing everybody by name would be an impossible task
and I am sure to overlook somebody vital. Please accept my sincere and
heartfelt thanks for shaping and forming my ideas.
Thanks are due to Steve Chapman, Jessica Hornick, and all the won-
derful “behind-the-scenes” people at McGraw-Hill, for acting as calm,
collected and patient midwives to this project, even when I was strug-
gling to get the book written. Extra special thanks are due to Patty Wal-
lenburg of TypeWriting for making my work look so darn good and for

providing me with a much needed “buffer;” to Marion Brady for patient-
ly reconstructing my awkward sentences and mending all my split
infinitives, and to Joann Woy for proofreading with the eyes of a hawk
and for indexing this diverse, free-ranging subject matter intelligently.
I offer special gratitude and thanks to my staff at Imaginative Engi-
neering, especially Anne Elliott and Ewan Smith, for keeping things
running while I was deeply immersed in the writing of this book and for
all the trade show support and sheer excellence. I feel truly privileged to
have worked with such outstanding people in my lifetime.
To my parents, I will never be able to adequately thank you or repay
you for working like slaves so that I could get a decent education. Dad, I
especially thank you for teaching me that the world is really very simple
to understand, once you figure out how it works. Nothing is too compli-
cated to attempt to grasp.
Finally, to Clare, Alexander and Elise, thank you for understanding
when I couldn’t be at places I should have been with you, for accepting
fewer hugs while I was busy writing, locked away in my office, or in
some far-off city working out how streaming media works, for creating
precious peace and quiet when I needed it and for tolerating this obses-
sion that overtakes you when you begin to write a book. I’ve been work-
ing on this book for your entire life, Elise. Now that it’s done, daddy has
returned to normal. I’m afraid this as normal as it gets, sweetheart.
Acknowledgments
xviii
Introduction
CHAPTER
1
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TEAMFLY

Team-Fly
®

I undertook the task of trying to demystify streaming media because I
personally believe that streaming media will be the biggest thing since
television. It might even have a greater impact on the world than books!
I am certain that the earliest manifestations of streaming media on the
Internet and the World Wide Web will appear as primitive to our chil-

dren as the earliest days of wireless broadcasting seem to us today. In
terms of using streaming media to capture and disseminate our cultural
artifacts, we are at the same stage of evolution as the painstakingly
hand-copied ecclesiastical manuscripts were, compared to modern mass-
produced airport paperbacks and e-books.
This book takes the long view, therefore. We survey the technology
and medium independently of the dot-com crash that overtook stock
markets during 2001. This cataclysmic economic event, significant as it
is to the present business environment for streaming media, will have
very little lasting impact on the technology or the medium.
Streaming media, at the time of writing, is in the chasm between
being a product that appeals to early adopters, the “techno-enthusiasts,”
and one that is ready for the early majority of consumers (Figure 1.1). In
the terminology of high-tech marketing guru Geoffrey Moore, the
“whole-product offering” is not complete. Niche applications must be
exploited before streaming media is truly ready for prime time. The next
phase in the technology’s development will see companies creating offer-
ings that even grandma can use.
Figure 1.1
The product chasm.
Chapter 1
2
Technology Adoption Process
Time
Market
Size
Innovations Early
Adoptors
Early
Majority

Late
Majority
Laggards
“The Chasm”
Gap between niche and
mainstream adoption
In the progress of the technology from its emergence to its present
state, dozens of companies have come and gone. There have been many
more failures than successes. Some business models patently didn’t
work. Consumer uptake has been slow, hampered by the lack of “killer
applications,” a paucity of imagination, and disappointing infrastructure
buildout. The problem is that the industry is still very much built on
vision, but vision is hard to realize and harder yet to sell. When the
technology becomes a practical proposition for even the most casual of
users, the medium will undoubtedly achieve widespread acceptance.
These setbacks are temporary. Part of the process of demystifying
streaming media is, then, an exploration into why the medium is still in
its infancy and why it will inevitably change in the future.
This book will guide the reader through the maze of acronyms, pro-
prietary and open technologies, business models, and related communi-
cations and digital media technologies used to create and deliver
streaming media. We unravel the medium itself, including its compo-
nent technologies. We examine the audience for streaming media, to
understand what is driving demand for the medium. The business of
streaming media is also investigated, to provide a fiscal context for its
supply and demand. Finally, we look at the upsides and downsides of
streaming media. Most importantly, this is a book about my hopes for
the future of the medium. It is a medium with limitless possibilities.
Even though there are obstacles, this new media technology is com-
pelling, for reasons that will become apparent throughout the book. We

will examine not only how things are, but, crucially, how they could be.
A survey of the literature available on streaming media will reveal
that there has been very little written on the subject offline. This is
partly because of the speed of evolution of the technology, but also
because this medium is in something of a “blind spot” for traditional
media commentators and analysts. With only a view of what exists, it is
difficult for them to extrapolate the technology and infrastructure, in
order to explore what the ultimate impact of the medium will one day
be. Media analysts and commentators do not always have the technical
insight to be able to project the technology that far ahead. Most of the
information available on streaming media has been written by technolo-
gy vendors with their own particular worldview, either in white papers
and application guides, or else as press releases. Little serious inde-
pendent analysis or exploration of the enormous potential of the medi-
um is available. Vendors overwhelmingly present their solutions as com-
plete and the ultimate state of the art, yet consumers remain largely
unimpressed, asking themselves “is this it?” We will offer a vendor-
Introduction
3
agnostic analysis of the medium as a new way of communicating to
mass and individual audiences.
Another of the main theses of this book is the evolution of the delivery of
home entertainment. The death of television, as we know it, will eventual-
ly take place and streaming media is what will be there instead: a new
kind of television, if you will. However, it would be a mistake to cast an
understanding of streaming media merely in television replacement terms.
It is television for a new century, but much more than that. The same
news, information, and entertainment programs will be made, but
enhanced using streaming media technology and delivered in entirely new
ways. Television favorites will still be available, but on demand, via

streaming channels, not just broadcast when the network controllers
decide to air them. Already, shows like “Big Brother” are becoming media
events, exploiting streaming technology to great effect and drawing
unprecedented audiences as a result. In addition, every country’s televisual
output will be available to the entire world, creating an unprecedented cul-
tural and creative impact. We will highlight the significant characteristics
and fundamental properties of streaming media that will make it more
than television ever can be. Then, we’ll look into the business obstacles
that have prevented streaming media from superseding television, to date,
in the expectation that enterprises will come forth to overcome them.
This book is also written for the general public: people who have
heard of streaming media, but don’t understand what it is, how it works,
what it is good for, and how significantly it might affect our lives in the
future. To that end, I have described technical concepts by way of simple
analogy and resisted using special language and jargon, where possible.
Where specialist terms give exact meanings, I have endeavored to
explain clearly both the meaning and why use of the special term was
most appropriate.
I am also unashamedly aiming this book at industry professionals
who can make a difference to the development of the medium, given a
good overview of the landscape. Other audiences I am targeting include
media regulators, since they have the power to make the medium truly
great. I am addressing content creators who already have excellent
material and could exploit this medium’s unique creative potential most
effectively. Compelling content will drive adoption and create unexpect-
ed new media stars. Finally, I am speaking to telecommunications com-
panies who, so far, seem to have been less than entirely successful at
universal deployment of broadband.
Streaming media has the potential to create a world very different
from the one we know. With streaming media technology, rich informa-

Chapter 1
4
tion content achieves a wider reach. People can learn, at their own pace,
from the most brilliant experts, in any field of inquiry they care to
choose. News reporting can be, if not completely unbiased, at least open
to verification and scrutiny at the source, with an editorial agenda that is
more democratically set, not distorted to agree with some powerful media
magnate’s particular point of view, as has regrettably been the case with
earlier media. When news programs are no longer subject to scheduling
constraints, there is always enough air time left to allow the interviewee
to answer the crucial questions, preventing the time-honored trick of
talking about nothing until the available time is used up. Indeed, the
questions may be posed directly by the audience. Streaming media can be
used to ensure that public figures are always called to account.
Streaming media makes physical distance irrelevant. It can entertain
you, wherever you happen to be, any time of the day or night, in your
own language, and with subject matter guaranteed to appeal to you.
With streaming technology, you can not only talk to your distant rela-
tives and friends, but also see and interact with them in real time, with-
out the relative user-hostility of current videoconferencing technologies.
Streaming media technology will also enable cinema-quality presenta-
tions to be routinely available to the most remote, least urbanized popu-
lations on the planet. Streaming game play will one day be photo-realis-
tic, three-dimensional, richly interactive, and totally immersive,
comparable in quality to the computer-generated special effects used in
Hollywood feature films. The expense and discomfort of business travel
can be replaced by easy-to-use, better-than-television-quality video con-
ferencing. This application, alone, will have a significant impact on eco-
nomic growth.
The societal impact of streaming media should not be underestimat-

ed. In a world of wide-reaching, rich information, it is much more diffi-
cult to remain ignorant or prejudiced. Democratic choices can be
informed choices and tyranny and oppression harder to sustain. You
don’t have to take anybody’s word for it. You can check sources and con-
flicts of interests. If you have something to say, you can say it to any-
body and everybody who cares to listen, uncensored, immediately. If you
didn’t understand what was said, you can play it again or ask directly
for clarification. The message can even be translated into your native
tongue instantaneously. If someone is foolish enough to steal your car or
mistreat your children, images of them, caught in the act, can be relayed
to you instantly (and perhaps to the authorities as well). Streaming
media is a technology that can significantly contribute to the security of
every citizen.
Introduction
5
Streaming media technology holds the promise of making some of this
very different world come true soon. However, streaming media is in its
infancy. If you had asked the average person, at the turn of the twenti-
eth century and into its early years, about the importance of the motor-
car, few, if any, could have envisaged its full social and economic impact;
its pervasiveness into all aspects of life, just a hundred years hence.
How many could have imagined two hundred-mile per hour sports cars
being available to the public, just for fun, and a motor vehicle breaking
the speed of sound? Even if they had understood where the technology
might lead, who would build the roads and how would they be financed?
Would there ever be a road between where you lived and where you
wanted to go and could you ever afford to use it anyway? What would a
car be for? Yet, just as with the automobile last century, all the key
technologies and systems that enable streaming media have already
been designed. What’s missing is a Henry Ford.

When I started writing this book, I began asking ordinary people I
knew, from all walks of life and backgrounds, what they knew about
streaming media. Most, if not all, had heard of it. Some had even tried
it. Hardly anyone knew what the big deal with it was. It hadn’t
impressed them. The general public does not yet see the potential, just
the jerky, postage-stamp-sized pictures with warbling, poorly synchro-
nized sound. Very few people, other than streaming media industry pro-
fessionals, know how it works. This remains a major challenge for the
streaming media industry. Until the general public “gets it,” the medi-
um will appeal only to specialists and the business will not grow to the
size it has the potential of reaching.
Those skeptical of the importance of streaming media’s vast potential
could be forgiven for asking why I chose to write a book on the subject,
rather than present my views via streaming media. Books, as a format,
present information in a highly available way. Books don’t crash. As an
information delivery device, a book also uses very little energy, dissi-
pates almost no heat, produces insignificant noise and interference, is
available in high resolution, does not have limited battery life, is rela-
tively benign to the environment when disposed of, is widely available,
relatively cheap, provides the user with rapid random-access browsing
capabilities, is relatively lightweight, highly portable, does not require
that the user read a manual as a prerequisite to accessing the informa-
tion it contains and has very good viewing angles. Such are the require-
ments and the quality bar already set for designers of streaming media
receivers! However, interactivity, animation, hyperlinking, and informa-
tion currency have all been sacrificed. One day, that trade-off may be
Chapter 1
6