Hosting Your Videos: Streaming Video vs. Progressive Download

March 3rd, 2010

Years ago in the stone ages of the Internet, when a user wanted to watch a video, the entire video had to be downloaded before any of it could be watched, rendering the online video experience to be too slow to be an effective media. Internet gurus quickly came up with two solutions: streaming video and progressive download.

For years, these two ways of delivering online video have been quietly “duking” it out. On one side is the fast, slick, but more expensive solution of streaming video. On the other side is the cheaper, although potentially slower and less reliable option of progressive download.

We here at Media Fusion happen to support both teams. So we thought we would do a fair comparison of the pros and cons of both options.

To begin, let’s give some definition:

What is Streaming Video?

Streaming video is a technology that allows a user to begin watching a video instantly (or near instantly) without having to download the entire file. The video is delivered “on demand” to the user’s computer. In addition, it allows the user to start the video from any point on the video timeline, without waiting for the entire video to be downloaded first.

What Is Progressive Download and How is it Different?

Progressive download is a technology that is often mistaken for streaming, but it is not. The progressive download method downloads the video from the video’s start, and allows the user to start watching as soon as a little bit has been downloaded.

However, if a user wants to “skip ahead” in the video, they can only go as far forward as has been downloaded at that point. Also, progressive download generally uses more bandwidth, because the user may end up downloading the entire video, but only watching a 10 minute portion of it.

Streaming Video Advantages

Streaming Video has several advantages over progressive download.

1. Streaming Video is usually faster for the end user.

It is hard to beat a streaming video server for speed. Since data is delivered bit by bit in an on-demand basis, the overall load on the users bandwidth is smaller.

Of course, this is assuming the streaming video provider has a decent Content Delivery Network in your region of the world.

This speed is why you see popular video providers such as Hulu.com and Netflix.com using a streaming server to deliver their video content.

2. Streaming Video uses less bandwidth.

As mentioned above, with a streaming video, a user only uses bandwidth for the video content they actually watch. So, if bandwidth usage is an issue for you, streaming video may be the way to go.

2. Streaming Video is usually more reliable.

Most of the companies that operate streaming video servers have invested a significant amount of money in making sure those servers are up and running and operating at their peak efficiency.

Whereas with progressive download, many times the video providers do not have as high quality equipment, nor access to as many CDN’s around the world, meaning a good end user experience happens with less frequency.

Progressive Download Advantages

So, now you may be thinking “Well, if streaming video is so reliable, why would I ever consider using progressive download?” Good question. As you will see below, progressive download offers some advantages as well.

1. Progressive Download is less expensive or even free.

Services like Youtube.com and Viddler offer progressive download at no charge, but they put ads in your videos. Other services like Vimeo offer a significant amount of storage for a small fee, but restrict the content that can be uploaded. Either way, progressive download can be an inexpensive solution.

2. Progressive Download can be fast

In metropolitan areas, it is often hard for a user to tell the difference between a streaming server and a progressive download server. It is only when you get into areas where Internet bandwidth is smaller, or you are farther from a Content Delivery Network that you really begin to see a speed difference.

Conclusions

There you have it. Streaming video offers speed and reliability, but can often times be costly. Progressive download is cheap, but once you get out of metropolitan areas and fast Internet connections, reliability can degrade quickly.