Bildström

Bildström, a compound German term meaning image stream, refers to a continuous sequence of images generated by imaging devices and transmitted, stored, or displayed in real time or near real time. Unlike a stored image sequence or a video file, a Bildström emphasizes the ongoing flow of frames without a discrete end, although streams can be segmented into chunks or sessions for handling and storage.

Typical attributes of a Bildström include frame rate (frames per second), spatial resolution, color format, and compression. The stream is delivered over a transport path and may include time stamps for synchronization. Latency, jitter, and packet loss affect the perceived freshness and coherence of the stream.

Applications span video surveillance, live broadcasting, telepresence, autonomous systems, robotics, and medical imaging where real-time viewing or processing is required. Such streams are used in scenarios where continuous image delivery is essential for monitoring, control, or interactive feedback.

Implementation can involve camera interfaces, encoding/decoding (codecs), network transport, and client playback. Common concerns include bandwidth management, buffering strategies, error concealment, and synchronization between multiple streams (audio-video), sensors, or processing nodes.

Terminology: In German technical literature, Bildström (or Bildstrom) is used to refer to such streams; in English, the terms image stream or video stream are used more widely. The concept is central to real-time imaging workflows and multimedia systems, where the emphasis is on the uninterrupted flow of visual data from source to consumer.