audiostreaming

Audiostreaming refers to the delivery of audio content over a network for real-time playback or on-demand listening. It enables playback while the remaining data is still being downloaded, unlike traditional file download. It supports live broadcasts and on-demand libraries; bandwidth adapts to network conditions.

Technologies include HTTP-based adaptive streaming such as HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and MPEG-DASH, which slice audio into segments and adjust bitrate. Other protocols include RTSP, RTMP or WebRTC for low-latency scenarios. Common audio codecs include AAC, MP3, Opus, and Vorbis; containers can be MP4 fMP4 or MPEG-TS. Metadata like ID3 tags and streaming data such as playlist files (M3U8) accompany streams. DRM may be used.

Infrastructure: content is encoded and possibly transcoded, packaged into segments, delivered via CDNs or streaming servers (e.g., Icecast, SHOUTcast for live radio), and played back in web players or mobile apps. On-demand services manage catalogs, search, and recommendations; live streams require low latency and synchronization.

Applications and history: emerged in 1990s with RealAudio and MP3 streaming; SHOUTcast/Icecast popularized online radio; today widespread in music services, podcasts, radio, and live events.

Considerations: licensing, copyright, latency, buffering, accessibility, privacy; throughput and device support vary; standards continue to evolve.