Streaming Media
Meggan Wood
ENGL 135
18 May 2015
Prof. Joan Snyder

Streaming Media The last few decades have brought about numerous changes to the audio and video delivery method. Where once a family would gather around a large and stationary radio to hear their favorite programs broadcast, nowadays a person can log in to one of many music sites and listen to pretty much whatever they want. Also, television programming providers such as cable and satellite are getting a run for their money with the introduction of various websites and gadgets that allow one to pay much less for much more personalized content. This has all been made possible by advances in streaming media technology. Streaming media is defined as “video and/or audio data transmitted over a computer network for immediate playback rather than for file download and later (offline) playback” (Mitchell, 2015, para. 1). As streaming media becomes more accessible, it is forever changing how the general population receives content and communicates with one another. Without a doubt, consumers have seen the ability to obtain, view, save, and replay various types of streaming media change drastically over the last 100 years. Radio started the whole streaming media movement back in 1916 with regular Morse Code weather pattern communications in Wisconsin. These were the first regular broadcasts outside of a military or maritime function (VanBerkum, 2014, para. 3). From there, Muzak, recorded background music transmitted by radio, telephone, or satellite to a built-in receiver set, was introduced and elevators, waiting rooms, and being placed on hold on the telephone were never silent again (muzak, n.d.). Then, video got into the game. Television was initially burdened at first by the lack of broadcasting and the high cost of television sets. It wasn’t until after WWII that new broadcasting