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Understanding intelligent streaming and multiple-bit-rate video

Intelligent streaming is a set of features in Microsoft Windows Media Technologies that automatically detects network conditions and adjusts the properties of a video stream to maximize quality. Because Windows Media Technologies is a client/server system, the server and the client communicate with each other to establish actual network throughput and automatically make a series of adjustments to maximize the quality of the stream. With intelligent streaming, users receive a continuous flow of content tailored to their connection speeds.

To take full advantage of intelligent streaming, you must encode your content using multiple bit rates. To encode content at multiple bit rates, you create a single Windows Media Format stream or file containing multiple streams (audio, video, and script) that are encoded at different bit rates. When a multiple-bit-rate Windows Media file or live stream is received by a player, only one of the video streams is played: the one that is the most appropriate for current bandwidth conditions. The process of selecting the appropriate stream is handled by the Windows Media server and Windows Media Player and is completely invisible to the user.

Windows Media Encoder provides predefined multiple-bit-rate profiles, making encoding content for multiple bit rates an easy process. You can also create your own multiple-bit-rate profiles using Profile Manager.

Note   Web servers do not support multiple-bit-rate video.


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