Data Streaming: What is it and How Does it Work

Streaming data, also known as data streaming or event stream processing, is data that is uninterruptedly produced by different sources. You need to process such data incrementally using stream processing methods without having access to all of it. Moreover, the possibility of concept drift in the data should be considered, meaning that the stream properties might change with time.   

Streaming is often used when discussing big data generated at high speeds from various sources. Data streaming is a technology that provides content to user devices over the Internet. A key feature of streaming is that users can access the content instantly instead of waiting for it to download.  

Data Streams and Data Lakes

The rise of big data is compelling companies to double down on storage costs, which, in turn, is leading to an interest in data streams and data integration. A data lake refers to keeping vast amounts of structured and unstructured data in a centralized repository. You can easily access this repository to extract and pull the necessary data whenever needed.  

The difference between a data stream and a data lake is in terms of the speed and nature of analysis—the former performs real-time analysis on streaming data, while the latter requires you to store the data before analyzing it.  

Streaming is also the continuous broadcasting of audio-visual files from a server to a user. In other words, streaming happens when consumers listen to podcasts or watch TV on devices connected to the internet. When streaming, the media file played on the client device is stored remotely and transmitted a few seconds at a time over the internet.   

The fact that streaming takes place in real-time makes it more efficient than downloading media files – the latter naturally takes more time; thus, it is the less preferred option. For example, when you download a video file, you have to wait for the downloading to complete before playing it. However, when you stream a video, your browser plays it instantly without copying or saving it on your device. Whatever information you stream on your browser is not stored locally on your device; instead, it loads and plays incrementally.   

How Does Streaming Work?

Audiovisual data is also broken down into data packets like any other data shared using the Internet. Every packet contains a small portion of the file, and the audio/video player on the client’s browser receives the flow of data packets and decides whether they are audio or video.  

Industries using Data Streaming

Data streaming has become a critical business tool in today’s tech-enabled world. It c in a broad range of industries, including the following:  

Finance: It allows you to track and monitor changes in the stock market in real time. It also calculates value-at-risk and dynamically adjusts your portfolios depending on stock price movements.  

Real estate: Websites can monitor a subset of data from users’ mobile devices to give them recommendations to visit specific properties based on their geographical location.    

Gaming: Online gaming companies can gather streaming data related to player-game interactions and feed it into their platform to improve user experience. Players can also livestream their gameplay.   

E-commerce/Marketing: Data streaming can potentially provide all the clickstream records from its online presence. It enriches the data through users’ demographic information. It also helps you optimize content placement on the site, thus enabling you to deliver relevant content and improving the overall customer experience and satisfaction.  

Home Entertainment: Streaming is also used in the home entertainment industry as many companies provide different smart devices like Chromecast (Google), Roku TV, FireTV (Amazon), LG TV, and Samsung TV. Users can use these devices to stream any type of data from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops using a Wi-Fi connection. It includes streaming photos and videos and sharing a screen on a bigger screen.  

Audio/Video Calling – Data streaming is also used in live audio/video chat applications, as live data is streamed directly through the internet.  

Famous Streaming Applications

• Netflix: Netflix is a very popular subscription-based streaming service that allows its subscribers to watch movies and TV shows sans commercials on a device connected to the internet. Not only this, but you can also download movies and shows on your device to enjoy watching them when you’re not connected to the internet.  
• Microsoft Teams: Another famous application where members can share content, make live audio/video calls, chat, and share their screens, irrespective of the device they are using.  
• Google Chromecast: Google Chromecast is a streaming media adapter developed by Google that lets users play online content, such as videos and music, on digital television. The adapter is a dongle that plugs into the TV’s HDMI port; a cable connects to a USB port to power the device. If you’re using Google Chrome on your computer, you can cast any webpage you want onto the TV and enjoy a higher resolution. 
  It has an Android-based operating system where you can install any application, i.e., YouTube, Netflix, and many more. Users can also play games on a mobile and cast them on the TV screen. If you have no projector and you need to give a presentation, you can use Chromecast to share your slides.   

How can Xavor help?

Today, everybody owns a smartphone and a smart TV. However, few applications allow customers to stream their mobile data on a TV screen.  

Xavor can create a customized streaming application that is secure and lets you play whatever kind of data you want on a smart TV without the risk of data leakage. We also offer custom application development services with any functionality you like for Google Chromecast. We strive to build innovative mobile apps and design proper systems for our clients to help them achieve their business goals.   

Our mobile app development services include:    

• UI/UX Design Services    
• App Development (Android & iOS, Smart TV)    
• Integration of subscription payments  
• Automated QA & Testing Services    
• Uploading & Managing Apps on the App Store    
• Enterprise iOS App Store Management    
• Maintenance & Support      

Contact us at [email protected] for further information.