Streaming lets you watch video or listen to audio at almost the same time it is being sent to your computer.
This means you don't have to wait around for large video or audio files to download before you get to watch or listen to them.
For example you can start watching an online news bulletin before it has all arrived on your computer, or listen to the top 40 as it is put on air.
Radio and TV on the internet
Streaming makes the internet more like television or radio so you can get audio and video content as it is being sent out.
Without streaming you could end up waiting a long time if you wanted to watch a large video clip on the internet, as you would need to download all of it before you could start watching.
And listening to the radio online would be really difficult, because the radio program would have to be sent out in a series of large audio files.
Streaming media is not saved on your computer, it is just played as it is sent to you, and so it's much quicker to start listening or watching.
How streaming works
Where to get it
Lots of websites use streaming to show videos or play audio files, for example internet radio stations or movie websites.
