Remember the days when you spent hours trying to download a movie from a shady website? Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? All thanks to streaming services. With streaming, you don’t need to download large files to play a movie or TV show.
Just press Play on a streaming platform and get instant playback. In this digital age, streaming has changed the way we listen to music, play video games and shop. But what exactly does streaming services mean? What are streaming service examples? Is YouTube a streaming service? How is it different from downloading?
If any of these questions have ever played in your mind, you are in the right place. Here, we will answer all your questions about streaming media services, how they work, their pros and cons and examples of streaming services.
Contents
What is Meant by Streaming Service?
Streaming services are online providers that deliver content to the users’ devices using an internet connection. It involves sending and receiving data continuously from a remote server to a user’s device over the internet.
Therefore, you can start watching content even while the rest of the data is still being sent.
This means that you can watch a TV show or movie or listen to an album without having to wait for the entire file to be downloaded. Your video or audio continues to be played as the data is gradually transmitted.
The biggest advantage of streaming is that you can play media without having to download a file. This saves you a massive amount of storage space on your device.
Types of Streaming Services
While the mention of streaming brings to mind platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, movies and TV shows are not the only type of content that is streamed. Let us have a closer look at the different types of streaming services that are popular these days.
Music and Podcast Streaming Services
Listening to music while driving, working out or doing chores is common these days. There has been a rise in active listening as streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube have enabled people to listen to their favorite artists both at home and on the go.
Music streaming services provide the biography of artists, remixed playlists and actively recommend new music based on the listeners’ preferences. This provides a personalized listening experience to every user.
Apart from that, they also offer podcasts and audiobooks in their product range and often sign exclusive deals to attract the audience of popular podcasters.
Video Streaming Services
Also known as video-on-demand (VoD) services, these are subscription-based platforms that offer different tiered plans to access their vast libraries of TV shows and movies. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and HBO Max fall in this category.
Such services have become extremely popular these days and there is fierce competition between them. They sign exclusive deals to host big-budget projects and even produce original content.
Game Live Streaming Services
You must’ve heard of Twitch. But do you know exactly what Twitch streaming is? It is a live streaming platform where people can stream themselves and chat with a live audience at the same time. Twitch is largely known for its gamer community as people use it to stream themselves playing video games.
Over the years, it has also introduced other categories such as vlogging, cooking, singing, creating art, music and much more. However, it is the ‘Just Chatting’ which gets the most traffic on the platform.
Apart from Twitch, YouTube, Bilibili, Facebook, and Huya Live are also known for game streaming. Professional streamers on these platforms generally earn revenue from sponsorships and brand deals, subscriptions, ads, and donations.
Live streams of traditional sports like basketball, football, and hockey are extremely popular these days too. Learn more about the best services to live stream sports here.
Fitness Streaming
In this digital age, fitness streaming is emerging as a popular category of streaming service. It aims to emulate a real-life fitness class as sessions are conducted live and can be recorded and later played on demand. There may also be a commentary section where participants can ask questions to the instructor.
Fitness streamers may offer free live sessions and a more premium VoD service to encourage users to take up the paid plan instead of free streaming.
Online Radio Streaming
While traditional radio stations may be in relative decline, online radio streaming has been steadily gaining ground. These independent radio stations are entirely online and don’t even need a standard radio license to operate.
There are platforms like Tune.fm that bring together radio stations from across the world and leverage an algorithm to connect users with the right channel. It analyzes your music taste and provides a personalized experience based on your preferred genres, location, instruments, and more.
Live Stream Shopping
Social media platforms like Instagram are increasingly becoming popular for live shopping streams. Here, brands and influencers promote all types of goods- from frying pans to cars on their streams to an established audience.
The seller streams themselves showing and explaining products while the buyers ask questions about them and even make purchases in real-time. The trend started in China and now even Western platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Poshmark have hopped onto the live-stream shopping bandwagon.
Advantages of Streaming Services
Instant Playback
The biggest advantage of streaming is definitely instant playback. Content starts playing more or less immediately after you press play. It does not matter how large the audio or video file is. It will play uninterrupted as long as you have a good internet connection.
Saves Storage Space
Streaming content via the internet helps you save storage space. You no longer need hard drives with large amounts of space to store your downloaded content. Even the apps for various streaming services are much smaller in size and don’t require much storage space.
Convenient
With streaming, you don’t have to adhere to a radio or TV schedule. You can watch whatever you want at your pace and even skip or fast-forward scenes. Streaming platforms also save watch history so that you can start right from where you left off.
Disadvantages of Streaming Services
Internet Connection
An internet connection either with Wi-Fi, cellular data, or Ethernet is non-negotiable for streaming. You can only stream if you’re connected to the internet and the quality of your connection has a major impact on the streaming experience.
If your connection is slow, the video will buffer and the playback may fail.
Cost
The idea of subscribing to get infinite ad-free content sounds good but in reality, the costs can quickly add up. The market is so fragmented that different seasons of the same show might be on different platforms. Now there are even dedicated sports and music streaming platforms that require a separate subscription.
The costs can quickly add up so be ready to empty your wallet if you plan to keep multiple streaming subscriptions.
What are Streaming Services for TV?
Netflix
Netflix is practically synonymous with video streaming services. A former movie rental service, it has now become the top streaming app and has even produced many acclaimed shows and movies. It has a vast catalog consisting of familiar network shows, original series, films, and documentaries.
There are also gaming options on Netflix and its selection of foreign-language titles remains unrivalled. Its simple interface makes it easy to use and it has one of the best recommendation systems. There are both ad-supported and ad-free plans available for Netflix.
Disney Plus
Disney Plus draws millions of viewers due to its vast Disney and Pixar libraries, Star Wars and Marvel films, original productions, and The Simpsons. It is one of the least-expensive TV streaming services and a great value for money if you have kids or are a fan of Disney content.
Disney Plus has both ad-supported and ad-free tiers and also offers bundles with Hulu and ESPN.
Amazon Prime Video
Access to Prime Video’s content comes free with an Amazon Prime membership. There are multiple ad-free movies and TV shows available here along with some older favorites and original productions. Navigating it can be a little confusing with paid content mixed in with free one but it is clearly working on that.
Prime Video allows offline downloads and you can also ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ content to indicate your preferences. Even if you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can subscribe to Prime Video as a stand-alone TV service as well to watch shows like The Boys and The Rings of Power. Learn more about what to watch on Prime Video here
Hulu
Hulu is like a budget version of Netflix. It has a huge variety of content from networks like ABC, Fox, and FX that you can watch as soon as they air. There is also a growing library of well-received original creations like The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building.
The ad-supported tier is quite cheap and won’t burn a hole in the pocket. Otherwise, you can also opt for the ad-free option or get a bundle with Disney Plus and ESPN. Learn more about what to watch on Hulu here
Max
The successor to HBO Max, this app has the entire HBO library, all the DC Universe titles, and almost every Studio Ghibli film that you can think of. While not at the Disney Plus level, it does have solid kids’ programming and offers better parental controls than other similar services.
Max’s prices are on the higher end of the spectrum but the quality of its catalog makes it worthwhile. It has now also started including Discovery Plus unscripted content and is consistently dropping new releases.
What are Streaming Services for Music?
Spotify
Spotify is perhaps the best-known music streaming service. It has thousands of artists and tracks in its library and works hard to give every user a personalized experience. The platform offers Discover Weekly playlist(s), Daily Mix playlists, radio stations, and an AI DJ as well. You can also listen to a continuously expanding collection of audiobooks and podcasts on Spotify.
It has artist bios and you can even follow certain artists to get updates and alerts about their new releases. Apart from that, Spotify Connect makes it easy to connect to other devices. It may not offer lossless audio yet but it is otherwise a solid all-around service.
Apple Music
Apple Music is Spotify’s biggest rival in the music streaming market. Along with over 100 million songs, it offers iOS and Android compatibility, lossless audio, spatial music albums, and a new classical music app. There are multiple curated playlists here, some of them handpicked by the musicians themselves.
Apple Music also lets you add tracks to playlists and then download them for offline listening. It integrates with your iTunes library and offers music lockers as well. There are human music experts who along with algorithms give excellent recommendations based on what you play.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is the successor to Google Play Music and comes free with a YouTube Premium subscription. It is an impressive service with a clean and convenient user interface and 100 million tracks in its library.
There are no playlists like Spotify and Apple Music but instead, it has radio stations that are frequently updated and play endlessly. The best thing about YouTube Music, however, is that you can make playlists out of YouTube music clips. It also offers a music locker system that enables you to upload new tracks.
Qobuz
Qobuz is the best platform for streaming music for audiophiles. It boasts of a library of 100 million tracks all available in hi-res. An upcoming rival to Spotify, it has an impressive catalog of relatively obscure artists. Qobuz has a clean and user-friendly interface and even has its own hi-res download store.
Here, you can outright download and buy music. It also offers continuous autoplay and customized playlists based on your tastes.
Amazon Prime Music
It comes as a part of the Amazon Prime membership so you’re not actually spending anything extra to use it. You can, however, choose to upgrade to Music Unlimited if you want to. The platform has a decent catalog and puts together playlists based on your tastes and mood.
Apart from that, Amazon Prime Music offers hi-res and spatial audio that can be played on Dolby Atmos soundbars, iOS and Android devices, and Amazon Echo Studio. All the playlists, genres, and podcasts can be accessed from the home page itself.
