What is "Streaming" Media?
"Streaming" multimedia (video & audio) allows the user to begin viewing video clips stored on our server, without first downloading the entire file. After a brief period of initializing and buffering, the file will begin to stream - or play - in real time. Your picture quality will be determined by your available bandwidth (download speed) and computer processor speed. Users with older processors and slower modem connections will have more dropped frames and pixelization.
Source: www.upenn.edu/video/pvp/streams.html