Streaming Video
This feature provides the ability to play video content. While many phones can play downloaded, pre-recorded video content, "streaming" allows near-immediate playback as the video content is sent over the network, instead of waiting for a full video file to download first. This permits real-time viewing of live event and news broadcasts.
Since video is data-intensive, the performance of this feature depends on the speed of the data connection.
Some streaming video services can only be viewed via the company's own app(s).
Open standards also exist. There are various encoding technologies and protocols for streaming video. The streaming video player / viewer software on the phone must be compatible with the format of the video stream.
Last updated Jan 26, 2024 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
