Is Streaming Ready for Prime Time?

It's the dawning of the streaming content era. But how quickly this star rises will depend largely on how quickly and closely the technology can approach TV quality, and on the continued growth of the broadband user base.

Google recently paid a hefty sum to acquire YouTube, and streaming video is rapidly spreading beyond media Web sites and onto mobile devices as well. However, the technology is complex and bandwidth-intensive, and the quality of the user experience is still inconsistent. Lack of universal access to broadband also remains a significant hurdle.
Major brands are exploring ways to take advantage of the streaming phenomenon, experimenting with user-generated advertising and video ads created specifically for the Internet.
Live events are particularly challenging because of the intense concentrated demand on the network. They are also some of the most popular streams. The 2008 Olympics may provide an impetus to move streaming technology to the next level, not just on PC's, but on mobile devices as well.
Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) spread the load across a multitude of servers on the "edges" of the Internet, offering significant reliability and quality advantages over direct-to-client streaming. But whatever the delivery mechanism, all streaming feeds require timely, reliable performance testing across the entire network.