Streaming video is video that is sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed as the file is transferred. In other words, you don't have to download the file and then view. Streaming media is streaming video with sound. With streaming video or streaming media, a Web user does not have to wait to download a large file before seeing the video or hearing the sound. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives. The user needs a player, which is a special program that uncompresses and sends video data to the display and audio data to speakers. A player can be either an integral part of a browser or downloaded from the software maker's Web site:

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci213055,00.html