Hands-On Guide to Streaming Media, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 8

Streaming Media and Metafiles

When you click a link on a Web page, the browser contacts the Web server and requests the page you want to look at. A link to streaming media works differently. Instead of linking directly to your newly uploaded media file, there is an intermediate step using something called a metafile. The “meta” prefix, especially in computer applications, most often refers to data that describes or relates to other data. A streaming media metafile describes a streaming media audio or video file to the browser in terms of the location of the media file on the streaming server. It can be very confusing, but by the end of this chapter, you’ll be master of metafiles.

In this chapter, you will:

•    Learn the difference ...