Streaming Media

Nullsoft Streaming Video (NSV) is a media container designed for streaming video content over the internet. NSV was developed by Nullsoft, the makers of Winamp.The NSV format is another example of streaming video formats, offered by various companies and media players. Windows Media, QuickTime video, RealAudio and RealVideo streams are just a few examples of these, and each have their benefits and shortcomings.One of the shortfalls of most streaming formats often comes from the difficulty in finding streams, or at least some form of directory service; and in some cases, none are readily available to the public at all.With Nullsoft’s SHOUTcast service, a media streaming and directory system, the NSV format has become very popular, along with SHOUTcast’s enormous listings of Streaming Audio, which reach well into the thousands.With Winamp version 5, came the convenient “Media Library”, which offers integrated listings of both audio and video streams, returned directly from the SHOUTcast service. There was also a Library in Winamp 2.9x and 3, but came under a different name, “Library”.NSV streaming started in early 2003, but the real explosion came with the introduction of Winamp 5. Also, NSV is no longer proprietary, but instead an open format,

SHOUTcast is a multiplatform freeware digital audio streaming technology developed by Nullsoft. It allows audio content, primarily in MP3 or HE-AAC format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling hobbyists and professionals to create Internet radio/Web radio networks.SHOUTcast consists of a client-server model, with each component communicating via a network protocol that intermingles audio data with metadata such as song titles and the station name. It uses HTTP as a transport protocol, although multicast is another option.SHOUTcast servers and clients are available for Palm OS, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris. Client-only versions exist on Windows Mobile, Series 60, the PlayStation Portable (PSPradio), and on Nintendo DS (DSOrganize).The output format is supported by multiple clients, including Nullsoft’s own Winamp, VLC media player, Amarok, XMMS, Zinf and Apple iTunes.