I saw a movie on Netflix the other day and I remember it was one of the first ones Id watched online a few years back before Netflix started streaming here in Australia.
I can’t remember where I watched it online, but I remember thinking at the time how wondrous and complicated I thought streaming would be.
Fast forwarded a few years and it couldn’t be easier, but for a lot of people who don’t stream online or have yet to get into it; I still get asked a lot, what is streaming and how do I do it.
What is Streaming Movies
There are basically two ways you can watch a movie or listening to an audio file from the internet.
The first is you download the whole movie/audio file in its entirety, wait for the download to finish and then watch the movie or listen to the audio.
The problem with this is you have to wait the whole time for the movie to download which can sometimes take a while before you can start watching.
The good thing about downloading the whole file is once you have it, you have it forever and can watch it again, without having to redownloading.
The second way is streaming. Streaming allows you to watch the movie as it is downloading.
The second you start watching the movie in the background it is continuously downloading the next part of the movie for you so you can keep watching it.
This is a great way to watch movies as you do not have to wait for the complete download.
How Can I Stream
You have probably been streaming all along and you didn’t even know it.
Have you ever used Youtube? Have you noticed when your internet connection is slow and you are watching a clip on Youtube, it pauses. Thats because the next part of the movie has not streamed in yet.
There are sites like Youtube where you can stream for free, or pay to use their premium services.
But for the most part, if you want to stream and watch movies or listen to music online you will need to register and pay for an account to do it legitimately.
In Australia the main two contenders for streaming movies is Netflix and Stan.
What Do I Need to Stream
Not that you have you streaming service account, you will need a device like a computer or Ipad to stream to and of course the internet to connect and stream the data.
No matter what device you use, or internet service, such as wireless, NBN, or phone carrier service, it will use lots of data and internet usage.
So its always good to check with your internet service provider to see how much data you are allocated and if it will be enough to stream movies.
Once you have fulfilled the requirements it will depend on the type of device you are using.
For most devices, simply opening your web browser, like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome and going to the provers website address and putting in your username and password should do.
If you are using an Iphone, Android Device or Ipad, it is always good to go to your store first and see if they have an App for the service you will be using.