2003-2007 | Higher Diploma | Department of Information Technology | Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), Tsing Yi
This course was introduced before YouTube became popular and is designed to provide students with practical skills in on-demand content and live broadcast streaming technology.
Students learned about the MPEG video standard, digital rights management, TCP/IP architecture, packet switching, routing methods, and multimedia over the Internet. The course will also include tutorials on using media streaming tools such as Windows Media Encoder and RealPlayer streaming.
Packet switching is a communication method in which messages are broken down into smaller parts, known as packets, to send them over a network. The Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model uses packet switching to support communication between devices over an IP network, such as the Internet.
In 2003, media streaming technology was in its early stages but had made significant strides from the previous decade. Streaming had begun to revolutionize how people consumed content online with the rise of faster internet connections and advancements in compression technologies.
RealNetworks was one of the pioneers in media streaming, and its RealPlayer software allowed users to stream audio and video content. Windows Media Player and QuickTime were also popular platforms supporting streaming. By this time, broadband internet was becoming more widespread, allowing users to stream higher-quality video and audio without the long buffering times associated with dial-up connections.
The MPEG-4 codec introduced a few years earlier, played a crucial role in making streaming more efficient by compressing video files while maintaining good quality. Streaming services for music, like Napster, had already gained traction but were shifting towards legal models, with platforms like iTunes beginning to dominate.
The early 2000s also saw the rise of live streaming for events and online radio stations. YouTube had not yet been founded (that would come in 2005), but services like Flash video streaming were paving the way for more sophisticated platforms. In 2003, streaming was still in its infancy but already shaping the future of digital media consumption.
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