Livestreaming Glossary: 40+ Terms Defined

Livestreaming is a popular way to share content over the internet. Whether it's game walkthroughs, educational how-tos, or talk shows, there's a vast community of streamers to explore. Many streamers even make a living out of it, generating a large and regular audience, though success won't come overnight.

No matter if you're a newbie or veteran, livestreaming can be quite overwhelming because there's a bunch of jargon to get your head around. That's why we've created this livestreaming glossary. It'll help you understand the complex terms that you'll encounter on your livestreaming journey.

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Livestreaming Terms and Definitions

Term	Definition
Adaptive streaming	When a video player or program adjusts the quality of content being streamed based on the speed of the viewer's internet connection. The quicker the speed, the greater the quality.
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)	The most common audio codec for online videos and livestreaming.
Akamai	One of the largest CDNs in the world, serving hundreds of countries by offering fast delivery of high-quality streams.
Aspect ratio	The ratio of a video's width to its height. The standard broadcasting aspect ratios are 4:3 and 16:9.
Auto-archiving	Also known as live recording, this is the automatic recording of a livestream so that it's archived and available after broadcast.
Bandwidth	The amount of data transferred over a given time. This is often measured in kilobits, megabits, or gigabytes.
Bitrate	Bits are units of data that make up a photo or video. Bitrate measures the speed of an upload/download transfer.
Bonding	This allows you to combine internet connections (e.g., Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 4G) in order to establish redundancy in case of failure on an individual connection.
Buffering	Buffering can be caused by low bandwidth and is a delay during the data preloading process.
Capture card	A piece of hardware that converts and transmits on-screen video to a computer for encoding. Some capture cards also handle the encoding.
Closed captioning (CC)	Transcription of the video audio that overlays on streams as text.
Codec	A device or software that's capable of encoding or decoding digital information for audio and video.
Compression	Video compression reduces the number of bits required for a video. It's possible to reduce raw data sizes by up to a thousand times.
Content delivery network (CDN)	A distribution of network servers around the globe to enable faster delivery of content to users. The stream will be transferred from the closest server to the user.
Embedded video	Embedded videos are integrated (or embedded) into a webpage. While it looks to be part of the website, these videos are hosted using another resource, like YouTube.
Encoding	The process of converting your stream into a format that can be used on the internet for people to watch. Encoding usually happens through software like OBS, or via a hardware encoder.
Firewall	A security system that blocks unauthorized access. It tracks incoming and outgoing traffic and can interfere with streaming if configured incorrectly.
Frames per second (FPS)	The frequency, per second, of video frames appearing on a display. The more FPS, the smoother a video will appear.
Green screen	A physical backdrop that can be digitally replaced; often used to remove a streamer's background on camera.
H.264	A video codec used to record, compress, and distribute videos.
High definition (HD)	A resolution that produces high video quality. HD resolutions are usually 720p or 1080p.
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)	Transfers audio and video data to and from HDMI-compatible sources using an HDMI cable.
Internet Protocol (IP) camera	These cameras receive and send data over an internet connection.
Latency	The difference in time between real-time and online streaming. High latency means there's a bigger gap between when something is steamed and when the end user receives it.
Livestreaming	Broadcasting video content over the internet in real-time. This can be done using a computer, laptop, smartphone, or other device.
Lossless compression	Video and audio compression that maintains full quality from the original data source.
OBS	Popular and free software for recording video and livestreaming.
Open captions (OC)	Also known as hard-coded captions, they are a permanent feature of a video, meaning they can't be turned off.
Over-the-top (OTT)	Delivers video content over the internet, directly, without the need for cable or satellite television. Netflix is a great example.
Packet loss	One or more pieces of data failed to reach the destination.
Picture-in-picture (PiP)	This is where you can see multiple video sources at the same time on one screen.
Ping	A signal test to see how fast a server receives data, often measured in milliseconds.
Playlist streaming	A playlist of pre-recorded videos that go live at a pre-defined date and time.
Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP)	A common streaming protocol for streaming audio and video data over the internet.
Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)	A network protocol to control streaming media servers, delivering to a messaging system in real-time.
Resolution	The number of pixels in a display. For example, 1080p (Full HD) has 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Simulcasting	Broadcasting a single live stream to multiple channels.
Standard definition (SD)	A standard quality resolution (often 720 x 480 pixels).
Streaming key	A unique token that allows you to connect to a streaming server.
Streaming software	Software that allows you to input video and convert it into a format that allows online playback.
Transcoding	Where encoded content is decoded and changed into a different format.
Upload speed	The speed in which your computer sends data from your computer to the internet.
Video hosting	Uploading and storing videos on a website.