Media Players for Streaming Media

There are four common media players for streaming media to play with.
1. Windows Media Player
2. Flash
3. Quicktime
4. Real Player

See the September 1, 2006 post for an overview of the pro’s and con’s of each player.

All four have browser plug-ins that give a browser the ability to play the streaming media directly in the browser. Note: having the media player application installed does not necessarily mean its browser plug-in is installed. To further complicate things, not all plug-ins work the same in the various browsers. For example, a Windows Media file may not play the same in FireFox as it does in Internet Explorer, or it may playback in Quicktime on a Mac (using the Flip add-in). I personally find Flash to be the most universal format and usually my format of choice.

There are no fix-all solutions. Once you have developed the streaming media it is critical to test on multiple platforms and browser applications. Most important is to be aware of the potential issues – and at least inform viewers of them.

– Troy @ TLC