From movies to business meetings: how streaming is changing our lives

In the past, if you wanted to watch a movie, you used a DVD or VHS. If you wanted to talk to friends, you used a landline phone. Today, all you need for both is the Internet and streaming-capable devices. A look at the development of streaming with all its diverse options shows how quickly progress has been made and what potential is far from exhausted.
Streaming services have become an integral part of many people's everyday lives. Regardless of whether they want to listen to music, watch a movie or series or play games via streaming: There is a provider for every need, bringing the diversity of entertainment into the home. All users need is a stable internet connection, a streaming platform and enough time. The wide variety makes it possible to access content from different genres and areas within seconds and provides countless options.
Although the origins are not far back and development only really took off in the 1990s, VHS tapes and psychic data carriers have long since been erased from most users' memories. Buying CDs or renting DVDs? Hardly imaginable. Especially in the early days, providers and event organizers tried to make streaming socially acceptable with selected concerts and live broadcasts. The opportunity to experience an event live that was taking place several kilometers away at the same time was fascinating. But in 2005, with the founding of YouTube and Apple's offer to watch series via download, streaming became increasingly popular. The numbers increased as more and more people took advantage of the opportunity to decide for themselves when and where they wanted to watch a movie.

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same phenomenon could be observed in the gaming industry. With Steam, computer game fans have access to a wide selection of the latest PC games. There’s no need to buy any games. Just as Netflix and Amazon offer flat-rate subscriptions for movies, Steam uses the same concept for games. It’s a convenient way to try out new releases. Online casinos are also benefiting from advances in streaming. The best providers—where you can play for real money or try games for free—are leveraging streaming technology to offer their slot machines in a user-friendly way. Live games are particularly popular here. Comparison platforms like Casinos.de even consider them a factor in their casino ratings. The advantage: Since streaming is possible on almost all end-user devices, the reach and range of use are enormous.

Giants in the film and music business

However, streaming is still largely attributed to the film industry. Alongside Amazon Prime and Apple TV+, Netflix is one of the most important players to have made the transition from physical distribution to digital provider. With productions such as "Bridgerton", "Stranger Things" and "House of Cards", the American service has developed content in a glossy format.
Those who prefer to stream music stick to Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music and use the music genres, podcasts and audio books to pass the time. Audio streaming has brought with it another advantage that benefits up-and-coming and new artists. The high costs of CD production, pressing and distribution are almost impossible for newcomers to afford. If you don't have a record company behind you, you can only cope with these mammoth costs with a great deal of effort. Thanks to Spotify and the like, all you need is an account to make the music you produce available to your fans. In combination with Instagram, self-marketing can be controlled by the target group itself and the necessary clicks can be driven up. The long road to success opens up an effective shortcut with streaming.

Source: Pixabay

Professional streaming and a look into the future

The boom in working from home is undoubtedly due to streaming. Thanks to Zoom and Microsoft Teams, global and local networking via video has developed rapidly and taken German offices by storm. Where supervisors previously refused to allow employees to participate in meetings from home via conference calls, it is now unthinkable not to work from one’s home office.
Companies that operate internationally, in particular, can thus ensure that teams can work together and that information is accessible at all times. This is an important step forward that modernizes the workplace and highlights the importance of high-speed internet. In this super election year, this issue is even part of selected political parties" campaign platforms. Although the use and application of streaming have become standard in many households and offices, the expansion of fiber-optic networks in Germany is still far from reaching a desirable level. Even the best software and high-quality tools for PCs and cell phones are of no use if the infrastructure is lacking.
On top of that, the streaming world is already working on new ideas. The range of offerings is constantly expanding, original productions are on the rise, and the battle for market dominance is fiercely contested. Among other things, Netflix plans to offer video games for streaming starting in 2022. One thing is certain: the importance of streaming will continue to grow, expand, and find new ways into people’s everyday lives. The offerings are there. Now it’s time to optimize the infrastructure nationwide and make access available to everyone!