Enhanced Interaction for Streaming Media

Streaming is a popular and efficient way of web-based on-demand multimedia delivery. However, flexible methods of interaction and navigation, as required, for example, in learning applications, are very restricted with streamed contents. Using the example of recorded lectures, we point out the importance of such advanced interaction which is not possible with purely streamed media. A new delivery method based on a combination of streaming and download is proposed which can be realized with Rich Internet Applications. It combines the advantages of streaming delivery with navigational and interactive features that are usually known only from locally available media.