Comparison of HTTP and RA delivery mechanisms for Streaming Data
| Topic | HTTP | RA Client/Server |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery Protocol | HTTP over TCP | RealAudio Protocol over UDP or TCP |
| Number of Concurrent Users | low | high |
| Scalability | limited | very high |
| Streaming Control Strategy | Buffer locally | Client/Server Feedback |
| Delivery Performance | Sent at client bandwidth (burst) | Sent at playback rate (paced) |
| Excess Bandwidth Consumption | High | Low |
| Packet loss Handling | Resend (TCP) with time delay | Loss Correction |
| Effect of packet loss on streaming | disruption | no disruption |
| Live Event Capability | no | yes, large scale |
| Background Playback | no | yes |
| Synchronized Multimedia | no | yes |
| Server Resources per stream | high | low |