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About intelligent streaming and MBR streams

Intelligent streaming refers to the method by which a Windows Media server works with a player to detect network conditions and adjust the properties of a stream automatically to maximize quality. With intelligent streaming, users receive a continuous flow of content tailored to their connection speeds.

To take full advantage of intelligent streaming, you should encode your content at multiple bit rates (MBR) and then deliver the content as a unicast stream from a Windows Media server. To encode MBR content, you create a single stream or file that is encoded at different bit rates. When MBR content is received by a player, only the bit rate that is the most appropriate for network bandwidth conditions is streamed. The process of selecting the appropriate stream is handled by the Windows Media server and the player and is invisible to the user.

Intelligent streaming also works with single-bit-rate streams or files. For cases of network congestion, the stream is "thinned", which means that the frame rate is reduced. If this is insufficient, the video portion of the stream is frozen and only the audio portion is streamed.

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