Streaming is unleashing torrent of films, TV shows

Buffering ... buffering ... buffering.

Seeing these words blinking at the bottom of the postage-stamp-size screen during a download of jerky video defines the annoying experience of entertainment on a computer monitor.

However, the potential of new streaming video services — fast, full screen and in sharp resolution — is unleashing a torrent of movies and television shows, much of it aimed at narrowly defined audiences that can't find niche programming even on cable systems with 500 or more channels.

The Independent Film Channel is streaming 22 short films called "Trapped in the Closet" by the R&B recording artist R. Kelly. The Jewish Television Network, a nonprofit television production and distribution company, is streaming music videos by Jewish performers, cooking shows and Israeli news programs. The network is also planning to stream religious services during the High Holy Days in September, the sort of broadcast that would be hard to find on mainstream television.

"There is extreme interest in streaming because it simplifies the process of getting video to the consumer," said Ross Rubin, of NPD Group, a market analysis company.

Streaming video, unlike downloads, never resides on a viewer's computer. It usually cannot be replayed as a downloaded file can be, which is another reason that content creators like it.

The growing use of streaming among consumers is closely tied to the increasing popularity of broadband Internet connections in homes. The Pew Internet & American Life Project estimated 47 percent of American households have broad- band connections that make streaming possible because it transmits data faster.

"The greater adoption of broadband in the United States is really raising the ante for all kinds of content from premium Hollywood offerings to pet videos," said Rubin, who noted that NBC and ABC have begun streaming their prime-time programming to online viewers.

This year, the DVD rental company Netflix began to take advantage of click-and-view streaming of full-length films and television episodes with a subscription service. "Push a tab 'Watch Now' and more than 3,000 television episodes and movies come up in 30 seconds or less," said Steve Swasey, a Netflix spokesman. "There's no downloading."

Streaming high-quality video to computers and television screens is the "first step to getting what people want to see on any screen they want, from laptops to cell phones to wide-screen televisions," Swasey said. "Netflix's goal is to get movies delivered instantly to all those different screens."

Companies like ReelTime, Joost, Limelight Networks and Brightcove are staking their futures on streaming video.