What is the purpose of buffering in streaming media?

Buffering in streaming media is primarily intended to allow media playback to begin immediately without having to wait for the entire file to be downloaded first. When a user selects a video or audio stream, the buffering process preloads a portion of the media content into memory. This ensures a seamless playback experience, as the media can be played while still downloading the remaining portions. This technology is crucial in maintaining a steady flow of data, helping to minimize interruptions due to variations in network speed or latency.

While improving image quality during playback, eliminating compression, and downloading files faster than streaming are all related concepts in media handling, they do not directly address the fundamental role of buffering, which is to facilitate immediate access to media content.