Why is UDP often preferred for video streaming?

UDP, or User Datagram Protocol, is preferred for video streaming primarily because it offers a significant advantage in terms of speed and efficiency. When streaming video content, it is crucial to maintain a smooth and continuous flow of data to ensure a good viewing experience. UDP achieves this by not establishing a connection between the sender and receiver, which eliminates the overhead associated with connection setup and management found in TCP.

Additionally, UDP tolerates slight data loss, which is often acceptable in video streaming. For instance, losing a few packets of data might result in minor glitches or artifacts but generally will not disrupt the overall video playback. This ability to continue streaming without the need for retransmitting lost packets makes UDP a suitable choice where real-time performance is more critical than perfect accuracy.

In contrast, protocols that guarantee accurate data delivery and complete data integrity, like TCP, are slower because they require acknowledgments and retransmission of lost packets, potentially leading to delays and buffering issues that can detract from the streaming experience. Therefore, the combination of speed and tolerance for minor data loss positions UDP as the preferred protocol for video streaming applications.