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Understanding Fast Cache

When used with Windows Media Player 9 Series or later, Fast Cache provides a way to stream content to clients faster than the data rate specified by the stream format. For example, using Fast Cache, the server can transmit a 128-kilobits-per-second (Kbps) stream at 700 Kbps. The stream is still rendered in Windows Media Player at the specified data rate, but the client is able to buffer a much larger portion of the content before rendering it. This allows the client to handle variable network conditions without a perceptible impact on the playback quality of either on-demand or broadcast content.

This ability is useful in the following situations:

You can configure the Fast Cache settings for your server on the Properties tab of your publishing point. For more information on these settings, see Enable Fast Cache and Limit Fast Cache content delivery rate.  Fast cache is supported by both the RTSP and the HTTP protocols. Clients that connect using the MMS protocol will not receive the stream using Fast Cache, but will instead receive the standard bit rate stream.

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