when a web application serves a video file, is it stream automatically? what options are there?

Question

when a web application serves a video file, is it stream automatically? what options are there?

Answer 1

Your question is vague. The behavior you get will depend on what Content-Type header your "web application" (or container) gives your file.

Different types will do different things depending the browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_media_type

If you want to check what headers your application is sending, use Firefox + Live HTTP Headers.

Answer 2

By default, video files are sent from IIS to clients in burst mode, at the highest bandwidth that the connection can support.

There is an extension for IIS that provides support for streaming and bit rate throttling:

http://www.iis.net/extensions/BitRateThrottling

It support many media types, but not all of them--although it is extensible.