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Microsoft Media Services
Microsoft Media Services (MMS) is a protocol suite created by Microsoft to stream multimedia content, such as audio and video, typically deployed in enterprise environments and through media applications like Windows Media Player. MMS facilitates real-time delivery, enabling users to experience smooth playback over a variety of network types without having to download entire media files beforehand..
Microsoft Media Services (MMS) is a proprietary protocol designed by Microsoft to support the delivery of multimedia streaming content, including both audio and video. It acts as an umbrella term encompassing multiple protocols, such as Microsoft’s implementation of RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) over UDP or TCP, and an early primitive proprietary messaging protocol before the prominence of HTTP streaming. MMS enables clients to begin playback while media is still being transferred, optimizing bandwidth usage and reducing latency for live and on-demand content.
Originally, MMS operated over port 1755 using either UDP for real-time datagram communication or TCP for reliable delivery, depending on network conditions and firewall traversal. Later, Microsoft encouraged transitioning to RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol, usually over port 554) and then ultimately HTTP-based streaming protocols, in line with industry trends favoring open standards and improved firewall compatibility.
MMS is largely legacy technology today, as Microsoft has deprecated its support in favor of Smooth Streaming and MPEG-DASH methods utilizing HTTP. However, port 1755 can still be indicative of old media servers or archival streaming applications still running in enterprise or media distribution networks.