These terms are used when discussing getting
information from devices to your TV. Streaming is video-delivery
sent over the internet to your computer or smart TV. It also may
refer to Internet Protocol television (IPTV) also called just
Internet TV. It includes Live TV, time shifted replays of live
TV, and video on demand, such as movies. IPTV is delivered over
a closed, proprietary network, accessed via a specific internet
service provider. It is different from OTT (see below), which is
open and delivered by providers over the top of any internet
service.
Casting refers to the
delivery of audio, video, or other media types from a users
mobile device or PC to a Television or connected TV device. For
mobile devices, such as smartphones, mirroring means casting
uses your bandwidth allocation and costs money each time you use
it. Video uses an extremely high amount of bandwidth and if you
do not have unlimited use, your monthly phone bill could be
enormous. Mirroring takes the display from a sender devices and
replicates that on a receiving device. Casting without mirroring
means that after you cast the video to your TV, you can use the
phone as normal, because it hands off the original signal to the
TV.
Bottom line,
streaming goes directly to a device and casting sends a stream
from one device to another.