User Datagram Protocol sends independent datagrams without building TCP-style reliable delivery into the transport. Applications using UDP must decide how to handle missing, repeated or out-of-order data when that matters. Its limited transport overhead can suit real-time systems, but UDP alone offers no guarantee of fast or stable media playback.
A practical example
A live receiver may keep playing when a late packet is no longer useful rather than waiting for it to be resent. Whether the viewer notices a brief artefact depends on the encoding, buffering and recovery features of the application.
A common misunderstanding
UDP does not mean that a stream is always faster or that packet loss is harmless. A damaged or congested connection can still produce visible and audible problems.
Related terms
Stable technical definition. Editorial approach