For clients and or webmasters who wish to (live) stream video or audio from their website I have put together some information. Information that is useful for streaming via Dreamhost or third party alternatives. FYI this article is especially useful for people who would like to live stream multimedia. If you happen to have intel on adding streaming media to another hoster such as this site's hoster Webreus, Bluehost or GoDaddy feel free to leave me an e-mail or comment.
Streaming from Dreamhost server
Dreamhost - host I use for several clients and private projects - does support streaming media and allows live streaming, but does not support it:
"We currently support streaming of QuickTime 7 via Darwin Streaming Server (http://developer.apple.com/opensource/server/streaming/) version 5.5. Learn more about QuickTime Streaming in our wiki! If you're looking to stream media using Flash and not QuickTime, click here! "
"DreamHost does not support live broadcasting of audio or video content at this time. Streaming of QuickTime movie files (.mov) that have been properly prepared and "hinted" for streaming are supported."
So streaming with my host Dreamhost is possible but live streaming is not officially supported. IAMedia did it before, but they switched to Ustream
Dreamhost Wiki instructions on how to stream media live using Quicktime
Open QuickTime Broadcaster and click “Network” tab. [download here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL764 for free and streaming overview here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/extending/resources.html] Select “Manual Unicast” for Transmission. Enter your streaming server address (it has to be the IP address of your QuickTime/Darwin streaming server. You can get this information via terminal by running host streamingserver.yourdomain. I use host streaming.walking-productions.com.) You should be able to leave Audio port and Video ports as shown (If it doesn’t work, add 1 or 2 to the number. If it didn’t work the first time it might mean that someone else is using those ports on the server.) Click “Broadcast” and it will start broadcasting. Then go to File menu, choose Export > SDP and save it with filename.sdp Upload the .sdp file to your streaming server (under streamingserver.yourdomain for Dreamhost). Next, open QuickTime Pro, choose File menu and select Open URL. Then put the URL, like rtsp://streamingserver.yourdomain/streamingserver.yourdomain/filename.mov (again, this is how it is on Dreamhost, modify for other servers). It should connect to your live video. To embed this on a page or offer it available over the internet, choose File > Save As and save it as a “reference movie”. Upload this file to a webserver and you can embed or link to the mov file just like any normal QuickTime movie.
Source http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Streaming_%28QuickTime%29
Regular streaming
Regular streaming - not live - can also be be done using Quicktime All instructions can be found here: http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Streaming_%28QuickTime%29 + http://developer.apple.com/resources/http-streaming . Some instructions are on how to activate streaming on your hosting package, others on how to use Quicktime broadcaster and the embedding of the code on your website.
Streaming with embedded Flash
Regular streaming using Flash is another option, but will not be discussed here as we consider Flash not an option as many clients of ours use Iphones and Ipads that do not support Flash.
Streaming on Third Party Servers
UStream
http://www.ustream.tv/ as mentioned by a client and used by Jono Bacon for Ubuntu related streams is my favorite third party streaming option. Ustream makes live streaming possible from their servers. For free this can be achieved with with ads. Ustream Producer Pro: http://helpcenter.ustream.tv/content/broadcasting-ustream-producer-pro costs $199 one off and offers better compression and display options as well as unlimited transactions.
Streaming on mobile devices
All streams broadcast using Ustream Producer are automatically viewable on the iPhone. Some streams using Adobe's Flash Media Live Encoder (FMLE)* will be viewable on Ustream's iPhone Viewer. Ustream Producer ensures the best experience for your viewers and availability of your streams. In addition, Ustream Producer enables advanced features like high quality video, picture in picture, and transitions. Check here for more details: http://www.ustream.tv/producer. Producer is compatible with both PC and Mac systems.
Producer desktop tool:
http://www.ustream.tv/producer free version allows three transactions and displays ads as mentioned earlier.
Incorporation:
Tutorial on website integration will be added a later stage. In the meanwhile check these tutorials:
- http://helpcenter.ustream.tv/content/embedding-broadcasts
- http://www.ustream.tv/blog/2008/04/29/get-it-embedded-how-to-attract-viewers-to-your-live-shows-part-2/
Stream Hoster
http://streamhoster.com/live_broadcasting_streaming.html offers only paid service as far as I have seen quickly going over this site.
Justin TV
http://www.justin.tv/p/quicktime seems like a nice company with a great site. The offer live streaming with Quicktime with adds (bandwidth / filesize?) or minimum of $9.99 per month for an ad-free version.
Stream Guys
http://www.streamguys.com/ paid service. More data will be added later..
SHOUTcast Audio Streaming
I decided to mention SHOUTcast as well as it is a very popular way to stream audio - NO video - live from a server. Streaming media live using shoutcast - very popular among online readio stations - on your own server is another possibility. But a normal webhoster will not allow it as it eats up a lot of bandwidth. You would need a hoster specialized in streaming media or your own dedicated or private server. So in the case of Dreamhost this would probably demand the upgrade to a Private Server and variable fee per month for bandwidth usage.
General closing remarks
Delayed display / availability
All streams are delayed before being displayed due to processing time. How to add a delay on purpose I do not know yet. I do not know this in the own server scenario not the third party server scenario. Feel free to leave me a note.
Dreamhost as streaming media option
As far as I have seen streaming or live streaming with Dreamhost is possible but configuration - especially for live streaming - might take quite some time. Bandwidth for live streaming could demand too much bandwidth for the current set up and demand the switching to a Private Server.
UStream best third party alternative
Ustream seems to be the best third party streaming server that does offer live streams for free with ads. Implementation of movies or audio on site I have not figured out just yet. I you know a great tutorial please let me know! For embedding a broadcast please read these tutorials:
- http://helpcenter.ustream.tv/content/embedding-broadcasts
- http://www.ustream.tv/blog/2008/04/29/get-it-embedded-how-to-attract-viewers-to-your-live-shows-part-2/
My Choice
Ustream, it saves you a lot of hassle and gets you OK results.
Documentation on streaming
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_streaming_media_systems
- http://tech.kateva.org/2009/03/streaming-video-over-net-quicktime.html
- http://www.apple.com/quicktime/extending/resources.html
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