Video, Web, Technologies…
Notes and comments on new technologies world by Olivier NOEL
Precision about HTTP streaming format in Adobe Media Server
To begin this new year, I make this post on a subject which can introduce misunderstandings. Previously, Adobe named it streaming server : Flash Media Server (aka FMS) v4.5. In october 2012, Adobe release a new version and recalled the server: Adobe Media Server (aka AMS) v5.0.1. Some acronym used in FMS are the same in AMS, but this is not the same “products” (e.g. PHLS). In this post, I will give some input on live streaming format and especially about security applied on. (more…)
Posted in Analyse, Streaming server, Vidéo | No Comments
Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 – Setup PHLS live stream
Here is a How to, the objective is to demonstrate the setup of a PHLS live stream. PHLS means Protected HLS : the custom format of HLS by Adobe. The protection is realized with a AES-128 encryption on the content. To make this configuration, you need a streaming server which will push content via RTMP. Some live transcoders are available from ElementalLive to ffmpeg. And you need too a Adobe Media Server 4.5 installed to complete this how to. All I write in this post is available via the FMS documentation.
Posted in Streaming server, Vidéo | 2 Comments
Mistserver – a new multimedia streaming server – First overview
Mistserver is a open-source multimedia streaming server developed by DDVTech a company based in Netherlands. This server will support some technologies : HLS, HDS, Smooth Streaming, RTMP, …
For the moment, HDS, RTMP and progressive download are available. You can push too livestream via RMTP. The company have two others solutions : MistSteward, MistCenter.
DDVTech positions his solution in a competitive market with some actors : Adobe Media Server, Wowza, Red5, Apache, …
Posted in Analyse, Streaming server, Vidéo | 2 Comments
Notes about video ecosystem – week 49
A new week ends, and here is my selection of news or analyse to keep in mind.
- Adrian Cockcroft (@adrianco) works at Netflix and gave last week during the AWS re:Invent a talk about High Availability Architecture at Netflix.
- The end of the year is coming and companies begin to make their projection. Skytide is one of them : 6 Online Video Trends to watch in 2013
- Elemental, a company which provides encoder for VoD and Live, doubles customer base in 2012
- BBC reinvents the Red button after 13 years of delivery.
- Denivip, a russian company based, did a big post on Intelligent video load balancing and explain why the common load-balancer is not the best solution to manage a video delivery platform.
- Multiscreen offerings “dramatically increasing” in Europe and Asia by Jamie Beach (IPTV-news)
Posted in Actualités, Vidéo | No Comments
Notes about video ecosystem – week 48
Here are my selected news to keep in mind for this week :
- Netflix continues to share, they open sources tool for making cloud services play nice (via GigaOM)
- Video Platform Development in DENIVIP Media. Denivip is a russian company specialize in video.
- CinemaNow adds Ultraviolet support to some of its movies.
- An Akamai Fellow study on the effects of online video stream quality on viewer behavior. The full study is available at http://bit.ly/ZbeT1W.
- Microsoft seems released an XBOX STB in 2013
- Dom Robinsom from Streaming Media Global talks about Reliable UDP. Is this protocole the future protocol for video streaming
- MPEG-DASH in the news in November 2012 by OTT-video.com
Posted in Actualités, Vidéo | No Comments
Packaging adaptive bitrate VOD content on the fly
The actual market on the OTT use Adaptive Bit Rate video format over HTTP (Smooth Streaming, HTTP Dynamic Streaming, HTTP Live Streaming and MPEG-DASH soon) to deliver the content. I make this analyse without integrate the DRMs system which is a big topic itself. Here is an overview of the different format available for each platform.
| Smooth Streaming | HTTP Dynamic Streaming | HTTP Live Streaming | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PC | Silverlight Player or Windows 8 client SDK | Flash Player | Safari (on Mac OSX Only) |
| iOS (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV) | Native player (Quicktime) | ||
| Android (> v3.0) | Flash Player or Air | Native player | |
| Xbox | Native player | ||
| Windows Phone | Native player | ||
| Samsung Smart TV | Native player |
The matrix is a kind complex; all this technologies are multibitrate, so for one asset, you need to transcode for each bitrate. Each technology is different and use his own specification :
| Manifests | Chunks | Audio Codec | Video Codec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth Streaming | ISM (XML based) | One ISMV for each BitRate | AAC / WMA | H264 / VC1 |
| HTTP Dynamic Streaming | F4M (XML based) | One F4V for each BitRate | AAC/MP3 | H264 / VP6 |
| HTTP Live Streaming | M3U8 (text based) | TS chunked files | AAC/MP3 | H264 |
If I follow the specifications given by the manufacturers (HLS) or if I’m basing on 4 bitrates for the others formats (Smooth Streaming, HDS), I need to transcode more than 20 times the same asset.
There is an option to avoid and reduce significatively the number of transcoding tasks : the packaging on the fly. This article will only analyse the on-demand side, not the live. (more…)
Posted in Analyse, Vidéo | 5 Comments
Microsoft Azure Media Services – How to encode in the Azure Cloud – Part 2
After the first post which give an overview and explain how set-up a WAMS environment, I continue the discovery of WAMS World (sorry for the pun 
). In this post, we will see how we can transform a video from a input format to another format. It’s possible to generate multiple output format or to encrypt the video. But we will see it in a next posts.
Posted in Cloud, Encodage, Vidéo | 20 Comments
Microsoft Azure Media Services – How to encode in the Azure Cloud – Part 1
I open a serie of posts which will talk about this solution. Microsoft announced at the end of spring the preview of Windows Azure Media Services. WAMS form an extensible media platform that integrates the best of the Microsoft Media Platform and third-party media components in Windows Azure.
Notes about video ecosystem – weeks 33 – IBC – Olympics – Adaptive Streaming – H265
Olympics Games in London are closed and IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) @Amsterdam is coming soon, it will begin in a month. Many news are published this week and this is my selection :
- EBU made the first large scale trial on MPEG-DASH solution, using somes tools from the market (Elemental, Wowza, CodeShop, BuyDRM players)
- How to build your own IPTV-VOD System give us some best practices to create this kind of systems
- Jan Ozer asked himself on Who still uses Flash video ? The answer is just about everybody.
- Vobile Intros TVSync API Platform for Second Screen Apps. With that solution, you can be able to provide informations or interactions on a second screen.
- Netflix continue his development in Europe and announce it will target North Europe (in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland)
- You distribute some video in Adaptive Streaming, now there is a solution to manage quality with Venera Pulsar.
- MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013. H.265 (also known as HEVC) will replace H.264 in next years (months).
Have a good week-end
Posted in Actualités, Vidéo | 2 Comments
Le streaming vidéo adaptatif via HTTP : une réalité…
Dans le domaine de la vidéo en ligne, l’une des principales questions ces dernières années fût de migrer des technologies classiques de streaming (RTSP, MMS, RTMP…) vers du téléchargement via HTTP. Et ceci pour plusieurs raisons :
- les coûts moins importants
- le filtrage, les ‘anciens’ protocoles étaient souvent filtré par les pare-feux
- HTTP ne demande pas de configuration particulière
(more…)
Posted in Vidéo | 2 Comments