Re: [cobalt-users] how do i get online streaming on my raq 3

[elmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Murtuza I.T wrote:

} does anybody know what is the most easiest way to support online "streaming"
} video via a RAQ3?

	We stream both video and audio off RAQ2/3s and have been for
some time. Most of our clients are entertainers and/or web designers
that specialize in the entertainment industry... Each and every week
we put approximately 40 to 50 mb of streaming content online. Some
of our resellers/designers do more than that.

	There's nothing special about streaming off an RAQ. We
don't run any proprietary servers. We stream it all via the
httpd daemon. The only trick, if I may call it that, good solid
streams require one to keep the number of sites on a server down
to a low roar. Much of what makes a stream work well or not is
in the production of the stream itself. Quite simply, once a
stream source is ready to go, we just load the data files onto the
server, setup a metafile for the applicable stream type and let
it rip.

	The secret is that if you link directly to the stream source
the user's browser tries to download it. However, if you put a
metafile (samples follow) between stream source and the link to it
then, for the most part, it will stream. This works with Window's
Streaming Media, QuickTime, Real, and the MP format. It's really
just a matter of learning how to setup the metafile.

	We're currently streaming Microsoft's Streaming Media,
QuickTime, and RealVideo on multiple sites. Many of which have been
online for years. The following link is to a web site running on
an RAQ2 for a machine shop upon which we stream video via HTTP (no
streaming server) in a couple of different formats.

	http://www.tasrop.com/products/playground.htm

	If you have any specific questions feel free to contact me,
but it's just a matter of producing the streams, putting them on the
server and setting up the metafile and linking them up on a page or
two.

	Here's one of our actual metafiles for a Microsoft Streaming
Media video - maybe it'll help get you started:

<ASX version = "3.0" BANNERBAR="FIXED">
	<Entry>
		<AUTHOR>Author's Name</AUTHOR>
		<TITLE>Title of Video</TITLE>
		<COPYRIGHT>(c) 2000 Some Name</COPYRIGHT>
		<Ref href = "stream.asf" />
	</Entry>
	<Banner href = "http://www.sitename.com/banner.jpg";>
		<ABSTRACT>Click here to visit</ABSTRACT>
		<MoreInfo href="http://www.sitename.com/"/>
	</Banner>
</ASX>

For streaming Real Video just whip up something like the following,
giving it a .ram extension:

http://www.sitename.com/stream.rm

	As I said, most of what needs to be done to get this kind of
thing running is on the production end. Whomever it is that will
be doing the streams should know how to whip up the metafiles. Your
RAQ will stream it just fine - you may have to update the mime.types
(I don't recall the specifics, but I'd don't recall the mime.types
for Windows Streaming Video/Audio being included on the factory
mime.types files) but that's about all there is to it.

	Microsoft's Windows Streaming Media SDK contains a wealth of
information and some very nice and totally free production tools. MS
also has a great support site. Real has a pretty decent SDK (Service
Deployment Kit) too. Not sure if it's free as I don't use it but it
available on their web site.