(easiest) video streaming

[Mikalee]

Hello again,

I'd like to stream some video's for a personal site and have zero experience with it...so I thought I'd ask which method of streaming you would recommend. I guess there would be three factors to consider:

1) The hardware/software available (client/server)
2) The learning curve involved (the smaller the better)
3) The quickest process for creating streaming video

For (1) you can assume that it'll be hosted on jagpc and I don't have any software (that I know of) for this process

For 2 and 3, please keep in mind that it's not a serious task, and more of a hobby. So if I can use process B that's only 80% as 'good' as process A but twice as quick/easy, I would choose B.

Thanks for any input.

[Vin DSL]

Depends on how carried away you want to get, I suppose...

Do you want to do something simple like this?

http://jslime.lenon.com/

[Ron]

What's wrong with JUST the embed tag?

<embed src="http://jslime.lenon.com/cloth_folding.mpeg">

My browser (IE) seems to figure it out, and it autostarts. FireFox is asking for the Apple Quicktime Plugin, I assume if I had it it would stream. I don't know if it would autostart.

Your code, essentially

<embed type="application/x-mplayer2" pluginspage="http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/MediaPlayer/" src="http://jslime.lenon.com/cloth_folding.mpeg" name="MediaPlayer1" autostart=0 showcontrols=1 volume=-450>

doesn't autostart for me in either FireFox or IE, but does play on command.

Your complete version:

<center><object id="MediaPlayer1" CLASSID="CLSID:22d6f312-b0f6-11d0-94ab-0080c74c7e95" codebase="http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/mplayer/en/nsmp2inf.cab#Version=5,1,52,701"
standby="Loading Microsoft Windows&#174; Media Player components..." type="application/x-oleobject">
<param name="fileName" value="cloth_folding.mpeg">
<param name="animationatStart" value="true">
<param name="transparentatStart" value="true">
<param name="autoStart" value="true">
<param name="showControls" value="true">
<param name="Volume" value="-450">
<embed type="application/x-mplayer2" pluginspage="http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/MediaPlayer/" src="http://jslime.lenon.com/cloth_folding.mpeg" name="MediaPlayer1" autostart=1 showcontrols=1 volume=-450>
</object></center>

autostarts in FireFox, but not in IE.

lol Gotta love standards.

However, that all said, I don't think it adresses the primary question of how to get streaming video onto the server. I'm purely guessing here, but I get the feeling that Mikalee is looknig for a real-time steraming kind of thing. But that's just a guess. He may just be looking for authoring tools like Real Producer or Windows Movie Maker or some such.

[Vin DSL]

Heh! Let's try a new video -- a .wmv file. I'm tired of that shirt folding video...

Staying with a Jap theme, here's the reason ppl put H22A motors in Honda CiViCs!

http://jslime.lenon.com/

[Mikalee]

Depends on how carried away you want to get, I suppose...

Do you want to do something simple like this?

http://jslime.lenon.com/

yeah..I guess something like that would be fine. And, when I followed Ron's instructions above it looked just like that - but it seemed like mine took forever to load while yours was almost instant. What's the difference? Mine is a 10 second AVI clip that's 41megs. I guess the size must be the problem?? How can I reduce the size/load time?

However, that all said, I don't think it adresses the primary question of how to get streaming video onto the server. I'm purely guessing here, but I get the feeling that Mikalee is looknig for a real-time steraming kind of thing. But that's just a guess. He may just be looking for authoring tools like Real Producer or Windows Movie Maker or some such.

The thing is I'm not really sure what I want/how to do it. I'd like to minimize the loading time - I guess that means using the authoring tools you mentioned? Do you recommend any one in particular? Again, it's just for a hobby so I don't really want to spend any money on it...just wondering what the options are.

Thanks for the posts.

Mike

[jason]

41 megs is a very large file. Since you aren't really streaming in this case (streaming, by definition, means that the video starts to play before the entire file is downloaded), you browser needs to wait for the entire 41 Mb file to download before it starts doing anything with it.

True streaming requires a couple things. First, when you make your movie you need to tell the production software to "hint" the movie it exports. By hinting you are adding little bits of information that the browser will use to know what's coming up so that it can start playing right away. Next, you need a streaming server--a regular web server doesn't cut it.

There are, however, different technologies that allow you to fake streaming on a normal web server. Most of my video experience has been with Apple's QuickTime, and with that there is an "Internet Fast Start" option that allows a similar "play before everything's downloaded" feature, but it sometimes isn't as smooth as when you use a streaming server.

Before you even think about those things you need to get the size of that file down. The best way to do that is with compression. I don't know what you're using for making movies, but if you're in Windows Movie Maker, when you choose "Save to MyComputer" under "3. Finish Movie" you are presented with a wizard for exporting the movie. On the second page of the wizard there are three options: "Best quality for playback on my computer," "Best fit for file size," and "Other settings" (you may have to click on "more choices" to see them all). Choose other settings and it lets you choose a compressor to use. Choose one that matches the audience you expect to have use it, such as one of the video for broadband settings.

When you compress like this you will lose some quality. Take some time to play around with different settings until you find a good compromise between download time and playback quality. It may take a few tries to get it right.

Good luck.

--Jason

[Mikalee]

Ahh the world is starting to make sense.

So I guess my best bet would be to use something like Windows Movie Maker to compress the file and then something like quicktime to 'fake' stream it on a normal web server...

The question that remains after a quick search on the Quicktime site is what tool do I need to do what you described? (The internet fast start option). It can't be the quicktime player (I think), so what do I need to download?

Thanks for your time,
Mike

[Ron]

Jason, my Windows Media Player starts to play right away, and a little green bar chases ahead of the play location slide as the file downloads, for mpgs, mpegs, avis. It looks just the same as Apple's Quick Time looks when "streaming".

Maybe my setup is different than everyone else's.

[jason]

Ron,

I haven't tried any of the examples shown here and my experience with avi and wmv is pretty much nill (at least on the production side of things), so I can't really comment on how MS works their voodoo. My experience is mainly with QuickTime because that's what we mainly use at work for whatever reason.

Mikalee,

QuickTime is just another format for making movies. QuickTime movies use the .mov extension. There is a lot of software that can make them, but most of my experience is with either Apple's iMovie or Apple's Final Cut Pro. Both products are only made for Mac's, though. (iMovie is similar to Windows Movie MAker, FCP is a professional tool.) A similar program for making movies that will run on Windows is Adobe Premiere, but it is also a professional-level tool that is both expensive and difficult to learn. Premiere will allow you to export projects to a variety of formats including avi, QuickTime, MPEG, and probably wmv. Apple's QuickTime Pro also has some editing functionality built in to it, but it is pretty basic.

The output options for making a QuickTime .mov file are a little different than for making an avi in Windows Movie Maker. First, instead of generic compression settings like "Boradband (512kbps)" you have to choose a CODEC (COder/DECoder) and make adjustments to the various settings that that CODEC provides. (I've gotten the best results using the Sorenson CODECs, but your milage may vary.) On the standard "Export to QuickTime" dialog box tht most software I use provides you choose your video compression settings, then your audio compression settings, and finally your streaming settings (including the "Internet Fast Start" stuff).

If you wanted to make your movie into a QuickTime movie to take advantage of the Internet Fast Start, you'd need to find a video editing program that can import your existing avi(?) and export it to QuickTime. However, just exporting your movie with a less-than-highest-quality setting in Windows Movie Maker should give you a marked improvement in playback, even without a "Fast Start."

--Jason

[Mikalee]

Thanks again Jason, that's a good amount of info to get me started. Cheers.

Mike