Streaming with Windows Media © Nanda Ganesan, Ph.D.
Streaming with Windows Media
© Nanda Ganesan, Ph.D.
Windows Media Technologies
• Windows Media Audio 9 Series• Windows Media Video 9 Series• Windows Media Encoder 9 Series• Windows Media Services 9 Series• Windows Media Player 9 Series• Windows Media Rights Manager 9 Series• Windows Media 9 Series SDK
Windows Media Link
• http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
Windows Media Technologies (WMT)
• Windows Media Audio CODEC provides excellent quality at low bit rates
• Integration with other Microsoft products (Windows NT Server, Microsoft Site Server, Microsoft BackOffice)
• Digital rights management• Advanced Compression Technology
Broadcasting
Audio Comparison
Video Comparison
WMT Advantages
• Multiple Bit Rate and Multiple Language Support • Variable speed playback• Highly compressed audio and video• Audio CODEC is optimized for dial-up rates• Digital 5.1 surround sound CODEC • Lossless audio compression• Good scalability to larger audience• Live digital rights management• Support for Plug-in (C++ etc.)• (For further info: )
Multiple Bit Rate and Multiple Language Support
• With a single click of one file, the Windows Media Player 9 Series can automatically pick the best video size and audio quality to stream, based on the current connection speed – and it dynamically adapts during streaming.
• The player can automatically choose the preferred audio language, or the user can select or change languages on-the-fly during playback.
• (source: Microsoft)
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES
• Free with Windows 2000 Server • Relatively new• Proprietary ASF codec, MPEG4,
SMIL• Intelligent Streaming • Microsoft Media Server (MMS),
HTTP protocol
WINDOWS MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES
• Internet broadband-ready platform for the creation, distribution, and playback of digital media files.
• Newest version of the industry's leading digital media platform
COMPONENTS
• Windows Media Player• Windows Media Services• Windows Media Encoder• Windows Media Format• Windows Media SDK• Windows Media Rights Manager
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES
• Used to host media files to be streamed over the internet/intranet
• A digital media platform that offers employees, partners, and customers exceptional scalability, reliability, and quality
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES FEATURES
• Most Scalable– Uses Windows NT Server multithreading and
processor support to allow for maximum scalability. Pentium II system can support over 2000 28.8 Kbps connections
– Provides freely available tools for independent organizations to document concurrent streams delivered on one machine
Continued….
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES FEATURES
• Most Reliable – Tight integration between Windows Media
Services and Windows 2000 creates the most reliable streaming platform
– ZD Labs reported that Windows Media Services delivered 26 billion packets of data with 99.9999999% accuracy over more than 12 days of continuous streaming of over 2,400 broadband streams.
Continued….
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES FEATURES
• Highest Quality Output– Windows Media Services supports the industry-
leading Windows Media format– Only video codec that offers near-DVD quality
video at as low as 750 Kbps– The Windows Media audio format, which offers
CD-quality audio at 96 Kbps– The revolutionary Windows Media Screen codec,
which offers exceptional reproductions of computer screen movement at resolutions as high as 800 × 600 and data rates as low as 22 Kbps. Continued….
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVICES FEATURES
• Highest Return On Investment– Windows Media Services are built directly
into Windows 2000 Server, offering complete integration with corporate infrastructure
– No additional per-stream or per-seat licensing is required for Windows Media, thus minimizing deployment costs
STREAMING CONTENT SETUP
• Basic steps for creating and hosting streaming content using Windows Media Technologies:
1. Encoding Windows Media Files 2. Hosting Encoded Content
WINDOWS MEDIA FILES
• Format created by Microsoft for authoring, storing, editing, distributing, streaming, and playing multimedia content
• Designed specifically to stream the content over networks, like the Internet
• Highly flexible format that can be used for streaming audio, video, slide shows, and synchronized events
• Windows Media Format enables content to be delivered to end users as a continuous flow of data
ENCODING WINDOWS MEDIA FILES
• Windows Media file may be created from a .wav, .avi, or .mp3 file
• Windows Media file can also contain JPEG or .bmp image
• Source Files may be PowerPoint Presentation slides
ENCODING TOOLS
• Media On-Demand Producer (Microsoft)
• Windows Media Encoder• Windows Media Author• Free with Windows 2000 Server• SMIL creation• Convert .wav, .avi, or .mp3 to Windows
Media file format (.asf, .wma, .wmv)
CONTENT HOSTING
• Two Choices of hosting:
– On a Web Server
– On to Windows Media Server
WEB SERVER HOSTING
• Creating and hosting Windows Media metafiles - a metafile is needed for each Windows Media file.
• A Windows Media metafile is a small text file that contains the URL of a Windows Media file.
• Adding links to the metafiles from a Web page - each link points to the metafile for a Windows Media file instead of directly to the file.
• Windows Metafile Example:<ASX version="3"> <Entry> <ref HREF="Path/File.asf" /> </Entry></ASX>
WEB SERVER HOSTING
WEB SERVER HOSTING PROBLEMS
• Web Server not designed for streaming media files.
• Playback can be interrupted by periods of buffering.
• Cannot stream files that have been encoded with multiple bit rates.
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVER HOSTING
• If you require higher quality and better server resource utilization, it makes sense to host your content on a dedicated Windows Media server.
• Copy the Windows Media files to the ASFroot directory, and copy the metafiles to the Web server
WINDOWS MEDIA SERVER HOSTING
• Windows Media Services can stream two types of content: – Broadcast and – On-demand.
• Delivered to clients with a unicast connection
• Broadcast content can also be delivered with a multicast connection
CONTENT VIEWING
• Windows Media Player can play back audio and video content the same whether a file is on a Windows Media server, a Web server, a network server, or a local hard disk
• A Windows Media server is designed to handle busy, congested networks and low-bandwidth connections to client computers running Windows Media Player.
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
ADVANTAGES• Stream through most firewalls• Indexing - provides end users with a means
of fast-forwarding and rewinding through a file that is being streamed
• Stream content with Digital Rights Management - Windows Media Rights Manager - distribute licensed digital media over the Internet with superior audio quality.
• Windows Media security - Security features can be used to limit access to media on a Windows Media server
ADVANTAGES
• Live Streaming - Playback of a broadcast stream is controlled at the point where the stream originates and includes live streaming
• Intelligent streaming - interaction between a Windows Media server and Windows Media Player to optimize the stream for the current available bandwidth
• Administering and logging - control how a Windows Media server manages live content and files and monitor overall system activity in real time, log files
ADVANTAGES
• Best-of-breed Multicast and Server Administration - easy-to-use server administration with extensive wizards that guide the user through procedures, such as setting up a multicast, monitoring a server, or switching between multiple live sources.
• Support for Advanced Applications and Pay-Per-View (PPV) - Includes pre-built and documented interfaces to Site Server Ad Server, Site Server Commerce Server, and Site Server Membership server. This functionality is the core of pay-per-view and dynamic ad-insertion applications of streaming media on the Internet.
THE FUTURE
• High bandwidth connections will make streaming more popular.
• Guaranteed Quality of Service over IP will improve streaming quality.
• The streaming model will be used more widely to provide multimedia content.
CONCLUSION
• Streaming media is the future of online entertainment.
• Low cost way to deliver interactive multimedia.
• Windows Media Services: a comprehensive suite for streaming.
RESOURCES
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmt/html/contcreation.asp?frame=true
• http://www.publicsource.apple.com/projects/streaming/
• http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue4/video/
RESOURCES
• http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/overview/default.asp
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmt/html/webserver.asp
• http://www.zdnet.com/sp/stories/issue/0,4537,2471928-4,00.html
RESOURCES
• http://www.nwfusion.com/research/streaming.html
• http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/support/faq_strm.asp
• http://www.broadcastengineering.com/html/2000/august/features/streamMedia_0800.htm
RESOURCES
• http://www.savetz.com/mbone/
• http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~jain/cis788-97/ip_multicast/
• http://www.real.com
• http://www.opensource.apple.com/projects/streaming
LOG ON
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