Ten Tips for Choosing a Streaming Server

Tip Two

If you want a turnkey system, try the Apple Xserve.

Even if you are a dyed-in-the-wool MS shop, you should consider the Apple Xserve. For less than $4,500, you can get a G5 processor, 2GB RAM, 250GB, and RAID. (Try that with any other PC-based system and the cost will double.) It even drops itself right into your Network Neighborhood and talks to all Windows workstations. On top of that, the Xserve comes with Web and streaming server software, so you nearly have a plug-and-play system for the price of just hardware on the PC side.

The Xserve’s streaming software provides almost instant online broadcasting QuickTime Broadcaster software comes pre-installed so you just plug the video feed into the FireWire port on the back of the server, run the Web and streaming server software, and begin broadcasting. (Users will, of course, need Apple QuickTime players to view the stream.) Unlike other streaming server licenses, the Xserve is for unlimited users and unlimited bandwidth—making it a true bargain for top-quality performance.

Tip Three
Are you doing limited on-demand playback? Try HTTP streaming.

You may not need a full-blown media server if you realize that your video needs are a few on-demand feeds rather than live ones. For these needs, you could use HTTP streaming. Any conventional Web server supports such streaming, so you can have online video up and running essentially for free (or for the cost of production).

Why isn’t HTTP streaming commonly used? For one, it is limited to about a dozen simultaneous users. Also, it’s not efficient in using server resources, so a moderately to heavily taxed Web server wouldn’t be a good choice to upgrade to HTTP streaming. Finally, there’s no automatic detection of the user’s connection speed, so the onscreen options need to include appropriate manual selections for dialup, cable, and DSL modem speeds. (Which also means you’ll have to convert your content into each of these versions to link to.)

Tip Four
Do you want to go "clientless?"

When we think of streaming content, we think of Windows Media, Real, or QuickTime. However, there are ways to stream that are more or less playerless. One advantage to playerless streaming is that it eliminates the need for updating and maintaining players so they can play your content. It also eliminates the reverse—having to update content so it works with the current as well as past versions of a given player. (Naturally, it also eliminates the hassle of standardizing on one player, which some users might resist.) Finally, it can reduce or eliminate the cost of licensing the streaming server software. There are two common types of playerless streams: Java-based and Flash-based. Java-based streaming has been around for at least five years, but it hasn’t really caught on with the "mainstream" of video access. One company that does offer it is Destiny Technologies. With a bit of Java code on your page, and encoding using ClipStream, you are ready for users to view content right in their browsers.

The other approach is to use Macromedia Flash for video. Now, technically, this isn’t exactly "playerless," as you still need to upgrade your users’ browsers with the latest edition of Flash. However, as Macromedia boasts, there are far more installations of Flash than of any streaming player, and if their claims are even vaguely accurate, many, if not most, users are ready to receive this type of content.

The Flash MX Professional Communication Server software basic requirements are easily matched by today’s server hardware: 500MHz or better CPU and 512MB RAM, and common OSes: RedHat Linux or Windows. That would probably support 50 or so sessions. The software itself will support up to 2,500 (unlimited for live broadcasts). Of course, that would need a more contemporary server with a Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP or 64 and about 2GB RAM. Licensing starts at $700 (there’s a Personal Edition limited to 50 connections for $500).

Creating Flash content actually is a lot like creating content for other streaming players. For input, the Flash server can receive streams from one or more simultaneous feeds from any video device using a WDM Video Capture Driver (which most of today’s cameras do). The program creates .FLV files (like WMV or RM) which are stored on your server and accessed with a few lines of code on the Web page.

Finally, you can also outsource your Flash streaming using VitalStream or Speedera (see Tip One) as you might for Windows Media or Real files. [Editor's note: Since this story's original publication, Akamai purchased Speedera.]

Tip Five
Are you a Linux shop? Then try Apple’s Darwin Streaming Server software. Darwin is the best streaming server software on Linux, and it also runs on Windows and Mac platforms. With up to 3,000 simultaneous connections available, the Darwin is a workhorse server with an incomparable price: free.

If there are drawbacks to Darwin, they are the same as with any open-source application—no direct support from a major vendor and releases that tend to come more slowly than with commercial packages (in this case, the QuickTime Server software Darwin is based on). But make no mistake, the Darwin is no evolutionary slouch. It is a ready-to-go server with industry-standard video quality.