Streaming Audio and Video with Helix The Helix Streaming Media Server is provided by Jumpline.com as a ValueApp so that you can stream pre-recorded audio and video content to your web viewers. As opposed to simply uploading a media file for your web viewers to download, you can use the Helix server to stream the file to their player; by streaming, the quality of the media can be automatically adjusted depending on their connection speed to allow the media to play uninterrupted without a long download. The Helix server supports many common audio and video formats, including QuickTime (.mov), Real Media (.rm/.rv), MPEG (.mpg/.mpeg), Windows Media (.wmv), and MP3 (.mp3). Live streams are not supported at this time. To install Helix: Log in to your VDS Manager by clicking the 'Login to VDS Manager' link from the Products page of the Customer Manager, which is located at https://my.jumpline.com. Click on the Install & Manage link on the left side of the screen.  Click on the  Streaming folder at the top of the screen.Click on the  Helix ValueApp icon.Once Helix is installed, you will need to upload your media files. The media files must be uploaded into the /real-media/ directory on your server -- not the regular web directory. Working with RealMedia Files RealMedia and RealAudio files that are uploaded can be accessed using the following URL format, which should open the RealPlayer software and begin streaming the media from the Helix server: http://yoursitedomain.com:8090/ramgen/username/filename.rm where yoursitedomain.com is your domain name, username is your main FTP username, and filename.rm is the name of the RealMedia file you have uploaded. This URL can be linked to directly from your website (which will open RealPlayer on the visitors computer), or can be embedded in a player directly on your page. Instructions for creating the embedded player can be found at http://cit.ucsf.edu/embedmedia/step2.php?mediatype=RealMedia Working with WindowsMedia Files WindowsMedia files that are uploaded can be accessed using the following URL format, which should open the Windows Media Player software and begin streaming the media from the Helix server: http://yoursitedomain.com:8090/asxgen/username/filename.wmv.asx where yoursitedomain.com is your domain name, username is your main FTP username, and filename.wmv is the name of the WindowsMedia file you have uploaded. Be sure to add the .asx extension to your filename in the URL (do not rename your file), as this is required for older versions of Windows Media Player to recognize the URL. This URL can be linked to directly from your website (which will open Windows Media Player on the visitors computer), or can be embedded in a player directly on your page. Instructions for creating the embedded player can be found at http://cit.ucsf.edu/embedmedia/step2.php?mediatype=WindowsMedia Please be sure that the WindowsMedia files that you have created and uploaded into the /real-media/ directory have been saved in a streaming compatable format; some files created by WMV-compatable software may not be ready for streaming and may stutter or skip while playing. Working with QuickTime Files QuickTime files that are uploaded to the server must be called from a "reference movie" which is loaded into your regular web content area. A reference file is a small .mov file which resides inside of your regular website and is accessed with a standard web URL (such as http://yoursitedomain.com/video.mov); when this file is downloaded, the browser will automatically open QuickTime which will play the stream specified inisde of the file. Without using a reference file, the QuickTime player will not be opened properly by the browser and your visitors could receive errors or have problems when attempting to view your videos. To create a reference movie, use the MakeRefMovie or MakeRefMovieX tool provided by Apple at http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/quicktimeintro/tools/ (under the Webmaster Tools heading). MakeRefMovie/MakeRefMovieX will allow you to specify a stream URL; please use the following format when creating your reference movie: rtsp://yoursitedomain.com/username/filename.mov where yoursitedomain.com is your domain name, username is your main FTP username, and filename.mov is the name of the QuickTime file that you uploaded to the /real-media/ directory. Once you have created a reference movie, save the file and upload it to your /var/www/html/ directory (or a subdirectory of /var/www/html) and access it like a regular file on your site; visitors who click the link or enter the URL to the reference movie should see QuickTime open up and play the stream. You can also embed the QuickTime Player into your page using instructions available at http://cit.ucsf.edu/embedmedia/step2_qtv2.php?mediatype=QuickTime Please be sure that the QuickTime files that you have created and uploaded into the /real-media/ directory have been saved in a streaming compatable (or "hinted") format; not all files created by QuickTime and QuickTime Pro will be hinted for streaming and may not properly stream. Working with Raw Streams Once media files are uploaded to the /real-media/ directory on the server, you can access the media file stream directly (without any wrapper file such as a .asx or .ram file) using the URL formats: rtsp://yoursitedomain.com/username/filename or mms://yoursitedomain.com/username/filename where username is your main FTP username, and filename is the name of the media file you have uploaded. The protocol (rtsp:// or mms://) to use depends on the file format that you are attempting to stream. This URL must be entered directly in to the appropriate player software, and is intended for advanced use only. Raw streams from the RTSP server do not include the information that your browser may require to open the appropriate player automatically, and could result in error messages if not embedded properly or opened with the correct software. Be sure to use the instructions in the sections above if you wish for Real Player, Windows Media Player, or QuickTime Player to automatically open and play the files. |
