Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Video/Media Capable Host

[jm8540]

Hello to All -

I'm working with a reverand who wants to set up a website that will allow visitors to his site to view videos of his sermons and maybe even live feeds.

I'm not sure how to locate a host; the one we're using now has no video or live capability. My client wants to have a "TV Station online" if we can figure out who to choose for a web host.

Thanks,
jm8540
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[sprintserve]

There are a few ways to do this.

Live Feeds
-------------
Step 1: You must first decide what techologies you want to go with. Are you looking to encode them to Real, Windows Media, Quicktime and etc.

Step 2: After deciding the above, you have to consider what you would like. Whether you want dedicated media streaming servers. The truth of the fact is that you can stream over http. It won't perform well, especially under loads. But it will work.

Step 3: Ask for a host with that specific capability. Some host do specialised in it and have the capability.

You can also consider pure dedicated services like www.playstream.com (As an example)


Downloads
-------------
Any host can provide this. This is just a delivery of downloads over http, and that's not an issue at all.

Hope this helps

[jm8540]

Thanks, sprintserve --

We would like to be able to use both Real and Windows, if possible. And we have already tried streaming audio over http and even that is pretty choppy, so we need better performance.

Is there a listing here (or somewhere) for this kind of host?
What kind of hosting is this -- dedicated server?

Thanks again,
jm8540
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[Slipstream]

How much concurrent streams do you think you would have?

And what is your budget?

Streams in Real is quite expensive, as the server has to pay a per-concurrent-connection fee.

QuickTime is in my opinion the best solution as the streaming server is absolutely free, and the quality is much better than Real.




Slipstream

[sprintserve]

In order to be able to encode both Real and Windows Media realtime, you need some really powerful machines at the source (where the video is taking place), encode it and then transmit it to the streaming server. To do it well and right does cost money. Unless there's really a real need to, personally, I wouldn't do it unless there's a real reason for it.

Streaming (Play on demand) however is not the same as live feeds. That just means that they do not need to download the file and can watch as it plays.

You however do not need a dedicated server unless you expect it to be a fairly popular site. There are guys who provide it on their shared servers. It is also highly dependent on your budget.

I do not have any list offhand, but there are dedicated guys like the one I mentioned above.

You must also take into consideration the cost of software. Real Producer for example I believe isn't free.

In the end, it's all a matter of the cost. With a better budget, you can definitely get what you want, given that all these streaming servers aren't free either.

[jm8540]

Thanks Slipstream -

We don't really have any usage estimates; this reverand is a very brave guy -- he spends part of his time here in San Diego and part of his time in the Middle East -- he has been telecasting from a studio in his office and now wants to put everything online.

What about Windows Media? Is that a similar expense to Real?
We could go with QuickTime if that makes sense; at this point we're trying to find a host that can accomodate video, live, etc.

If we go with QuickTime is there a web host you recommend?

Thanks,
jm8540
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[AP2k2]

in order to get good streaming, you need quality video image, you need to encoding it right. We have a client that stream his sample video online and the quality is 90% near to DVD quality.

[jm8540]

Thanks sprintserve -

I'm not aware of what budget is available -- I think what my client wants to do is find out approx. what this might cost and then go from there. If the site becomes more popular we hope to design with growth in mind; I know you understand all this.

Can you give me any cost information? Dedicated Server hosting seems to have quite a wide gamut -- anywhere from under $100 a month up. (I realize you said we probably don't need dedicated)

Is the encoding and transmission where the costs are?
I've been doing computing services work for years, but have never had a request/project for streaming media and live broadcasting.

Thanks,
jm8540
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[jm8540]

Hello AP2k2 -

My client has a television studio of sorts in his office and we believe it will produce good quality video -- he has produced for the public access channel and etc. already.

Is the encoding a software process?

Do you recommend the web host your client uses? Is it ok to name them?

Thanks for your help,
jm8540
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[sprintserve]

For streaming, the bandwidth obviously need to have more capacity. It depends of course on the bitrate you transmit at. But just as an example, if you transmit it at 120kbits/sec, you need 15kb/s per connection, and the thoroughput must be maintained for good experience. 100 viewers streaming at the same time thus will need over 10Mbit/s consistently. Therefore you need a good host that do not have oversubscribed bandwidth.

If cost is less of an issue, then getting a dedicated is fine. It also means that you do not need to find a host that supports the technology since you will be installing it yourself on the server. You just need a good host with excellent uptime and a fast connection.

The bulk of the cost I will think comes from software licensing (if you go with Real and such) and the servers and bandwidth. Bandwidth will be the real issue if you expect it to grow significantly.

You can also check out http://www.tranxactglobal.com/streaming.html

They use Helix streaming servers which supports all the 3 formats we are talking about.

[jm8540]

Thank you again, sprintserve -

Appreciate the information! I'll start looking for hosts using the guidelines from this thread and post the results.

Regards,
jm8540
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[Fair Dinkum]

If you are only going to send one stream to one server, the sending end software (Real Producer Plus) has a free license IIRC.

Going with a dedicated server will be quite expensive. The Helix license starts at $1995 plus $800 for a year of support and upgrades.

Until you are sure of the demand/use, it would be better to use a host set up for streaming. Then, if the demand is there, and your broadcasting is successful, explore going to a dedicated server.
Glenn

[jm8540]

Thank you Glenn, for the input --

Does that mean how many streams we use to send data to the server or how many streams will be accessed at a time by visitors to the website? We could easily keep our sending to one thing at a time if that will help.

Can you recommend a web host company that provides these services/products? We are just learning and will probably take a while to sort everything out...

Thanks very much,
jm8540
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[Fair Dinkum]

It means sending one stream of data to the server. I think the Free version of Producer is fairly limited though.

How many streams are accessed at once depends on the Helix license. I think the last change went away from concurrent connections to 4Mbps total. If you need more than that, you need the next higher license.

More info:
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/server/index.html

Sorry, I can't reccomend anybody. Might post on the "Requests" forum, see what turns up.

Glenn