2. Agenda
• Background
• Adobe HTTP Streaming
▫ Overview
▫ Components
▫ Files
• Comparison to competing technologies:
▫ Microsoft “Smooth Streaming” (Silverlight)
▫ Apple “Live HTTP Streaming”
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3. Background
• Video viewing in flash is enabled in several
forms:
▫ Streaming, Live or VoD
▫ Progressive Download
▫ Pseudo - Streaming
• Each method has its own advantages and
disadvantages.
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4. Progressive Download
• Simple
• Utilizing existing protocols & servers (HTTP)
• Media file is prepared: metadata up front
• Playback - after metadata is received
• Cache-ability - supported
• Seek-ability – very limited support
• Poor user experience - seek, multi-rate
• Waste of bandwidth when not watched fully
• Low cost
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5. Pseudo Streaming
• Media is sent as a regular file like Progressive DW
• Server must understand how the media is
structured
• Playback: after metadata is received
• Existing protocols
▫ Non standard server
▫ Non standard client component
• Cache-ability – Limited !
• Seek-ability – supported
• User experience – better than PD, support seek.
• Waste of bandwidth when not watched full
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6. Streaming
• Seek-ability – supported
• Server side – proprietary technology (FMS)
• Cache-ability – requires special servers for
streaming
• User experience – very good
• Cost – high
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7. HTTP Streaming Intro
• HTTP Streaming offers the advantages of:
▫ Progressive download in terms of
Cost
Standard Server
Scalability
Standard client components (OSMF)
▫ Streaming in terms of
User experience
Seek-ability of streaming
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8. Overview
Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming is a
solution that allows you to stream live and
on-demand content over HTTP to Adobe
Flash Player. When content streams over
HTTP, clients can seek quickly to any
location.
HTTP Dynamic Streaming supports adaptive
streaming, DVR functionality, and Adobe
Flash Access protection (DRM).
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10. Main components
• Preparation
▫ File Packager
▫ Live Packager for HTTP Dynamic Streaming
• Server
▫ Apache module (HTTP Origin Module)
▫ Flash Access
• Client
▫ Player with OSMF classes
▫ Flash Player version 10.1+
▫ Air 2.0+
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12. Ingest- File Packager
• A command-line tool
• Used for converting offline content to formats
required for Adobe HTTP streaming
• Translates on-demand media files into fragments
and writes the fragments to F4F files.
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13. Ingest - Live Packager
• The Live Packager for HTTP Dynamic
Streaming is part of Adobe Flash Media Server.
• The server ingests a live stream over RTMP and
translates it into F4F files in real-time. The built-
in Apache HTTP Server uses the HTTP Origin
Module to deliver the live content over HTTP.
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14. Server - Apache module (HTTP Origin)
• Extension to Apache HTTP Server version 2.2.
• Enables processes of Adobe Files:
▫ F4F, F4M,F4X
▫ .bootstrap and
▫ .drmmeta
• Flash Media Interactive Server 3.8 includes
Apache HTTP Server.
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15. Server - Flash Access
• DRM Server
• Flash Access delivers protected media to Flash
Player
• For content protection, both File Packager and
Flash Media Server are required to package and
encrypt the content
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16. Client - OSMF classes
• The OSMF Player uses the ActionScript 3.0
NetStream.appendBytes() API to deliver bytes to
Flash Player. To use this API to create an HTTP
Dynamic Streaming player, use the OSMF Player
as a reference implementation. However, OSMF
is a robust framework designed to deliver high-
quality video. Adobe strongly recommends using
OSMF to build HTTP Dynamic Streaming
players.
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17. ADOBE HTTP STREAMING FILES
F4F, F4M,F4X
.bootstrap and
.drmmeta
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18. Files
• The files required for HTTP streaming are:
▫ F4F - MPEG4 media format. Holds the media
▫ F4M – Media description file(codec, resolution)
▫ F4X - Fragments location file
▫ .bootstrap – bootstrap information for each
segment
▫ .drmmeta – DRM encryption information
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19. F4F File
• Standard MP4 format with open file specification
• Each file contains a segment of the source file.
• Each segment contains one or more fragments of
content.
• The file formats stores any flash supported codec
except Speex (voice codec).
• A player can use a URL to address each fragment.
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20. HTTP Streaming file types
• *.F4X File
▫ Flash Index file.
▫ Contains the location of specific fragments
within a stream.
• *.F4M File
▫ Flash Media Manifest file.
▫ Contains information about the media codecs,
resolution, and the availability of multi-bitrate
files.
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21. HTTP Streaming file types
• .bootstrap
▫ Bootstrap file.
▫ Contains the bootstrap information for each
segment of the file
• .drmmeta
▫ DRM Header file.
▫ Contains additional header information about the
encryption.
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22. DSP-IP Contact information
Download slides at: www.dsp-ip.com
www.dsp-
Course materials & lecture request
Adi Yakov
Training Manager
adi@dsp-
adi@dsp-ip.com
+972-
+972-9-8651933
Projects development services:
Alona Ashkenazi
Development Services www.dsp-ip.
www.dsp-ip.com
alona@dsp-
alona@dsp-ip.com Mail : info@dsp-ip.com
info@dsp-ip.
+972-
+972-9-8850956 Phone: 972- 8850956,
Phone: +972-9-8850956,
Fax : +972-50- 8962910
972-50-
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