Streaming H.264 Videos with Wowza Media Server Pro

Streaming H.264 Videos with Wowza Media Server Pro is common place and a great benefit of the Wowza Server. If you have a collection of H.264 real-time streaming videos you can movie the entire library to the Wowza Server since it supports real-time streaming of not only Flash videos but also H.264 videos as well. Now, it's important to note that the server doesn't support real-time streaming of MPEG-4 files but only the H.264 files. Remember in most streaming and compression applications MPEG-4 Part 2 is listed as MPEG-4 and MPEG-4 Part 10 is listed as H.264 or AVC. Why move all of your content to the Wowza Media Server Pro? Well, if you're moving the H.264 real-time content form a server such as the QuickTime Streaming Server, the move will give your content the cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility that Flash provides.

To learn more about encoding and authoring H.264 real-time streaming videos for Flash using the Wowza Media Server Pro attend one of our 1-Day Wowza Media Server Pro Trainings. The class also covers many other topics and is available on-line, on-site or in-class.

Encoding H.264 Downloadable Streaming Video with Episode Encoder Pro

Encoding H.264 downloadable streaming video with Episode Encoder Pro is simple to do. For this tutorial we’ll take a DV.mov source file that is 720 x 480 and 29.97 frames per second captured from an analog source. The source file has the DV/DVCPro Codec for video with PCM for audio.



To get started with encoding this file for downloadable streaming for high broadband users in Episode Encoder Pro, we first need to select our source file.



Next, drag it to the Batch area where Drag Source is displayed



Now your source file can been seen in the batch. You can also drag the video file directly to the Batch from a folder or the desktop. Let me talk a little about our source before we move forward. If you select the source and click the Enter button on your keyboard a preview of the video appears.



As my preview appears I want to point out that this source has black banding around the edges. As we encode our video we want to make sure we crop this black out of the video. It will make our output file look so much better. Now we’ll move forward to create a compression preset for our encoding. Keep in mind that these settings will be a good starting point as every source file is different and the encoder will respond differently to each source file you encode.



Open up the Templates and twirl down to the All File Formats Templates.



Once the All File Formats Templates are open navigate to the H.264 Download templates and select the H264_480x360 preset. With the preset selected Control-click and choose Duplicate from the Contextual Menu to make a copy.





You now have a copy of the preset you duplicated. Click where the H264_480x360 copy text appears to rename your preset.



Let’s call your preset H264_600k_DL and select Enter. Notice that we don’t have any spaces the preset name. This is because the preset will be used in the file naming and it’s better to take out all spaces in the encoding process. When you author video content for the web you don’t want to have spaces in your video name.

Once you rename your compression template Double-click the preset to open the setting for customizing.



When your setting is open the Output tab will appear. Since we are encoding a downloadable streaming H.264 file notice that your file extension will be .mp4 and the H.264 codec is used for the video and AAC is used for the audio. You can see that the Hint Prepare for Streaming check box is not selected. Hinting isn’t necessary to use because we’re not targeting this video file for a streaming server.



Next move on to the Video Tab. Twirl down where H.264 is displayed to adjust the settings for the H.264 codec.



For the datarate type in 600 kbps and you can continue to use VBR using VBV. For the buffer, since this is a downloadable video, you can increase your buffer to 10 seconds. This will allow the codec to vary the bit rate more. For the Keyframe distance you can use a value of 90 frames which will provide a keyframe at least every 6 seconds.



Click on the Profile and Quality tab. Notice that 2-pass encoding is selected. Adjust the quality slider to the highest quality of 100 and twirl up the codec setting.



Go to the Frame Rate Filter and twirl down. For the filter mode choose Fixed framerate.



For the Framerate preset you can use Automatic and select 15 fps. Now twirl up the Frame Rate filter.



Twirl down the Deinterlace filter and choose Automatic Detection for the Field Order. This fact that this setting is available is great because with compression it’s always good to know you field order. Choosing the Automatic Detection value takes the guess work out and the codec will determine the field order for you. Go ahead and twirl up the Deinterlace filter.



Now twirl down the Resize filter.



For the output size you can leave it at 480 x 360. You can choose Cut for Maintain proportion with.



For the cropping values we’ll multiply the 4:3 aspect ratio by 8 and crop 32 x 24 pixels. So crop 12 pixels off the top, 12 pixels off the bottom, 16 pixels off the left and 16 pixels off the right.



Since we’re dealing with video from an analog source we need to apply a Noise Reduction filter. Navigate to the Noise Reduction filter and click the check box to make it active.



Now, twirl down the Noise Reduction filter to adjust the values. Check Median and Only Filter Chroma to apply the filter only on the Chroma channel. Leave the other values at the default. Twirl up the Noise Reduction filter.



Let’s move to the Audio tab.



Click on the Bit Rate Pop-up Menu and choose 32 kbps.



You can leave Stereo selected for Channels and 44.1 kHz selected for the sample rate.



Now that were are finished making our adjustments click the Save Setting button to the top right on the Episode Encoder Pro interface.



Click the Close Setting button.



Next, select the H264_600k_DL setting that you created



and drag it onto your DV.mov video source.



You can see that your compression preset appears right below the video source. Before we start encoding let’s look at something. Select the H264_600kDL preset and click the Enter key.



A preview of your video output appears with the cropping values applied under the Resize filter. Our black edges no longer appear. Time to encode your video file.



At the bottom right of the Episode Encoder Pro interface click the Start Encoding button.



You can watch your progress under status. This will show you how much time you have left.



Once your video has finished encoding your status will switch to Done. You have now encoded an H.264 downloadable streaming video using Episode Encoder Pro.

RipCode and CSS Strike China Distribution Partnership for Transactional Transcoding

RipCode, Inc., the leader in transactional video transcoding, announced a distribution alliance with Century Sage Scientific (CSS), a premier reseller and systems integrator of broadcast, Internet, and streaming technologies to the Chinese media and telecommunications markets.

As a certified systems integrator to some of the world’s largest broadcast and telecom equipment manufacturers and operators, CSS has a proven track record of delivering fully integrated, turnkey systems for IPTV, Web, and communications applications. Recent CSS projects include large-scale deployments for CCTV, Shenzen Media Group, and the upcoming master-control build-out for the 11th National Games in the People’s Republic of China. RipCode’s transactional transcoding technology expands the CSS portfolio for broadcast, broadband and 3G mobile services, while also providing cost-effective options for Internet delivery of educational and other entertainment content.

China’s broadcast and mobile communications market has unique requirements and regulations relative to other geographical regions. The number of mobile users is expected to surpass 1.2 billion within four years, leading to a growing appetite for quality content over broadband and wireless connections. “Given the sheer number and model variance of devices, optimizing transmission and encoding recipes for local browsers and mobile handsets is both a significant undertaking and opportunity for a value-added service,” says Alex So, CSS vice president of marketing. “In order to best serve the local market, CSS and RipCode have already begun joint testing and development to ensure smooth adoption of RipCode transcoding technology in China. RipCode’s solution portfolio provides leading transcoding technology – but goes beyond what we’ve seen from traditional vendors by also addressing on-demand ad insertion, client detection, and policy-based bandwidth optimization – key factors in our selection of RipCode for the China market.”

“We are seeing increasing interest and demand in China – not only for three-screen content delivery – but also in the innovation RipCode delivers through its end-to-end transactional transcoding solution approach,” says Greg Lowitz, RipCode executive vice president of sales. “CSS represents the top brands in the broadcast and communications business, and we’re thrilled to be part of their solution portfolio for the Chinese media and telecommunication markets.”

Sorenson Squeeze 5 Enabling First Seamless Editing, Encoding and Publishing Workflow

Sorenson Media announced that the latest versions of Avid video editing solutions – Media Composer(4.0), Symphony (4.0) and NewsCutter (8.0) – integrate Sorenson Squeeze 5, providing users a seamless process for editing and encoding the highest quality video content in the most popular formats. Through Sorenson Squeeze’s unique integration with the Sorenson 360 online video platform, Avid customers may further benefit from a workflow solution that enables users to seamlessly edit, encode and publish the highest quality video online.

This most recent product offering is the latest in a six-year relationship Sorenson Media has maintained as the encoding tool integrated with Avid software. As the gold-standard video encoding application, Sorenson Squeeze enables editors, producers and filmmakers who use Avid video editing software to easily deliver video in all of the most popular video formats, with advanced encoding options and superior results.

Avid is dedicated to providing customers the highest quality video solutions that help them achieve their creative vision. By integrating our industry-leading editing software with the newest versions of third-party applications like Sorenson Squeeze, we help deliver the ultimate creative toolset.” said Mark Overington, vice president of product management at Avid. “Our customers have asked for a seamless all-in-one workflow and we continue to work with industry partners to extend the existing capabilities of our editor solutions for added functionality throughout the post-production process.”

Through the Avid software interface, video editors are able to send their video files directly to Sorenson Squeeze for encoding without adding any additional steps. Using Sorenson Squeeze’s simple workflow, users can output content in a wide variety of formats, including Flash, QuickTime, Windows Media, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, for online, DVD or mobile delivery. The software also encodes in HD for MPEG-2, Flash, VC-1, and H.264 formats. Video professionals can compress and encode multiple files simultaneously and apply advanced pre-processing filters to produce higher quality video.

Additionally, the latest version of Sorenson Squeeze integrates seamlessly with the Sorenson 360 online video platform. This unique process creates an all-in-one editing-to-publishing solution for Avid customers, enabling them to efficiently publish videos of the highest-quality to the Web without adding any additional steps to their workflow. Once uploaded to Sorenson 360, users can easily deliver their video content to any Web site by cutting and pasting an automatically generated embed code and gain access to powerful analytics and other video management tools.

“We are thrilled that Sorenson Media continues to enjoy a strong relationship with Avid as the encoding tool of choice for their exceptional editing applications,” said Peter Csathy, CEO of Sorenson Media. “With the integration of Sorenson Squeeze – and, in turn, the additional Sorenson 360 platform – Avid customers are able to edit, encode and publish their videos efficiently on the Web or prepare the best quality videos for mobile media playback, DVD and other uses.”

Installing Episode Plug-in for Compressor 3

If you have a license of Telestream's Episode Encoder and you are using Compressor 3 you can have access to the Episode Encoder encoding templates right from within Compressor. Here's how to install the Episode Encoder Plug-in for Compressor to get access to the templates.



On the install disk image for Episode there's a folder called Plug-ins.



Inside the folder there's a package called Episode Plug-in for Compressor. Double click on the package to install it. Restart your computer and the Episode presets will be an option in Compressor 3 encoder.

Digital Rapids Connects Top-Tier Content Owners to YouTube

Digital Rapids-the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and web content to wider audiences -- announced that the company is working with YouTube to integrate support for Content ID, YouTube's content identification and management system, directly into Digital Rapids' award-winning range of media production and repurposing systems.

Digital Rapids’ encoding and transcoding systems are used by leading media organizations to transform live, tape and file-based video and audio content into the formats required for viewing on multiple platforms including broadcast, cable and satellite television; IPTV; the Web; mobile phones and personal media players.

The integration of YouTube Content ID support with Digital Rapids' systems enables users to generate Content ID reference files -- often referred to as "fingerprints" -- immediately from the content during the encoding or transcoding process. These digital fingerprints are then uploaded to YouTube's Content ID system. YouTube's content identification tools compare existing and incoming user-uploaded videos against the reference file, identifying the ownership of such content and taking the action specified by the owner's usage policies. Content owners can choose to block user-uploaded content, permit it on YouTube while simply tracking usage data, or monetize the uploaded media by running advertising against it.

The creation of Content ID reference files directly within existing encoding and transcoding workflows increases productivity and reduces operational costs by eliminating the need for separate steps to create the fingerprints. By generating the Content ID reference files during production, content owners also need only upload the much smaller ID file to YouTube for tracking and protection, rather than the actual content itself -- increasing security and significantly shortening the time before YouTube can begin blocking, tracking or monetizing uploaded copies of the content.

"We're excited to be working with YouTube to streamline their interactions with content owners. Content identification technologies are often thought of strictly in terms of protection against piracy, but they also enable new monetization opportunities," said Brick Eksten, President of Digital Rapids Corporation. "The automatic identification of content and its ownership gives content owners the option of capitalizing on additional revenue opportunities wherever the content appears. The integration of YouTube's Content ID technology into our systems makes it easy for media organizations to take advantage of these capabilities within efficient, automated media production workflows."

"We're pleased to be working with Digital Rapids to integrate our Content ID technology with their solutions, which are used by leading broadcasters, motion picture studies and content providers worldwide," said George Salem, Content ID Product Manager at YouTube. "Easing content owners' ability to identify their content on YouTube is critical to how they work with us to both control and monetize their assets. Support for Content ID directly within Digital Rapids powered live ingest, encoding and file-based transcoding workflows lets their customers easily provide us with ID files at almost the exact same time the content is produced, without changing how they currently do business."

Video Podcasts Are One of the Quickest Ways to Get Content On-line

Video Podcasts are one of the quickest ways to get content on-line. If you need to start putting videos on-line you should consider this approach. Today is a new day for video editors. Many video editors and professionals are now being tasked with getting streaming content on-line along with the continuation of other video production duties. In order to simplify your workflow you should consider creating a Video Podcast. You can go this route if downloadable streaming videos work for your delivery and if you can sell your organization on the benefit of having videos available for view in iTunes, on Video iPods and on iPhones.

Once your Video Podcast is set-up the process for updating new video content is easy.

If your are fortunate to have a version of Sorenson Squeeze 5 Pro around which supports compression presets for Video iPods, updating on-line content becomes a very quick and simple process. Since you can use Squeeze's automatic FTP feature there's short list of what you'll need to do to get your content on-line:

Here's a short tutorial of the process for adding videos to your Video Podcast.

Step 1. Import your video into Sorenson Squeeze 5 Pro
Step 2. Apply one of the Video iPod presets
Step 3. Apply the appropriate filters for encoding



Step 4. Apply the Copy to FTP filter to your video source



Step 5. Double click the Copy to FTP filter to adjust the settings



Step 6. - Now that the Copy to FTP dialog is open you can adjust the settings. Using this feature will automatically transfer a copy of your output file to your web server after encoding. To use this feature you have to have an FTP account set-up for uploading videos to your web server. Go ahead and fill out the required information which includes: User Name, Password, Host and Path to your videos. Once your information has been typed in click the Test button and you should see a message that displays "Test was successful"



Step 7. - Once encoding is complete your videos will be automatically uploaded to your web server. Open up Blogger or the tool you're using as the blog to your Video Podcast. Add the URL for your video. Look at the image above to see how to add your URL information. Once you save and publish your blog page your video will be available via your Video Podcast. Sometimes it might take a few minutes to appear.

It's that simple. Now you see why I say Video Podcasts are one of the quickest ways to get video content on-line.

Testing Encoding Speed vs. Quality Setting in Episode

As if Telestream's Episode wasn't already fast enough, there's a way to make you encoding jobs go even faster. Here's some information from a quick test I did on Encoding Speed vs. Quality Setting in Episode.

Here's the source file that I used for encoding:

Video Format: QuickTime

Frame Size: 640 x 480

Codec: DV

FPS: 30

Audio: 44.100 kHz

16 bit Stereo

Duration: 30 seconds

I used the default H.264_Medium compression setting in Episode Pro which uses a 2-pass VBR compression method. For the first encode with the Encoding Speed vs. Quality setting set to 90 my video took 40 seconds to encode. On my second encode I adjusted the same compression setting and switched the Encoding Speed vs. Quality setting to 10. The video took 27 seconds to compress. Now when comparing the quality of both of my output files the video encoded using a quality setting of 10 still looked really good in terms of quality. Most would never notice the difference in quality. This is good news for those that need to compress files fast with Episode but don't won't to loose quality.

Episode Engine for Split and Stitch Encoding on the Mac

Organizations and companies can consider Telestream's Episode Engine for Spit and Stitch encoding on the Mac. This encoding feature is one of the coolest I've seen because it takes advantage of cluster encoding. With Episode Engine you can build your own cluster with computers and XServes on your network. For those that are interested in high volume ultra fast encoding on the Mac platform using your internal network, Episode is definitely something to consider. With Telestream's Episode Engine you can submit a video file to one of your designated Watch folders and then Engine can divide the video up amongst the encoding nodes in your cluster. This makes the encoding process for each file much faster. You could literally have 5 Xserves working on encoding one 30 or 60 minute video file. So encoding 50 videos goes much faster than real time.

Here's a glimpse of what Split and Stitch looks like. The above image shows the video file divided into 8 sections and then each part can be sent to a node. Once all of the 8 sections have finished encoding the file is brought back together into one file. Split and Stich is great for long form content and for those that want to get video content on-line in the shortest amount of time.

Downloadable Streaming Basics

Another form of streaming is called downloadable streaming which is different than that of real-time streaming because the video files are placed on a regular web server. With downloadable streaming you can deliver the highest quality file because you can use encoding methods such as 2-pass VBR to vary the bit rate so that higher quality can be achieved over parts of the video that need it more. Since downloadable streaming videos are a file-based download where they don’t have to go through the user’s bandwidth pipe, the bit rate at various parts of the video can peak high. This is different than that of a CBR or a Constant Bit Rate encode. Downloadable streaming videos are great for short form content. With this type of streaming there is also an option to do a quality based encode where the compressionist can determine the quality that they want to achieve on a video file. It's important to note that when viewing a downloadable streaming video a copy does get placed on the viewer's computer but is one of the easiest ways to deliver streaming videos on the internet.

Setting Up An Encoding Workstation

Setting up an encoding workstation is one of the best things you can do if you're going to be encoding a lot of videos. An encoding workstation is a computer set-up with compression software installed and its primary task is to encode videos. Now a lot of times when organizations start encoding content they'll encode videos on the same workstation that is used for video editing. This presents a problem because it's hard to get other work done during the encoding process. When you set up an encoding workstation it solves the dilemma because all of your encode jobs can be sent to the encoding workstation. Video editors can continue to edit and encoding can occur all at the same time.

You should avoid the tendency to install additional software and use your encoding workstation for other functions. It really defeats the purpose. Granted to have an encoding workstation you have to make the investment in the workstation, compression software, RAM, and extra hard drive space but it's worth it. A good tip is to leave your encoding workstation on all the time so encoding can occur. Of course you have to shut the computer down every once in a while but that's not a big deal. So, make sure you invest in an encoding workstation to make your encoding process easier.

Digital Rapids to Showcase New Technology and Share Expertise at IBC 2009

Digital Rapids -- the leading provider of tools and solutions for bringing television, film and web content to wider audiences -- is bringing more than just advanced technology to this year's IBC Conference and Exhibition, September 11-15 in Amsterdam. In addition to the IBC debuts of new and enhanced solutions in stand # 7.G41, Digital Rapids will be sharing its expertise with attendees both at the stand and in free sessions in the IBC Training Zone. Digital Rapids systems have also been chosen to power the encoding of content for the IBC TV News website and mobile delivery for the sixth consecutive year. For first time, IBC TV News will feature live streaming of news updates on the Web, complementing their on-demand news clips.

Digital Rapids' award-winning TouchStream portable live streaming appliance will also be featured alongside the Datpresenter rich media webcasting service and software from Datmedia in stand IP511 in the IBC IPTV Zone.

"We believe it's important to offer IBC attendees more than just the chance to experience our technology and products. Robust, versatile and efficient solutions are as important as ever with customers' shrinking budgets and increasing audience expectations, but technology is just part of what media organisations need to meet these challenges. Customers are looking to us for expertise, guidance, and the flexibility to meet their unique needs," said Clive Vickery, Managing Director, EMEA and Asia at Digital Rapids.

"With a range of activities to share our solutions and knowledge both in and beyond our stand, we can help attendees learn how to maximise new revenue opportunities with the flexibility, efficiency and cost-effectiveness they need to come out of the economic storm stronger than ever. "

Encoding for a Video Podcast

When encoding for a Video Podcast keep in mind you're encoding for a Web Server. Why? Video Podcast videos and audio files are technical downloadable streaming files. The downloading process mostly happens behind the scenes while you're performing other tasks. Video Podcast files are great in that you can provide them at very high quality since you're targeting iTunes, Video iPods and iPhones.


Now, there's no reason why you shouldn't be using 2-Pass VBR or Multi-pass encoding when compressing your Video Podcast files. Many times because of time you can opt for 2-Pass VBR encoding since Multi-pass generally uses about 5-6 passes.