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.

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.

Adding Videos to YouTube Favorites

If you need to add videos to your YouTube Favorites it's a simple process. Navigate to your Uploaded videos in your YouTube account and click the check box for the videos that you would like to add to your Favorites.



Once you have selected your videos you will see new options available in the Add to drop-down menu. From the drop-down menu click the Favorites option. Now your videos will be added to your YouTube Favorites.

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.

Recording Videos With Wirecast on the Mac

If you're Recording videos with Wirecast on a Mac the formats that you can save to are QuickTime .mov, Flash .f4v and MPEG-4 .m4v. The Record to Disk option is great way to archive your content to disk. You can save the files for archiving or later playback from a Streaming Server.

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.

RipCode On-Demand Transcoding Brings Video to AccessU2's Property By Phone

RipCode, Inc., the leader in transactional video transcoding announced it has partnered with AccessU2 to deliver on-demand property videos to virtually any mobile device – enabling ‘anytime, anywhere, any device’ viewing of agent profile and virtual tour property videos.

AccessU2 Mobile Solutions, LLC, a pioneer in mobile marketing for real estate, and its patent pending product, Property By Phone, are revolutionizing property information delivery by providing the same experience to a buyer's cell phone that virtual tours have delivered to websites. The Property By Phone application lets clients dial a toll-free number listed on the property sign or in print advertising, entering a displayed property code. After making a language selection and confirming the cell phone number, an SMS text message description of the property, up to 10 photos, and a streaming video link are presented nearly instantly. Agents receive a text message of the cell phone capture at the same time. If the client selects the video link, RipCode’s TransAct solution automatically discovers the mobile device type, retrieves the source video file, transcodes the file for the best video playback experience for that particular mobile device, and streams the content within seconds of request – all through its innovate and unique On Demand Transcoding technology. Clients can even set an appointment instantly to view the listing by connecting with a live operator 24/7, who can book an appointment, and text the confirmation and full contact info back to the consumer and agent.

“Adding video viewing to Property By Phone improves the buyer’s purchase experience and enables agents to build those all important relationships faster, especially when they can deliver an agent profile video instantly. It is simply not enough to deliver a text message and photos any longer,” said AccessU2’s Founder and CEO, Kenneth O’Hanlon. “The ability to deliver video instantly enables endless marketing opportunities for brokers, agents, and real estate suppliers, the likes of which the industry has never been seen before. RipCode’s solution lets us deliver these videos to virtually any mobile device prospective buyers may carry – without us having to pre-format our entire video library for each device when only a small subset may actually be required for a given site. Multiply that activity times thousands of properties and buyers, and you can see why this approach is advantageous.”

“We are excited to see one of our flagship innovations – on demand transcoding – penetrate the world of enterprise and consumer mobile video delivery,” said Neal Hartsell, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management for RipCode. “What AccessU2 is doing for real estate buying and selling is creative, advanced, and indicative of the growing expansion of mobile video beyond entertainment and into business and consumer productivity, a trend that is set to explode worldwide in the coming years.”

Working with Videos in Sorenson 360

Today we'll be discussing working with videos in Sorenson 360. Now if you thought Sorenson Squeeze was an amazing compression tool, wait until you get a load of his big brother for video delivery Sorenson 360. When looking at the available features of this tool since its May release it boasts a lot of excitement right out of the box. Many times individuals and organizations that want to host videos on-line have to set-up a server for the video delivery but Sorenson 360 takes that job off your plate because it is a Video Delivery Network.

Let's now look at the Video section in 360.



After logging into Sorenson 360 you can click on the Video tab to access your videos.



On the main page of the Video section you can get a quick snapshot of the Video Title, Description, Format, Upload Date, and Number of Views. You can also sort through the videos that are Live, Retired and in the Trash. Sorting by Upload Date, Title and Number of Views is another option.

Now, let's look a little bit further into the features in the Video section of Sorenson 360.

If you click on one of your videos you'll get access to many other items. You can choose a Player Style, Player Size, copy Embed Code and copy a Permalink. In this area you also have the option to Edit Title, Edit Description and Password Protect videos. If you want to make a video Live, Retire it or Trash it this is where you'll do it. Lastly, this area will give you quick access to video metrics and settings used during encoding. Wow, and that's only the Video section of Sorenson 360.

To get more hands-on instruction on using Sorenson 360 attend one of our 2-Day Video Streaming and Compression classes. It'll be featured in Day 2 of the Authoring track.

Retiring Streaming Videos in Sorenson 360

One of the features I love in Sorenson 360, Sorenson Media's tool for content delivery, is the ability to easily retire streaming videos when you no longer want your video content on-line. This is great if you have Sorenson 360 videos posted on your blog or on your website and you no longer want the content available for viewers.

To retire a video first select the video from within your Live videos.

On the bottom of the next window that displays, click the Retire button. Now that your videos are retired they will no longer be available wherever you posted your embed code.