strickforce

Q: Can I stream video using Lion's podcast wiki?

I've used the podcast producer to post some videos to the podcast wiki for internal users to view.  However, when a user clicks to play the video, the video is downloaded to the users computer in the background and then played.  This can take a long time for some of our content.  What's the appropriate way to stream videos instead?  Can I incorporate HTTP Live Streaming into the wiki?  I'd really like to continue using the wiki if possible because of it's clean look and search feature.

 

Thanks for any input you may have.

Server, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Oct 14, 2011 6:01 AM

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Q: Can I stream video using Lion's podcast wiki?

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  • by newtron45,

    newtron45 newtron45 Oct 15, 2011 4:24 PM in response to strickforce
    Level 1 (13 points)
    iPad
    Oct 15, 2011 4:24 PM in response to strickforce

    Yes - That's the essence of Podcast Publisher (new to 10.7).  Podcast Producer (as I was told by Apple enterprise) is a legacy application that is being continued for now.  Two different apps.

     

    Podcast Publisher uses the Wikis to play your video/audio.  Be advised that there are still some authentication issues concerning access to play some wikis that seem like they haven't been addressed in 10.7.2 update.  If you want everyone to be able to watch the videos, shouldn't be an issue.

  • by strickforce,

    strickforce strickforce Oct 17, 2011 6:30 AM in response to newtron45
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 17, 2011 6:30 AM in response to newtron45

    I'm sorry, I misspoke.  I meant Podcast Publisher in 10.7, not Podcast Producer.  The issue I'm encounter is that the podcast wiki doesn't actually "stream" the videos.  The video files are actually downloaded by the client browser in the background and then played, rather than streaming the video to the client.

  • by lsta,

    lsta lsta Oct 25, 2011 8:39 PM in response to strickforce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 25, 2011 8:39 PM in response to strickforce

    In reality, you can stream output already from the built-in web server, if the video is set to embed, or is viewed in a web browser that supports QuickTime as a plugin, such as Safari.

     

    The streaming bits I mention below are ... complicated and overkill. The real solution here is to get people to load podcasts into iTunes, or potentially use another browser. The last thing to check is the built-in web server's Apache config for its ability to work with partial content requests but that shouldn't be necessary. You can usually work around any browser download issue by using Quicktime (or iTunes) directly to play/preview the video.

     


     

    The alternatives native to the Mac platform are Quicktime Streaming Server (older, requires such to be installed server-side) or HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), which while newer and supporting iOS, is only playable on Apple platforms, Roku (or via Flash with JW Player) right now. http://developer.apple.com/resources/http-streaming/

     

    To easily encode to HLS without worrying about command-line tools, see the $50 Compressor app in the App Store. It offers the ability through adding post-encoding Job Actions, including "Prepare for HTTP Live streaming" which even has a checkbox to generate an HTML file with posting instructions. Note that the video might only be streaming in one bitrate, and for best results you should set up a playlist pointing to multiple bitrates including audio-only, so that the HLS client technology can switch between streams based on your iPhone's bandwidth.

     

    But as I said, without an HLS-compatible client, such as Apple devices (it requires QuickTime X, not QuickTime 7 on Windows), Roku or JW Player (flash-based), you'll be stuck.