Streaming Server

Streaming servers are set up and configured explicitly to deliver your webcasts. They enable transcoding for adaptive bit rate streaming so that your live event is made available in any network and on any device. In addition, the streaming server is responsible for the cue point injections, which are set by an operator during a live stream.

Contents

Choosing a Streaming Server Playout Source

The movingimage Webcast supports two sources of playout information. The recommended source type is Akamai CDN, which directs the live stream to Akamai's content delivery network and reduces load on the streaming server. Alternatively, for low-volume Webcasts, it is possible to use the source type Wowza Live. However, depending on the number of viewers and transcoding requirements, the Wowza server can become overloaded with connections.

Create a new Streaming Server configuration

To create a streaming server, perform the following steps:

1. In the navigation panel, click the "Streaming Server" entry. In the editing area, you will see a list of all previously created streaming servers.
   
   
   

2. Click the [Create] button to open a form.

   All fields are required, except for Backup Ingest API Endpoint, Backup Ingest Username, Backup Ingest Password. These three fields are only required if you intend to use a second, backup Wowza instance.

3. By default, the Live playback source is set to Akamai CDN and it is highly recommended to use this option.

   

4. The Ingest Endpoints specify which Wowza server(s) will receive your live stream data. You may have to contact your administrator to obtain this data.
   
   
   

5. The Streaming Variables are used within the URL Templates to construct the live and DVR playout URLs.

   

   Adaptive Qualities

   These options control which transcoded qualities will be passed to the Akamai network. Select only the options you need and configure the same qualities within the Wowza transcoder settings.

   

   Standard Bitrates

   Customers using the movingimage Wowza platform will use predefined transcoder settings to create adaptive streams. These are as follows:

   Quality	Video Codec	Video Bitrate	Width	Height	Audio Codec	Audio Bitrate
   360p	H.264	500Kbps	640px	360px	AAC	96Kbps
   480p	H.264	750Kbps	854px	480px	AAC	96Kbps
   720p	H.264	1500Kbps	1280px	720px	AAC	128Kbps
   1080p*	H.264	3500Kbps	1920px	1080px	AAC	128Kbps

   * enabled on request

6. The URL Templates construct the live and DVR playout URLs. There are different default templates for Akamai CDN and Wowza Live playout sources, although you can modify them to match your environment.
   
   
   Akamai CDN: https://$akamaihost$.akamaihd.net/hls/live/$akamaistream$/$streamname$_$language$/$streamname$_$language$_all/playlist.m3u8
   Wowza Live: https://$wowzahost$/$appname$/ngrp:$streamname$_$language$_all/master.m3u8

Summary Table

This table summarises settings for the Streaming Server 

General Information:
Name:	This name will appear in the Live panel within the webcast configuration when choosing a streaming server.
Playout Source:
Live Playback Source:	Akamai CDN (default, recommended) or Wowza Live.
Ingest Endpoints:
Primary Ingest API Endpoint:	The URL to the primary Wowza API endpoint (e.g. "http://primary.wowza/api").
Primary Ingest Username:	A username that can connect to the primary Wowza API endpoint.
Primary Ingest Password:	The password for the above username.
Backup Ingest API Endpoint:	The URL to the backup Wowza API endpoint (e.g. "http://backup.wowza/api"). This optional field allows you to set up a backup API, which will make an extra set of recordings of your live stream, a primary set and a backup set. For example, imagine you have a webcast with two language streams, and you set it up to upload to a VideoManager after the conclusion of the live stream. If you have also set up a backup API, four video files should be uploaded to your VideoManager: one for each language created from the primary API, and one for each language created from the backup API.
Primary Ingest Username:	A username that can connect to the backup Wowza API endpoint.
Primary Ingest Password:	The password for the above username.
These fields below are the templates used to generate URLs for each webcast. Here you can use placeholders to construct your streaming URLs. The placeholders will be filled in with the items in the "Default Variables" pane (see details below). You can add a $language$ placeholder if you intend to stream webcasts in multiple languages; this allows creation of different URLs for each language you choose to support.
Streaming Variables:
Wowza Application Name:	The "Application Name" as used in the Wowza configuration. The value here will be used in Streaming URL templates wherever the $appname$ placeholder is set.
Wowza Host:	The value here will be used in Streaming URL templates wherever the $wowzahost$ placeholder is set. This could be the same server as the primary Wowza server (in the Ingest Endpoints), or a proxy / caching server in front of the Wowza server.
Default Language:	The default language that you intend Webcast streams to use. New webcasts will automatically create a language set using this language. The short country code (e.g. en, de) will be used in the templates wherever the $language$ placeholder is set.
Akamai Host ID:	The subdomain portion of the AkamaiHD network as configured in the Luna Control Center.
Akamai Stream ID:	The stream ID as configured in the Luna Control Center.
Adaptive Qualities:	The adaptive qualities that will be passed to the Akamai network. See the infobox above for more information.
Stream Name:	Note that this is not an editable field in this edit pane or any other. Each webcast is given a unique stream name when it is created (e.g. "59196e2d2d85b47d5c1a0c8f"). It will appear in the templates wherever the $streamname$ placeholder is set.
URL Templates
URL templates are used to generate the streaming URLs for each webcast. Here you can use placeholders to construct your streaming URLs. The placeholders will be filled in with the items in the "Streaming Variables" pane (see details above). You can add a $language$ placeholder if you intend to stream webcasts in multiple languages; this allows creation of different URLs for each language you choose to support.
HLS URL:	The URL template for the live stream (e.g. "https://$akamaihost$.akamaihd.net/hls/live/$akamaistream$/$streamname$_$language$/$streamname$_$language$_all/playlist.m3u8" or "https://$wowzahost$/$appname$/$streamname$_$language$/master.m3u8")
HLS DVR URL:	The URL template for the post-live DVR stream (e.g. "https://$wowzahost$/$appname$/$streamname$_$language$Dvr/playlist.m3u8?DVR")
Template / Variable Usage Example:
Imagine you've just created a webcast and it's automatically generated stream name is, "59196e2d2d85b47d5c1a0c8f". If the following settings (using Akamai CDN playout) had been configured here... *
HLS URL Template:	https://$akamaihost$.akamaihd.net/hls/live/$akamaistream$/$streamname$_$language$/$streamname$_$language$_all/playlist.m3u8
Akamai Host ID:	akamai-live-i
Akamai Stream ID:	123456
Default Language:	English (en)
Stream Name:	59196e2d2d85b47d5c1a0c8f (note: this is automatically generated and can not be modified)
* ... the HLS URL for the webcast would be: https://akamai-live-i.akamaihd.net/hls/live/123456/59196e2d2d85b47d5c1a0c8f_en/59196e2d2d85b47d5c1a0c8f_en_all/playlist.m3u8

Validate and save the configuration

1. Click the [Validate] button to check the validity of your entries. You will see the following message if successful:
   
   
   
   
2. Click the [Save] button to save your entries. The newly created streaming server will appear immediately in the list. You can edit it later by clicking the item in the list.

Edit a Streaming Server configuration

1. In the navigation panel, click the Streaming Server you wish to edit.
2. Using the information shown above, make the required changes.
3. Click the [Validate] button to check the validity of your entries. You will see the following message if successful:
   
   
   
   
4. Click the [Save] button to save your entries. 
5. The new settings will take effect when creating new Webcasts. 

Set a Streaming Server configuration as default

Setting a default Streaming Server configuration means that it will be selected automatically when creating a new Webcast.

1. In the navigation panel, click the action menu ≡ at the edge of the Streaming Server you want to set as default.
2. Click the option ↑ Set as default.
3. The Streaming Server is moved to the top of the list and marked with a green border.
4. The new default will take effect when creating new Webcasts.