VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 5 of 5
Thread
  1. Ok here is the story. I have a hosting at lunarpages. I have asked them if they support MP4 streaming, h.264 files. Supposedly flash will stream these. They unfortunately have told me that they have not installed the mp4 extension to apache. So MP4 files will not stream, they will play in flash, download and play but not stream. So I said this is fine. I went ahead and did all my vids in MP4 h.264 format using ffmpeg. They work perfectly no problem there. What I'm trying to figure out is this. When I upload my converted files and play them, they of course don't stream. BUT! When I run them through a program called Boilsoft Video Splitter before uploading, the resulting MP4 files DO STREAM!????!!!???

    What is this about, according to lunarpages they do not offer MP4 streaming, but it streams as long as I run the MP4 through this program after converting to mp4 before uploading. They are still h.264 format I have checked with mediainfo. Here is the code I convert with for ffmpeg:

    -crf 35.0 -vcodec libx264 -acodec libfaac -ab 128kb -coder 1 -flags +loop -cmp +chroma -partitions +parti4x4+partp8x8+partb8x8 -me_method hex -subq 6 -me_range 16 -g 250 -keyint_min 25 -sc_threshold 40 -i_qfactor 0.71 -b_strategy 1 -threads 0
    I mean the problem is not the converting, the file is perfect, but why does it stream after I run it through boilsoft but not before as the MP4. They are both the exact same format and conversion!? Actually when I check the printout of mediainfo the only difference in the two files is a small line that says "Writing application: Lavf52.32.0".

    Here is the printout of the two files. First file, just ffmpeg converted file:

    General
    Complete name : C:\Documents and Settings\Joel\Desktop\goftp-usage.mp4
    Format : MPEG-4
    Format profile : Base Media
    Codec ID : isom
    File size : 1.54 MiB
    Duration : 2mn 15s
    Overall bit rate : 95.3 Kbps
    Encoded date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Tagged date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Writing application : Lavf52.32.0

    Video
    Format : AVC
    Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile : Main@L2.2
    Format settings, CABAC : Yes
    Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame
    Codec ID : avc1
    Duration : 2mn 15s
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 91.9 Kbps
    Width : 640 pixels
    Height : 480 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 4/3
    Frame rate mode : Constant
    Frame rate : 15.000 fps
    Colorimetry : 4:2:0
    Scan type : Progressive
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.020
    Stream size : 1.49 MiB (96%)
    Encoded date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Tagged date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00

    Audio
    Format : AAC
    Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
    Format version : Version 4
    Format profile : LC
    Format settings, SBR : No
    Codec ID : 40
    Duration : 2mn 15s
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 1034 bps
    Channel(s) : 1 channel
    Channel positions : C
    Sampling rate : 22.05 KHz
    Resolution : 16 bits
    Stream size : 17.1 KiB (1%)
    Encoded date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Tagged date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00

    Second file, after using boilsoft on previous mp4, all same but that one line:

    General
    Complete name : C:\Documents and Settings\Joel\Desktop\goftp-usage_chunk_1.mp4
    Format : MPEG-4
    Format profile : Base Media
    Codec ID : isom
    File size : 1.33 MiB
    Duration : 2mn 0s
    Overall bit rate : 92.8 Kbps
    Encoded date : UTC 2009-09-10 22:41:07
    Tagged date : UTC 2009-09-10 22:41:07

    Video
    Format : AVC
    Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile : Main@L2.2
    Format settings, CABAC : Yes
    Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame
    Codec ID : avc1
    Duration : 2mn 0s
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 90.4 Kbps
    Width : 640 pixels
    Height : 480 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 4/3
    Frame rate mode : Constant
    Frame rate : 15.000 fps
    Colorimetry : 4:2:0
    Scan type : Progressive
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.020
    Stream size : 1.29 MiB (97%)
    Encoded date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Tagged date : UTC 2009-09-10 22:41:07

    Audio
    Format : AAC
    Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
    Format version : Version 4
    Format profile : LC
    Format settings, SBR : No
    Codec ID : 40
    Duration : 2mn 0s
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 1034 bps
    Channel(s) : 1 channel
    Channel positions : C
    Sampling rate : 22.05 KHz
    Resolution : 16 bits
    Stream size : 15.2 KiB (1%)
    Encoded date : UTC 1970-01-01 00:00:00
    Tagged date : UTC 2009-09-10 22:41:07

    Ok so I don't really care to be honest it works! That's all that matters. I just wanna know why it works and if I can make it work without running it through the splitter and taking the last second off of the MP4 file? Is there a way to edit all this info so I don't have to run it through program just to delete that line? If that is the line that is causing the problem. I mean from what I can see the files are the exact same? Not to mention that the hosting provider says that their server doesn't have the mp4 streaming extension installed, so why is it working? I've tried in 4 different browsers and also in Linux, I know this shouldn't matter, flash is flash, but I just thought I would try.

    I'm perplexed
    Quote Quote  
  2. Can you do a test?

    Can you take your first file, and re-wrap it with yamb (mp4box) ?

    Just a hypothesis, but MP4Box will automatically place the moov atom at the beginning of the file, and this is necessary for instant streaming (instead of downloading)

    There is no re-encoding and no quality loss, it just re-packages it into another .mp4 container
    Quote Quote  
  3. Sweet! I did not know that. Ok now it works perfectly! Question is there a small tool to do the same in Linux, some times I'm in that system and don't wanna have to restart?

    Thanks for all your help.
    Quote Quote  
  4. I'm not too familiar with linux, and there is no port of mp4box to linux that I know of...

    You can try avidemux (which is cross platform) to rewrap (video=copy, audio=copy, format=mp4). It can also encode to h.264/aac/mp4

    I think you need qt-faststart , which will re-arrange the moov atom like mp4 box
    http://www.saiweb.co.uk/linux/ffmpeg-mp4-does-not-stream-qt-faststart

    Otherwise it might be a good idea to start a new topic in the linux section so the linux gurus can help out
    Quote Quote  
  5. Perfect, I found it and compiled it, works great. Thanks for all your help. This faststart also works on windows. Well in dos prompt. All you need is MinGW to compile the C source on windows and your done. The executable is great for including an item in your right click menu.
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!