Adaptive bit rate flash media servers

[jbandy1]

I'm not sure if I'm using the correct terminology but I'm looking for information on "throttling" adaptive bit rate media servers. The kind of servers where we can publish 1 flash file at a high bit rate and the media server will adjust the stream in real time for what the end users internet
connection can handle.

Does anyone use these, if so what do you use and why?

[TreeTops]

If that were easy Youtube would be doing it. That is why they have a little button on lower right of most vids so that the user can adjust the "throttle".

[aedipuss]

the op has it pretty much backwards. the end user will pretty much get whatever his connection can handle without any server help. the problem is then there might not be any bandwidth left for anyone else to get the file, so most servers have options to LIMIT the amount sent to any one downloader.

for example i can download at 20mbps, can your server upload all that to me constantly, and still provide any bandwidth to anyone else at all? it's not very common, and very expensive if it could.

[sum_guy]

I'm hoping I'm not missing the ops point. If for example you put up a 8000kbps stream online for viewing, you won't be able to throttle it down for client users with slow bandwidth connections, analogous to pouring a bucket of water into a straw. The best bet is to decide what you think your minimum user connection would be and try to configure your video to a given bitrate. SWF and FLV files seem to be the cream of the crop for streaming off a server, decent quality with even relatively low bandwidth requirements. More quality requires more bandwidth, hence, limiting viewers to higher connection speeds, your servers will need to be able to funnel all those videos as well.

Some basic streaming servers are PHPMotion, NCH BroadCam Live, You can limit simultaneous users, offer subscription services and more, or you could go with a hosting company that specializes in streaming content. It will all depend on your needs and the budget for the project.

[lingyi]

I seem to recall back in the days before broadband (circa 2000 - 01) was readily avaialable, there was a way to test end-user's download speed through a java or php script. The end user would download a small test file and the server would determine which video feed to stream.

Also, just double-checked to refresh my memory. WMVs and RealMedia files could have multiple bitrates encoded into the file that would automatically adjust to the available bandwidth (up to the max encoded bitrate). So in theory, FLVs could too.

A quick google search for "multiple bitrate flv" brings up http://support.brightcove.com/en/docs/creating-videos-multi-bitrate-streaming-media-api . Just skimmed over the website, but it seems that it requires their proprietary software and hardware (use of their servers).

[aedipuss]

with the advent of buffering at the players end i haven't seen much other than giving the end user the choice of resolution/bitrates. unless the op has a dedicated oc3 line, he's not going to be streaming high bitrate video to many simultaneous users anyway.