Delivery

A sample setup for broadcasting live video

The illustration below shows a setup for streaming live video and audio. Stream audio only using a microphone, mixer, and other appropriate audio equipment.

The broadcaster computer captures and encodes the video and audio. The encoded signal is sent to a QuickTime Streaming Server over an IP network. A Mac OS X Server with QuickTime Streaming Server sends the signal to client computers who tune in with QuickTime client software, such as QuickTime Player.

Delivering Live Stream

A general setup for live multicast streaming.

1. The broadcaster computer digitizes and compresses the video and audio feed. The data stream is routed through an application like QuickTime Broadcaster, which configures it for broadcast, and sends it out to a high-speed IP LAN.

2. The data is received by a streaming server running Mac OS X Server and QuickTime Streaming Server (or their open-source equivalents). In this example, the streaming server acts as a multicast reflector.

3. The streaming server feeds the stream to an MBone (multicast backbone) and/or to a unicast reflector connected to the rest of the internet.

What’s needed?

To deliver live QuickTime streaming media, you will need the following:

  • Audiovisual equipment to record the live event
  • An A/V-equipped computer (the broadcaster) to digitize and compress the live data and then broadcast it to the streaming server
  • Broadcasting software such as QuickTime Broadcaster, a transmitter application that compresses video and audio and configures it for live streaming
  • A high-speed IP network
  • A dedicated streaming server (the reflector) capable of running Mac OS X Server with QuickTime Streaming Server installed. (Or use the Darwin Streaming Server Open Source Project to build multi-platform servers.) Use this server to send the captured media to your viewers. The streaming server must be connected to the broadcaster computer over an IP network. Apple offers a variety of server solutions.
  • A connection to a multicast backbone (MBone)
  • (Optional) A third computer to act as a unicast reflector to stream out to areas of the web not accessible through an MBone