Knowledge base

The maximum number of viewers is limited physically on the servers.

Excess is simply calculated per extra Terabyte bandwidth (the price of the exceeding is specified on the invoices and order), knowing that as a basis, all customers are entitled to 2 TB per month.

Automatic blocking of a stream because it might go over its limit isn't planned. However it is possible to accomplish this manually by adding restrictions and by lowering the stream bitrate at the end of the month in order to consume less bandwidth.

For the time being, only http-download is supported. This has the advantage of being compatible with a large number of phones/players, whereas RTMP or HTTP-Streaming solutions are proprietary and therefore only supported by certain specific devices.

• RTMP is compatible with Flash only, which excludes mobiles or HTML5, for example
• HTTP-Streaming does not exist in a unified form and several manufacturers produce their own implementation (Apple HTTP-Streaming for iPhone/iPad/iPod, Flash dynamic streaming or Adobe and Flash).

There is still no real standard agreed upon by the different manufacturers that would allow them to all support one single codec: MP4(h264) and WebM may or may not be supported depending on the browser in question; H264, for example, is not supported on Firefox, WebM VP8 and VP9 are not supported on Safari and IE11, etc. This is why it is necessary to juggle between the different encoding standards and the different players that may or may not be capable of reading them, depending on the device and hardware on which they are running.

As soon as a standard encoding is supported by Adobe Flash Player, Flash Player will be the preferred solution as it is significantly more advanced in terms of customisation, options and features (VAST, adsWizz, playlists, chapter indexing, etc.) than the HTML5 version. If the Adobe plugin is not installed in the browser, an HTML5 version will then be loaded, depending on the browser's level of HTML5 support and availability of a suitable decoder that is compatible with the browser in question.

There is no difference between these terms. They are simply different designations used to talk about one and the same technology: sending content « live » (or with a slight delay) allowing it to be played as it is broadcasted.

The classic means of serving video involves using an encoder to transform the stream output from a camera or webcam source. Example with GoPro: to stream what is being filmed live (setting up a live webcam, for example) you can certainly connect the camera using an HDMI cable to a capture card (e.g. the AVerMedia Game Broadcaster HD) with an HDMI input. Install software such as Flash Media Live Encoder (free) which will recognise the video source and allow you to stream it to our video broadcast servers.

But with suitable cameras, delivering H.264 natively, there is no need for an encoder: you can simply connect your camera directly to your video streaming system. However, this system only works with a limited list of cameras (those allowing video to be encoded in the correct format). Some modules, such as video recording, are not compatible with the way IP cameras work.

To access the configuration, go to your control panel and to Configuration -> Encoder Configuration -> RTSP

Should a problem occur, you will need to start by checking that you are able to view the camera stream over your own network using a video player such as VLC. Please check its connectivity and ensure that the camera works properly with the public address that you are intending to use: the camera must be publicly accessible.

Another important point is that it is necessary to use port 554 for RTSP and not a custom port. This protocol is quite sensitive to network disruptions and you must therefore declare it correctly, which is why any other port will be denied.

List of cameras supported:

• Axis: M10X, M11X, M30X, M31X, M7001, P13X, P33X, P55X, Q1755, Q60X
• Sony: snc-ch110, dh110, ch210, dh210, ch120, dh120, ch140, dh140, ch160, dh160, ch180, dh180, ch220, dh220, ch240, dh240, ch260, dh260, ch280, dh280, rh124, rh164
• Panasonic: information not currently available

When you have already ordered a video stream and you go back to your  Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) under the products ordering menu, you will be able to modify your existing streams.

Actions to be carried out

The list of your video streams is located under the streaming ordering section. To modify the stream, click on the icon on the right which allows you to modify an existing stream.
 

When you select some new parameters, the price of your offer will be automatically updated. You can choose to pay the difference straight away, in order to benefit from the changes immediately. You may also choose to pay at the current contract's due date, but the change will only be made at that date.

It's possible to record a live broadcast on the fly or schedule the recording from our administration console or API.

This solution enables you to offer automatically the video of a program as soon as the live broadcast or the daily news is over for example, so as to make it automatically available to your audience.

This option is available when you order or at a later time for EUR 200 / CHF 300.- per year, storage space (which can be an FTP space or a VOD space) not included.

There is no waiting line, however the player integrates a system of automatic reconnection.

The player will periodically try to connect again until a space is freed. This means that there is no order of priority. The first arrived will not necessarily be the first to get a space.

It isn't possible to send streams coming from several IP addresses to one single video account. All your streams must be sent to one of our ports only, that is number 554. This currently only allows one source IP per video broadcast.

The autostart option that launches the playing of the video as soon as the page is displayed depends on the player's configuration in your administration interface.

The player will function in the same way whether it be to play a video or a playlist.

When scheduling a recording (video schedule management), it is not possible to choose the output format in advance. This will be chosen automatically depending on the video codec used by the encoder:

VP6: output will be an FLV file
H264: output will be an MP4 file