This guide explains how to broadcast an online meeting kMeet in a separate stream accessible via a unique URL thanks to Streaming Vidéo Infomaniak.

Preamble

• Broadcasting a conference-type meeting in a Video Streaming stream rather than within the kMeet application offers several advantages:
  • Large-scale public broadcasting without having to restrict access to an audience limited to invited persons.
  • Attract a wider audience, such as conferences, webinars or live events where hundreds or thousands of spectators can follow the event without joining a private call.
  • Allows to reach an unlimited number of spectators.
  • No need to manage access for each participant, the stream is simply viewable via a link.
  • A simple web browser is sufficient to access the streaming stream.
  • Passive access: spectators are not forced to actively participate or interact; they can simply watch the event without registering or logging in, which is better suited for large events.
  • No vocal interruptions or disruptions related to microphone management; this allows for a more fluid stream focused on the speaker.
  • Higher broadcast resolution when kMeet can be limited by bandwidth constraints and lower video quality to avoid network overload.

Create the Streaming Video share link

Prerequisites

• Streaming a kMeet video stream within a Streaming Video stream is only possible with the kSuite Pro or Enterprise offer.
• You must be a moderator of kMeet to create a live broadcast link, but it is not necessary to have an Infomaniak Streaming Vidéo offer.

Next:

1. Start kMeet via kmeet.infomaniak.com or from one of the applications for computers or mobile devices.
2. Once in the meeting, click on the action menu ○○○ in the kMeet toolbar.
3. Choose to Start live streaming:
   
4. Click the button to Start:
   
5. Wait for the video stream to be created:
   
6. In the same place, once the stream link is displayed, click on the icon on the right to copy the URL corresponding to the live stream; paste the URL into a message for the participants or anyone who needs to watch the live broadcast.
7. An icon displayed on kMeet along with an audible signal indicates the start of the broadcast via Streaming Vidéo:
   

The stream is broadcast continuously for a maximum of 24 hours and will no longer be accessible as soon as the kMeet meeting is stopped.

This guide explains how live broadcast a list of videos of the VOD service with the product Streaming video.

Preamble

• This feature makes it possible to use the VOD service to create a playlist of videos and then use the Streaming video service to broadcast it live, e.g. as part of a music channel, teleshopping, documentaries, etc.
• It is possible to drag ads between each video, manually or by using VAST tags.
• The playlist will be played in an infinite loop until the user stops it.

Streaming a VOD playlist

Prerequisites

• To have a VOD service (at least the free VOD space with the Streaming video service).
• Owning a Streaming video service in the same Organization and managed by the same account.

To make up the playlist, import a few videos:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on the button Select (in the partRapid import).

Once the videos are imported:

1. Click on Media in the left side menu.
2. Click on Playlists / WebTV in the left side menu.
3. Click on the button for add a new playlist.
4. Name the playlist and determine if it should be automatic (related to a file) or manual.
5. Choose the specific folder or videos to use to build the playlist.
6. Click on the button Create a Direct:
   
7. Choose the service stream of Streaming video which will have to broadcast the playlist and adjust your preferences:
   

Some examples of use

The broadcast of a playlist can be used as fallback solution as soon as a live shuts down (voluntaryly or unintentionally) and in this case take the relay to the antenna. As soon as the live encoder pushes back a stream, he takes his hand on the playlist. This makes it possible to broadcast alternative content if there is a problem on the direct or if the user only broadcasts live live in the evening, e.g., it can automate the broadcast of playlist content the rest of the day.

It is also possible to program the broadcast of a playlist from the video streaming planning tool. Thus one can choose unique or different playlist broadcast range in advance, or in a recurring way. The encoder broadcasting live will be disconnected automatically throughout the broadcast of the playlist; once the time range is over, the encoder will reconnect and its content will be broadcast.

This guide explains how to restrict access to Infomaniak Video Streaming streams using a unique key (hash).

Preamble

• This method offers the highest level of protection and allows you, for example, to restrict your broadcasts to a members-only area requiring authentication.
• The way to generate this code is specific to each site, so it will be necessary to implement the required PHP functions and adapt the integration code of your player accordingly.

Restrict access to broadcasts by unique key (hash)

To do this:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on Settings in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Restrictions in the left sidebar.
5. Click on the Unique hash restriction tab:
   

How restrictions work

This method requires retrieving information related to the configuration of your stream and the user who is connecting.

First, you need to set a password (a key) in the Infomaniak Manager. As soon as this key is added, connected viewers and those attempting to watch your stream will be instantly blocked (refer to this other guide to customize the replacement image offered to blocked viewers).

Here is the procedure to follow to authorize access to your stream:

• Design an authentication system of your own (e.g. a member space).
• Take the password configured above on the Manager.
• Retrieve the IP of users via $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"] for example.
• Get the identifier of the stream to target.
• Retrieve the current date and time (without minutes and seconds).

These elements will then be hashed by the code provided in the Manager to generate a unique token specific to each user that will be transmitted to the stream at the time of loading. The streaming platform will then check the validity of the hash to authorize or reject the connection.

Important notes

• To ensure the security of access to the stream, the validity of each token is time-limited.
• It is important to disable caching on the pages that allow access to the stream; indeed, if the token generation is cached, other users will attempt to authenticate with someone else's hash, which will cause them to be rejected even if they are authorized to consume the stream.

This guide explains how to do a 360° live stream with Infomaniak's video streaming service.

Prerequisites

• Have a 360 camera compatible with one of the following formats:
  • equirectangular 360 monoscopic (2D)
  • 360° equirectangular stereoscopic (3D) side by side (left/right separation)
  • equirectangular 360 stereoscopic (3D) top/bottom (top/bottom separation)
• Your encoder or your camera must also be able to send a stream via an RTMP connection (learn more).
• Finally, note that a 360° video stream requires a source with a high bitrate and a bitrate control set to CBR mode; the bitrate will depend on the type of content and data consumption, which will also be higher than with a standard stream.
   

Create a 360° player

Broadcasting a 360° live stream requires a 360° player. This option is free and can be activated quickly:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on Integration then on Players in the left sidebar to create or edit an existing player.
4. Check the Player 360 box and configure the projection (360 format):
   
5. Click on the Save button.
6. All content broadcasted by this player (whether it is in 360° format or not) will now be interpreted as 360°.

This guide explains how to record or archive all of your Streaming vidéo, which can be useful for creating TV replays or reviewing videos recorded by surveillance cameras, for example.

Manage automatic recording of live broadcasts

To enable this option:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Activate live recording using the toggle switch from the stream dashboard:
   

Once this feature is activated, the stream will be automatically and perpetually recorded from the moment it is sent to (or pulled by) the Infomaniak platform.

Be mindful of your FTP space, which could quickly become saturated. If needed, you also have the option to manually schedule recordings using the scheduling tool.

How automatic recordings work

Once this option is activated, an mp4 file will be automatically generated after each broadcast, which will be transferred to the FTP or VOD space configured by you.

Important details:

• A broadcast is defined as the time between connection and disconnection to the video encoder.
• Quality of recordings: in the case of a multi-bitrate stream, the maximum source quality will be preserved.
• File size limitation: In case of continuous streaming, you have the possibility to define the maximum duration of each mp4 file; this option allows you to avoid generating files that are too large and to ensure the recording of your archives to the FTP or VOD space of your choice (and once the duration is reached, the recording is automatically stopped then sent by FTP and a new recording is launched).

Customization of recording names

To allow you to easily identify and organize your archives, the recording names can be dynamically customized using parameters specified within curly braces.

Example:

template_{stream_id}_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd_hh:mm:ss}_{fragment_id|from:1|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension}

• stream_id = represents the stream identifier as a string.
• date|format: ISO 8601 = date of the recording day.
• time|format: ISO 8601 = time of the recording.
• datetime|format: ISO 8601 = date and time of the recording.
• fragment_id|from:number|prefix:string|suffix:string: = fragment number in case a recording is split, with the possibility to prefix and/or suffix it.
  • Each fragment will be incremented, "from" indicating which will be the first reference fragment.
• extension = final file extension.

These parameters and their options are optional and their order is completely free. They can be used as many times as desired. If you provide the same option multiple times, only the last one will be considered. Any unrecognized option will simply be ignored.

Example 1

Situation: you have two daily schedules, the first starts at 10:00 and the second at 20:05. By configuring the file naming in this way template_{date|format:hh:mm:ss} you will get the following file names:

For the day of December 5, 2019:

• The first recording at 10:00 will be named: template-10:00:00.mp4
• The second recording at 20:05 will be named: template-20:05:00.mp4

For the day of December 6, 2019:

• The first recording at 10:00 will be named: template-10:00:00.mp4
  The recording from the previous day with the same name will be overwritten and replaced by this one.
• The second recording at 20:05 will be named: template-20:05:00.mp4
  The recording from the previous day with the same name will be overwritten and replaced by this one.
• etc.

This logic can be particularly useful for having a loop recording system, for example for video surveillance. The user will retrieve the video only if needed and this avoids archiving a potentially infinite number of videos at the risk of saturating the FTP space.

Example 2

Situation: this time you have a perpetual recording, 24/7, with a file duration limit set to 360 minutes. By configuring the file naming in this way template_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd}_{fragment_id|from:1|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension} you will get the following file names:

• The first file of the day at 00:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05.mp4
• The second file of the day at 6:00 AM will be named: template_2019-02-05_fragment(1).mp4
• The third file of the day at 12:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(2).mp4
• The fourth file of the day at 18:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(3).mp4

By configuring the file naming in this way template_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd}_{fragment_id|from:0|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension} you will get the following names:

• The first file of the day at 00:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(0).mp4
• The second file of the day at 6:00 AM will be named: template_2019-02-05_fragment(1).mp4
• The third file of the day at 12:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(2).mp4
• The fourth file of the day at 18:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(3).mp4

This guide explains how to activate and use the Timeshift function (also called DVR) on your live video broadcasts. This feature allows your spectators to go back if they have not had the opportunity to attend your direct from the beginning.

Enable Timeshift (DVR) function

In order to access the Video Streaming service:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Configure under Timeshift from the dashboard:
   
4. Enable Timeshift.
5. Set the length of time your spectators will be able to go back (max. 240 min.).
6. Click on the button Enable:
   

Customize Timeshift function

It is possible to activate this option via the planning tool on a specific schedule and thus limit this possibility to certain programmes. The parameters defined in the planning tool will overwrite the default state defined from the dashboard.

To understand this, imagine a TV that broadcasts a 10h and 12h football game.

1. The TV only wants to activate Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators who join the live at 11:59 a.m. will be able to see the beginning of the game again at 10 a.m., but they will not be able to see the shows that preceded the game before 10 a.m. For memory, the maximum duration. of the Timeshift is 240 min. ( 4 a.m.).
 

2. The TV only wants to activate a 20 minute Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators who join the live at 11.30 a.m. will be able to see the previous 20 minutes, but they will not be able to see the beginning of the game again; only the last 20 slippery minutes will be accessible throughout the game.
 

3. TV wants to disable Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators will not be able to see parts of the game again. They will only be able to see the shows before the match if the Timeshift function has been enabled by default from the feed dashboard

In summary, there are therefore 2 cases of use.

1. Enable Timeshift continuously, except for special events.
2. Disable Timeshift continuously, except for special events.

The default status is managed from the flow dashboard and exceptions from the planning tool.

Learn more about how it works

If you have set a Timeshift of one hour and you have just activated it, the return time will gradually increase to the chosen time from the time of activation.

If geographical restrictions are defined with a specific time range, they will in all cases be respected. In the event that a 4h Timeshift TV would book its sports program to visitors Swiss From 10am to 12pm, a spectator Italian which would connect to the stream at 1 p.m. could only review the emissions from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

This guide explains how to restrict access to Infomaniak video streaming flows to your own site only.

Restrict access to broadcasts to a domain

For this:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product in question.
3. Click on Settings in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Restrictions in the left sidebar.
5. Click on the Domain Restriction tab:
   
6. Specify the site(s) that are specifically authorized to load the stream.
7. Click on the Save button.

Refer to this other guide to customize the replacement image offered to blocked viewers.

This guide explains how to customize a Player for Infomaniak Video Streaming so that the image of your choice is offered to viewers, especially in case of stream restrictions.

Preamble

• A video stream can be restricted:
  • Scheduled interruption of the broadcast (possibility to display a countdown before the broadcast resumes)
  • Geographical restrictions or other restrictions (IP blocking, domain(s), token, etc.)

Customize the Streaming Video Player

To do this:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on Integration in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Players in the left sidebar.
5. Click on the name of the Player to customize.
6. Click on the tab (or dropdown menu) Thumbnails:
7. Customize the desired thumbnails:
   

This guide explains how to manage potential overages of consumption for Infomaniak's video streaming.

Acting Before Exceeding

In case of exceeding the package, an overage invoice will be generated, which may result in an additional cost. It is therefore important to choose the right option to apply in case of overconsumption.

In order to access the video streaming service:

1. log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
2. click on the ‍ icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
3. select Video Streaming (under Streaming)
4. click on Manage
5. click on Manage Overages
   

The 3 possibilities in case of exceeding are:

• A. Interrupt the live stream
• B. Set a limit (in GB or TO) before interrupting live streams
• C. Continue broadcasting 

This guide explains the possible origins of any latency you might notice between the source of a video and its live broadcast via the Streaming vidéo service.

Availability in the case of...

... rendered on the Manager

Once your encoder is connected to Infomaniak's master servers, the stream may undergo several transformations, particularly in the case of transcoding or adding a logo as a watermark. In these scenarios, the video must be re-encoded in one or more formats, which requires processing time that inevitably affects the final output.

... single bitrate stream without processing

In this case, the stream is available after only a few seconds.

... transcoded stream or with watermark

This processing takes approximately 25 seconds for the transformed stream to be visible in the various qualities.

... delay between the source and the output to viewers

To avoid micro-cutoffs during broadcasting, the player (video player) buffers several seconds of the video. You can easily notice a 30 to 60 second delay between the original source and the stream delivered to viewers.

To minimize this delay, the only way is to have a single-bitrate stream, without transcoding, without watermark, with a bitrate not too high, and to reduce the buffer as much as possible in the player configuration. Depending on your needs, it is therefore necessary to make a compromise between the immediacy of the broadcast and the features you want to use to improve the experience of your viewers and customize the branding of your live streams.