Quick Start Guide

This article is a quick tutorial to help you get started using Wowza Media Server^® 3.5.

Table of Contents

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Introduction

Installation and Configuration

Administration

Streaming Concepts

Introduction

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Wowza Media Server 3.5 is a high-performance streaming media server for delivering content to the following player technologies and devices:

• Adobe^® HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS). Adobe Flash^® Player
• Microsoft^® Smooth Streaming. Microsoft Silverlight^®
• Apple^® HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). iPhone^®, iPad^®, iPod touch^®, Safari^® browser, QuickTime^® Player
• Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP/RTP). QuickTime Player, VLC media player, and many mobile devices
• MPEG-2 Transport Streams (MPEG-TS). Set-top boxes and IPTV solutions

Wowza Media Server 3.5 includes the following AddOn features:

• Wowza Transcoder AddOn
• Wowza nDVR AddOn
• Wowza DRM AddOn

For more information about these features and to get the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide, see the
Wowza Media Server 3.5 Documentation.

For more up-to-date information, see the Wowza Media Systems Articles and Forums.

Wowza Media Server also provides some great examples to help you get started. After the server is installed, the examples are located at [install-dir]/examples. For more information about how to install and use the examples, see the [install-dir]/examples/README.html file.

This guide refers to third party software that is not licensed, sold, distributed, or otherwise endorsed by Wowza^®. You must ensure that any and all use of Wowza software and third party software is properly licensed.

This article and other Wowza Media Server documentation refers to [install-dir] as the folder to which Wowza Media Server is installed. The installation folder differs based on platform:

• Windows: %PROGRAMFILES%\Wowza Media Systems\Wowza Media Server [version]
• Mac OSX: /Library/WowzaMediaServer
• Linux/Unix: /usr/local/WowzaMediaServer

To get free support, either visit the Wowza Media Server Forums or send email to support@wowza.com. When emailing support@wowza.com, be sure to provide the following information:

• Wowza Media Server version and build number
• Platform, operating system, and Java version on which Wowza Media Server is running
• Detailed problem description that includes:
  
  • URL of tutorial or instructions being used
  • Player technology being used (Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, iOS device, set-top box, etc.)
  • Live encoder/IP camera manufacturer/version and exact encoding settings (live streaming only)
• We also recommend that you send [install-dir]/logs, [install-dir]/conf, and [install-dir]/transcoder folders in a compressed (zipped) folder. See How to create a compressed zip file in Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Installation and Configuration

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Installing Java

Wowza Media Server 3.5 is a Java 6 (aka 1.6) and Java 7 (aka 1.7) application and requires the installation of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 6 or greater in order to run. To develop server-side applications, Java Development Kit (JDK) version 6 or greater is required. The server also implements a Java Management Extensions (JMX) interface that can be used to manage and monitor the server. One of the more popular JMX consoles is JConsole, which is included in the JDK.

So what does this all mean? If you want to develop server-side applications or monitor a local or remote Wowza Media Server, you must install JDK version 6 (aka 1.6) or greater. If you're just deploying Wowza Media Server for production use, then you only need to install JRE version 6 (aka 1.6) or greater. We recommend installing the most recent version of the Java JDK or JRE for your platform. Be sure to select the 64-bit Java installer if running on a 64-bit operating system.

Java™ can be downloaded from the Oracle website.

To verify that Java 6 (aka 1.6) or Java 7 (aka 1.7) is installed and running properly, open a command prompt and enter the following command:
If Java is correctly installed and configured, a version number that's equal to or greater than 1.6 will be returned.

Installing Wowza Media Server 3.5

Download the software from the Wowza Media Store.

Windows:
To install Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Windows^® operating systems, double-click the installer file and follow the instructions on the screen. (To find the installer file on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 operating systems, press WIN key + F and then search for WowzaMediaServer-3.5.2.)


Mac OS X:
To install Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Mac OS X, mount the disk image (double-click .dmg) file, double-click the installer package (.pkg) file, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Red Hat Package Manager (RPM):
Open a command shell and enter the following commands:
Debian Package Manager (DEB):
Open a command shell and enter the following commands:
TAR Installer (TAR):
Open a command shell and enter the following commands:

Starting and Stopping the Server (Standalone)

Windows Start Method1:

• To start Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, choose Wowza Startup from the Start menu (Start > All Programs > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Startup).
  
• To start Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 operating systems, choose Wowza Startup from the Start screen (Start > All Apps > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Startup.

Windows Stop Method1:

• To stop Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems, choose Wowza Shutdown from the Start menu (Start > All Programs > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Shutdown).
  
• To stop Wowza Media Server 3.5 on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 operating systems, choose Wowza Shutdown from the Start screen (Start > All Apps > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Shutdown.

Windows Start Method2:

Open a Command Prompt window (press WIN key + R, type cmd in the Run dialog box, and then click OK) and enter the following commands:
Windows Stop Method2:

Open a Command Prompt window (press WIN key + R, type cmd in the Run dialog box, and then click OK) and enter the following commands:

Mac OS X Start Method1:

Double-click: /Applications/Wowza Media Server 3.5.2/Wowza Startup

Mac OS X Stop Method1:

Double-click: /Applications/Wowza Media Server 3.5.2/Wowza Shutdown

Mac OS X Start Method2:

Run the Terminal application and enter the following commands:
Mac OS X Stop Method2:

Run the Terminal application and enter the following commands:
Linux/Unix Start:

Open a command shell and enter the following commands:
Linux/Unix Stop:

Open a command shell and enter the following commands:

Starting and Stopping the Server (System Service)

Windows to Start:

1. Open the Services MMC snap-in (press WIN key + R, type services.msc in the Run dialog box, and then click OK).
   
2. In the Services MMC snap-in, right-click Wowza Media Server 3.5.2, and then click Start.

Windows to Stop:

1. Open the Services MMC snap-in (press WIN key + R, type services.msc in the Run dialog box, and then click OK).
   
2. In the Services MMC snap-in, right-click Wowza Media Server 3.5.2, and then click Stop.

Mac OS X to Start:

Run the Terminal application and enter the following command:
Mac OS X to Stop:

Run the Terminal application and enter the following command:
Linux to Start:

Open a command shell and enter one of the following commands:
Linux to Stop:

Open a command shell and enter one of the following commands:
To configure the service to start on reboot (Fedora and RedHat):

Open a command shell and enter the following command:

Ports Used for Streaming

By default, Wowza Media Server 3.5 uses the following ports for streaming. You must open these ports in your firewall to enable streaming.

• TCP 1935: RTMP (all variants), RTSP, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), WOWZ™
• UDP 6970-9999: RTP UDP Streaming
• TCP 8084-8085: JMX/JConsole monitoring and administration
• TCP 8086: HTTP administration

How to open additional ports for streaming

To open additional ports for streaming, use a text editor to add additional port numbers to the HostPortList/HostPort/Port comma-separated list of ports in [install-dir]/conf/VHost.xml. Make sure that there are no other applications or software running on your server that also use the ports that you want to open. The following list shows some of the common ports used for streaming:

• TCP 80: RTMPT, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
• TCP 443: RTMPS, HTTPS
• TCP 554: RTSP

How to verify Wowza Media Server is running

To verify that Wowza Media Server 3.5 is running, open a web browser and enter the following URL:

http://[wowza-ip-address]:1935

Where [wowza-ip-address] is the IP address of the Wowza Media Server. It should return the Wowza Media Server version number. If not, make sure that the server is running and that TCP port 1935 is open on your router, firewall, and/or software firewall (iptables on Linux).

A Quick Streaming Test

By default, the installer creates a simple video on demand (VOD) application that enables you to quickly test to see if Wowza Media Server is running properly and can serve content.

Play using Adobe Flash Player (RTMP)

1. Double-click [install-dir]/examples/VideoOnDemandStreaming/FlashRTMPPlayer/player.html.
2. In Server, enter rtmp://[wowza-address]/vod.
3. In Stream, enter mp4:sample.mp4.
4. Click the Connect button.

The player will start playing the sample video file.

Installing Examples

After you have installed Wowza Media Server 3.5, you can install the example streaming applications by using the following instructions:

Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008:

Select: Start > All Programs > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Examples
Double-click installall.bat.

Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012:

Select: Start > All Apps > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Examples
Double-click installall.bat.

Mac OS X:

Open folder: /Library/WowzaMediaServer/example
Double-click installall.command.

Linux:

Open a command shell and enter the following commands:

Entering a New License Key

License keys for all Wowza products, including Wowza Media Server 3.5 and AddOns, are stored in [install-dir]/conf/Server.license.

• %WMSCONFIG_HOME%\conf\Server.license
  - Windows
• /Library/WowzaMediaServer/conf/Server.license
  - Mac OS X
• /usr/local/WowzaMediaServer/conf/Server.license
  - Linux/Unix

Trial, Daily, and Monthly Edition subscribers will have a single license key while Perpetual Edition users may have more than one key to enable purchased AddOns.

To add a license key, open the Server.license file in a text editor and enter each new license key on a new line. When the standalone server is restarted, the new license will be in effect. The licenses are additive, so when adding additional licenses, be sure to retain the original license information in the file and add each new license key on its own new line. The order in which the keys are listed isn't important. The first and last five digits of the license key are displayed in the console window.

The following is an example Server.license file for a Perpetual Edition user with a Wowza Media Server 3.5 license key, two Wowza Transcoder AddOn license keys, and one Wowza nDVR AddOn license key:

SVRP3-LaGpC-ZrTD9-F4Y3S-a9bR2-h5t3C
TRN23-Ry6qe-4mT8J-yKj2W-4N5sH-2Td3a
TRN13-y9Gj2-kneqT-2zjHp-GadzB-N6fwa
DVRA3-k3r3R-nzxCB-ypjs5-Sk3y9-ahFdF

Turning off the Windows Getting Started webpage

When you start Wowza Media Server 3.5 in standalone mode on Window operating systems, a Getting Started webpage is automatically displayed. The webpage can help you to get up-and-running quickly by playing a sample video file from your local Wowza Media Server installation. It also provides links to tutorials and documentation. If you installed Wowza Media Server 3.5 with a Trial or Developer license, this page will also tell you when your license will expire.

If you don't want this page to be displayed, do the following (this procedure requires administrative permissions):

1. Shutdown Wowza Media Server.
   
   • Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 (Start > All Apps > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Shutdown)
     
   • Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 (Start > All Programs > Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 > Wowza Shutdown)
   
   
2. Make a copy of [install-dir]/bin/startup.bat and rename this file to [install-dir]/bin/startup.bak. The startup.bak file retains a copy of the original batch file settings.
   
   
3. In a text editor, open startup.bat and comment-out or delete the following lines:
   rem display trial page with sample clients
   WowzaInfo.exe
   
   
4. Save the updated startup.bat file. If permissions prevent you from saving directly to [install-dir]/bin, copy the file to another location (such as your desktop) and then copy the file from that location to [install-dir]/bin.

If you have problems, you can restore startup.bat to its original state by using the content in startup.bak.

Administration

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Logging

Wowza Media Server 3.5 log files are written to [install-dir]/logs. The default logging level (INFO) enables monitoring and aids in troubleshooting most issues while adding minimal load to the server. When working with Wowza to troubleshoot an issue, you may be asked to temporarily turn on debug logging (increase the amount of information written to the logs). To do this, open [install-dir]/conf/log4j.properties in a text editor and change the log level on the first line from INFO to DEBUG. Debug logging shouldn't be used in a production environment due to its increased load on the server.

Server Tuning

Wowza Media Server 3.5 is tuned for development by default. If Wowza Media Server will be used in a production environment, you must tune the server. For up-to-date tuning instructions, see Performance Tuning.

Management and Monitoring (JMX and JConsole)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 uses Java Management Extensions (JMX) and JConsole for server management and monitoring. JMX is a protocol used for managing a Java-based server. JConsole is an application that ships with the Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) that uses the JMX protocol to manage a Java-based server.

Enable JMX in Wowza Media Server

To enable the JMX interface, you must modify settings in the [install-dir]/conf/Server.xml configuration file. Open Server.xml in a text editor and find the following lines:
Change the Enable setting to true.
Change the IpAddress and RMIServerHostName settings to the IP address of the Wowza Media Server. If you're running Wowza Media Server locally, leave it as localhost, but if it's a remote server, change it to that server's IP address. You can use a domain name.
If the server is behind a NAT (network address translation) firewall, then IpAddress should be set to the internal IP address (or localhost) and RMIServerHostName should be set to the external IP address, as shown below:
Restart Wowza Media Server, open the access log ([install-dir]/logs/wowzamediaserver_access.log), and check the startup lines. Look for JMX bind attempt followed by a service URL. For example:
Connecting to Wowza Media Server Using JConsole

JConsole is included with the Sun JDK. Install the latest JDK, if you don't already have it, and then find JConsole here: [java-install-dir]/bin/JConsole.exe

If Wowza Media Server is installed on your Windows or Mac OS X computer, you can start JConsole with the JConsole Startup item in the Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 menu group.

With JConsole open, click Remote Process, enter the Service URL into the box, enter username admin and password admin, and then click the Connect button.

When first connected, you'll see graphs for memory and CPU usage. On the MBean tab, expand the WowzaMediaServerPro node to view all of the attributes and operations that are available through JConsole and the JMX interface.

Not all Wowza objects are included by default. Take a look at /conf/Server.xml /AdminInterface /ObjectList, and the comment above it. The ObjectList defines what can be monitored in JConsole and the comment above it shows all of the available objects. You can add Client and MediaStream objects, for example, if you want to look at that level of detail in JConsole. You must restart Wowza Media Server after changes to Server.xml.

Streaming Concepts

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Application Configuration

To begin using Wowza Media Server 3.5, first create an application. An application is defined simply by creating a folder in the [install-dir]/applications folder. For example, to create a new application named myapplication, create the folder:

[install-dir]/applications/myapplication

The application is now ready to use for simple video on demand streaming. It will use the default configuration file that's located in the [install-dir]/conf folder:

[install-dir]/conf/Application.xml (default configuration file)

To give an application its own Application.xml file instead of using the default configuration file, create a folder with the same name in the [install-dir]/conf folder and copy the default configuration file to the new folder:

[install-dir]/conf/myapplication/Application.xml (configuration file for myapplication)


A single application can be configured to deliver a live or video on demand stream to Adobe Flash Player; Microsoft Silverlight; an Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch device; and an RTSP/RTP-based player at the same time.

For more information about the configuration items defined in Application.xml, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide.

Stream Types

In Wowza Media Server 3.5, MediaStreams represent an incoming or outgoing stream of video, audio, or metadata. Wowza Media Server provides a mechanism for defining custom server-side MediaStream implementations or stream types. These stream types are configured using the Streams/StreamType property in the Application.xml file. The following list shows the more commonly used stream types and their intended use (for a complete list, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide):

• default: Video on demand streaming of static Flash media, H.264/AAC, and MP3 content
• record: Video recording
• live: Publish and play live video content (best for one-to-many streaming of live events)
• live-lowlatency: Publish and play live video content (best for one-to-one or one-to-few video/audio chat applications)
• live-record: Same as live, plus content is recorded
• shoutcast: Audio re-streaming of a SHOUTcast/Icecast MP3 or AAC+ audio stream
• shoutcast-record: Same as shoutcast, plus content is recorded
• liverepeater-origin: Origin stream type used by live stream repeater to deliver a single stream in an origin/edge configuration
• liverepeater-edge: Edge stream type used by live stream repeater to deliver a single stream in origin/edge configuration
• rtp-live: Re-streaming of an RTSP/RTP, native RTP, or MPEG-TS stream
• rtp-live-record: Same as rtp-live, plus content is recorded

Supported Media

Wowza Media Server 3.5 supports the following media file formats: FLV (Flash Video), MP4 (QuickTime container), and MP3 (see the following list for common file extensions). To play video on demand content, the proper prefix must be prepended to the file name to create a stream name. For example, to play the MP4 file mycoolvideo.mov, use the stream name mp4:mycoolvideo.mov. The following list shows the more common file type prefixes (for a complete list, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide):

• flv: FLV (Flash Video) This is the default media type so the file name prefix and extension can be omitted.
  
  Example: "flv:mycoolvideo.flv"
  
  
• mp4: MP4 (QuickTime container) .mp4, .f4v, .mov, .m4v, .mp4a, .3gp, and .3g2).
  
  Example: "mp4:mycoolvideo.mov"
  
  
• mp3: MP3 (.mp3)
  
  Example: "mp3:mycoolsong.mp3"
  
  
• smil: SMIL (XML files used to configure adaptive bitrate streams - .smil).

Content Storage

Wowza Media Server is configured by default to use a single content directory that is located at [install-dir]/content. You can change the default content location for an application by changing the Streams/StorageDir property in Application.xml to the desired content path.

Wowza Media Server for Amazon EC2

Wowza Media Systems has teamed with Amazon Web Services to make billing quick, easy, and secure for the combination of Wowza Media Server 3.5 machine time with various Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances and bandwidth. For more information, see:

• Wowza on Amazon EC2 Details
• Wowza for Amazon EC2 Support Center

Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP - Adobe Flash Player)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 can stream adaptive bitrate live and video on demand content to Adobe Flash Player over RTMP. Wowza Media Server is a great alternative to Adobe Media Server. It supports media streaming and other features such as shared objects, video recording, video chat, remote procedure calls, and more. Wowza Media Server 3.5 supports all video and audio formats that Adobe Flash Player supports:

Video

• H.264
• On2 VP6
• Sorenson Spark
• Screen video and Screen video 2

Audio

• AAC, AAC Low Complexity (AAC LC), AAC High Efficiency (HE-AAC) v1 and v2
• MP3
• Speex
• Nellymoser Asao

Adobe Flash Player is a cross-browser, cross-platform technology that exists on many personal computing and mobile devices. The Adobe Flash plugin runs SWF files that are generated by Flash authoring tools such as the Adobe Flash authoring tool and Adobe Flex. ActionScript^® is the most common Flash programming language. Using ActionScript, an SWF file can be programmed to do many things within a webpage including playback of streaming media. Wowza Media Server and Adobe Flash Player communicate using a NetConnection object and media is streamed using a NetStream object.

The NetConnection.connect method is used to establish a connection between Wowza Media Server and Adobe Flash Player. It takes an RTMP URL in the following form:

[protocol-method]://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]

where:

• [protocol-method]: rtmp, rtmpe (encryption), rtmpt (tunneling), rtmpte (encryption and tunneling), or rtmps (tunneling over SSL)
• [wowza-address]: IP address or domain name and port of Wowza Media Server (default port 1935)
• [application]: Application name
• [application-instance]: Application instance name (if omitted, defaults to _definst_)

For example, to connect to a Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication, the URL to use in the NetConnection.connect method is:

rtmp://mycompany.com/myapplication

The NetStream.play method is used to start streaming. It takes as its first argument a stream name. For example, to play the media file mycoolvideo.mov, you would use the stream name mp4:mycoolvideo.mov. Some pre-built players combine the server connection URL used in the NetConnection.connect method and the stream name used in the NetStream.play method into a single URL. This URL takes the form:

[protocol-method]://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]/[stream-name]

For example, to connect to a Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication to play the video on-demand file named mycoolvideo.mov, the URL is:

rtmp://mycompany.com/myapplication/mp4:mycoolvideo.mov

For more information about Flash streaming, including secure streaming using SecureToken and RTMPE and adaptive bitrate streaming, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide.

Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS - Adobe Flash Player)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 can stream adaptive bitrate live and video on-demand content to Flash player 10.1 or greater using the Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) protocol. Adobe HDS is a chunk-based streaming protocol that uses HTTP for delivery. All media-chunking and packaging necessary to deliver a stream using this protocol is performed by Wowza Media Server. Adobe HDS is referred to as "San Jose" streaming in Wowza Media Server configuration files. When streaming video on demand content, Wowza Media Server supports MP4 files (QuickTime container) and MP3 files. FLV files aren't supported at this time.

Adobe HDS streaming leverages an XML manifest file to describe the list of chunks available for streaming. An Adobe HDS streaming playlist URL has the following form:

http://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]/[stream-name]/manifest.f4m

where:

• [wowza-address]: IP address or domain name and port of the Wowza Media Server (default port 1935)
• [application]: Application name
• [application-instance]: Application instance name (if omitted, defaults to _definst_)
• [stream-name]: Stream name with stream prefix

For example, to play the video on demand file mycoolvideo.mov located on the Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication, the URL is:

http://mycompany.com:1935/myapplication/mp4:mycoolvideo.mov/manifest.f4m

Wowza Media Server 3.5 currently supports the following video and audio codecs when using this streaming protocol:

Video

• H.264
• On2 VP6 (live only)
• Screen video and Screen video 2 (live only)
• Sorenson Spark (live only)

Audio

• AAC, AAC Low Complexity (AAC LC), AAC High Efficiency (HE-AAC) v1 and v2
• MP3
• Nellymoser Asao (live only)
• Speex (live only)

Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS - iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 can stream adaptive bitrate live and video on demand H.264, AAC, and MP3 content to iOS based devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod touch iOS version 3.0 or greater), QuickTime player (version 10 or greater), Safari browser (version 4.0 or greater), and other devices such as the Roku^® and Amino set-top boxes and some brands of Smart TVs using the Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol. Apple HLS is a chunk-based streaming protocol that uses HTTP for delivery. All media-chunking and packaging necessary to deliver a stream using this protocol is performed by Wowza Media Server. Apple HLS is referred to as "Cupertino" streaming in Wowza Media Server configuration files.

Apple HLS streaming leverages a playlist wrapper to describe the list of chunks available for streaming. An Apple HLS streaming playlist URL has the following form:

http://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]/[stream-name]/playlist.m3u8

where:

• [wowza-address]: IP address or domain name and port of the Wowza Media Server (default port 1935)
• [application]: Application name
• [application-instance]: Application instance name (if omitted, defaults to _definst_)
• [stream-name]: Stream name with stream prefix

For example, to play the video on demand file mycoolvideo.mov located on the Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication, the URL is:

http://mycompany.com:1935/myapplication/mp4:mycoolvideo.mov/playlist.m3u8

The iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (iOS devices) and Apple TV^® digital media extender support the following media formats:

Video

• H.264

Audio

• AAC, AAC Low Complexity (AAC LC), High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) v1
• Dolby^® Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (AC3) pass-through (Apple TV only)
• MP3

The iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch don't support HE-AAC v2.

For more information about Apple HLS streaming, including secure streaming using AES-128 encryption and adaptive bitrate streaming, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide.

Microsoft Smooth Streaming (Microsoft Silverlight)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 can stream adaptive bitrate live and video on demand H.264, AAC, and MP3 content to Microsoft Silverlight, Windows Phone devices, and other devices using the Microsoft Smooth Streaming protocol. Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform technology that exists on many personal computing devices. Smooth Streaming is a chunk-based streaming protocol that uses HTTP for delivery. All media chunking and packaging necessary to deliver a stream using this protocol is performed by Wowza Media Server so there's no need for an IIS web server.

Smooth Streaming leverages a playlist wrapper (called the manifest) to describe the list of chunks that are available for streaming. A Smooth Streaming manifest URL has the following form:

http://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]/[stream-name]/Manifest

where:

• [wowza-address]: IP address or domain name and port of the Wowza Media Server (default port 1935)
• [application]: Application name
• [application-instance]: Application instance name (if omitted, defaults to _definst_)
• [stream-name]: Stream name with stream prefix

For example, to play the video on-demand file mycoolvideo.mov, located on the Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication, the URL is:

http://mycompany.com:1935/myapplication/mp4:mycoolvideo.mov/Manifest

The following media formats can be used when streaming to Silverlight using Wowza Media Server:

Video

• H.264

Audio

• AAC, AAC Low Complexity (AAC LC), AAC High Efficiency (HE-AAC) v1 and v2
• MP3

For more information about Smooth Streaming, including adaptive bitrate streaming, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide.

RTSP/RTP/MPEG-TS (QuickTime, VLC, mobile devices, set-top boxes, encoders)

Wowza Media Server 3.5 can stream live H.264, AAC, and MP3 content to players and devices that support the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), and MPEG-2 Transport Stream protocol (MPEG-2 TS). This includes players and devices such as QuickTime player (version 10 or greater), VideoLAN VLC player, set-top boxes, and 3GPP devices. Wowza Media Server can also accept incoming streams from encoding devices that use these protocols. Wowza Media Server supports RTP and MPEG-2 TS input and output over UDP as well as multicast. In addition, Wowza Media Server supports interleaved RTSP/RTP (RTP over the RTSP TCP connection) and RTSP/RTP tunneling (RTSP/RTP over HTTP), which enables RTSP/RTP to be delivered in network environments that don't allow UDP transmission.

An RTSP/RTP URL in Wowza Media Server has the following form:

rtsp://[wowza-address]/[application]/[application-instance]/[stream-name]

where:

• [wowza-address]: IP address or domain name and port of the Wowza Media Server (default port 1935)
• [application]: Application name
• [application-instance]: Application instance name (if omitted, defaults to _definst_)
• [stream-name]: Stream name with stream prefix

For example, to play the live stream with the stream name mylivestream, located on the Wowza Media Server at the address mycompany.com, using the application name myapplication, the URL is:

rtsp://mycompany.com:1935/myapplication/mylivestream

For more information about Real Time Streaming Protocol streaming, including support for RTSP/RTP/MPEG-TS encoders, see the Wowza Media Server 3.5 User's Guide.

Wowza Transcoder AddOn

Wowza Transcoder AddOn is a real time video transcoding and transrating solution in Wowza Media Server 3.5. It can decode and re-encode audio and video in multiple formats with properly aligned key frames for adaptive bitrate delivery. The following are some common scenarios:

Transcoding

• Ingests a non-H.264 video and non-AAC/MP3 audio media stream and converts it to a set of H.263 or H.264 AAC adaptive bitrate media streams with properly aligned key frames.

Transrating

• Ingests an H.264 video and AAC/MP3 audio stream and creates a full set of bitrate renditions that are key frame aligned to the source stream for adaptive bitrate delivery.

Wowza Transcoder supports the following video and audio formats:

Video (decoding)

• H.264
• MPEG-2
• MPEG-4 Part 2

Video (encoding)

• H.263v2
• H.264

Audio (decoding)

• AAC
• G.711 (µ-law and A-law)
• MPEG-1 Layer 1/2
• MPEG-3
• Speex

Audio (encoding)

• AAC

For more information about Wowza Transcoder AddOn, see the Wowza Transcoder AddOn User's Guide and the Wowza Transcoder Forum.

Wowza nDVR AddOn

Wowza nDVR AddOn provides the ability to record a live stream with Wowza Media Server 3.5 while simultaneously allowing users to play, pause, resume, and rewind the recorded stream. Custom configuration allows control over the archive strategy and availability of your recorded streams. Setup for client playback of recorded streams is similar to playback of live streams from Wowza Media Server.

For more information about Wowza nDVR AddOn, see the Wowza nDVR AddOn User's Guide and the Wowza nDVR Forum.

Wowza DRM AddOn

Wowza DRM AddOn provides integration with third party Digital Rights Management (DRM) Key Management Systems (KMS) to add on-the-fly encryption for live and video on demand workflows. For live workflows, per-stream encryption is available with the ability to rotate keys. For on-demand workflows, per-asset and per-session encryption is available with the ability to rotate keys. Both live and video on demand key rotation support is available for Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS).

For more information about Wowza DRM AddOn, see the Wowza DRM online tutorials and the Wowza DRM Forum.

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Updated: For Wowza Media Server 3.5.2 on 02/05/2013