Windows 2003 Streaming Media Server question: RTSP/MMS protocol rollover and .WAX

[Froglips57]

Hello,

I have a couple of questions:

1. I'm running a Windows 2003 Streaming Media Server for some non-profits offering free audio teachings. I have a firewall on this server and I have mms protocol set up as UDP & TCP on port 1755, but I want to allow RTSP streaming as well.

Would I set up the rstp the same as the mms as far as port number etc. or would I set it up differently? I'm not at all comfortable with the protocols and best methods for offering them.

2. I want to use a .WAX file for protocol rollover for the hundreds of Windows Media .WMA files being served, but I do not want to make hundreds of .WAX files, one for each media file. Is there a better way to do this, or maybe some way to capture the file name and send it into the wax file as a var, so one wax could process all the files being streamed?

Thank you so much for the help,

~Jami

Originally Posted by Froglips57

I'm running a Windows 2003 Streaming Media Server for some non-profits offering free audio teachings. I have a firewall on this server and I have mms protocol set up as UDP & TCP on port 1755, but I want to allow RTSP streaming as well.

Would I set up the rstp the same as the mms as far as port number etc. or would I set it up differently?

HTTP, MMS and RTSP streaming media protocols usually use different port numbers:

HTTP protocol usually uses port 80 or 8080.
The default port for MMS is 1755.
The default port for RTSP is 554.

Originally Posted by Froglips57

I want to use a .WAX file for protocol rollover for the hundreds of Windows Media .WMA files being served, but I do not want to make hundreds of .WAX files, one for each media file. Is there a better way to do this, or maybe some way to capture the file name and send it into the wax file as a var, so one wax could process all the files being streamed?

You can use .WAX or .ASX metafiles with Windows Media .WMA audio files. Metafiles can be generated dynamically by a web-script. You can use any programming language you're familiar with, for example: PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, PERL,... web-script.

Please note that when the .WAX, or .ASX MIME types are not set up, the text contents of the metafile might be displayed in the user's browser instead of being opened in Windows Media Player.

sample: asx_output.asp ( http: //somehost/somedir/asxOutput.asp )

<%Response.ContentType = "video/x-ms-wma"%><%Response.expires=0 %>
<ASX VERSION="3.0">
    <TITLE>Your title here</TITLE>
    <ENTRY>
        <REF HREF ="mms://somehost/somedir/filename.wma" /> 
    </ENTRY>
</ASX>

sample: asxOutput.php ( http: //somehost/somedir/asxOutput.php?channel=rock )

<?
print "Content-Type: video/x-ms-asf"."\n\n";

//Use the channel variable to generate $video_url
//  $video_url = "mms://somehost/somedir/".$channel.".asf";
//
?>
<ASX VERSION="3.0">
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF="<? echo $video_url; ?>" / >
</ENTRY>
</ASX>

asxOutput.php (http: //somehost/somedir/asxOutput.php?channel=rock)

<?php 

header("Cache-control: public"); 
header("Content-Disposition: filename=playlist.asx"); 
header("Content-Type: video/x-ms-asf;"); // setting up MIME type

$channel= $_GET["channel"]; 

function GetStream 
{ 
//your function that will get the path to your stream from a database or by whatever other mean
//example: // return "mms://somehost/somedir/" .$channel.".asf"; //filter $channel variable before using to avoid vulnerabilities
} 

echo "<asx version = \"3.0\">\n"; 
echo "<TITLE>". $channel . "</TITLE>"; //make sure to filter $channel variable

echo "<ENTRY>\n"; 
echo "<REF HREF = \"". GetStream . "\" />\n"; 
echo "</ENTRY>\n"; 

echo "</asx>\n"; 

?>

Freeware Icecast streaming server software might be better. You can use it on a cheaper *nix hosting.

If you're not familiar with web development, you can always find a professional freelancer to do the job. Just make sure he can provide a secure and reliable solution.

[Froglips57]

Thank you Stream Recorder!

That gives me the info I need.

And thanks for the tip about Icecast, when I started streaming I didn't know what to use, or how to use it... Thanks for your help.

Jami

Originally Posted by Froglips57

And thanks for the tip about Icecast, when I started streaming I didn't know what to use, or how to use it... Thanks for your help.

You're welcome! I'm glad if I can provide some help here.

WINDOW MEDIA SERVICES is GREAT at streaming content, especially video streams. It just might NOT WORTH the money one have to pay for it.

And you can always COMPARE. Icecast can be installed even on your Windows PC or you can have it on a Linux. Many radio stations use it to broadcast MP3 and AAC audio files, so it is a good choice.

Just test it and make your own opinion. It would be nice if you can post compare them here. Even if you are not a computer geek, your REVIEW will be very useful 'coz it will allow to choose an easy to use and/or a cheap solution.

[Froglips57]

A couple of things that might help others finding this tread....

For our application we are saving hundreds a month by running our own streaming server over paying a service to host our media for us.

I chose Windows 2003 streaming media server because it wasn't much more to 'rent' a dedicated server 'account' with this OS than it was for Linux. And at the time I found more step-by-step instructions for streaming using Windows 2003 than I did with the other options out there. Windows 2003 Media Services has been around for a long time and there is a lot of documentation.

My learning curve was huge since I had to learn running a server plus streaming and security all at the same time - Oy! The streaming software came free and set to go on Windows 2003 so it was a short cut from my perspective. Although I hate Windows, I hate not finding the answers I need and being stuck much more....
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In addition to the firewall port info for the RTSP protocol, on Windows 2003 you have to enable the Control Protocol Plug-in for each protocol you want to use. You do this from the properties window for the server. Step by Step instructions can be found in the Media Help file on the OS.
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My next move - will be to run my own box and then I will want a cheaper option for OS than Windows that's for sure. I would never buy Windows 2003 for my own box.