On Fri, 21 Apr 2000 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I would like to begin broadcasting Real audio from my web site.
>
> Is it possible to do this without breaking the connection between the
> server and the client's RealPlayer?
>
> Is there perhaps a simple client-side utility that could be written to
> keep the connection alive, or at least request a new file once the
> current one has expired?
>
> I'm looking for some ideas, perhaps from someone that has dealt with
> Real Audio before.
Hi Ryan,
I spent the last two years as lead SysAdmin for a Canadian company
specializing in RealAudio/RealVideo streaming. (Largest stream licence
north of the 49th.)
We spent a *lot* of time working on this exact same problem.
There are two ways you can accomplish this. One is live, the other is
'fake-live'.
The live way would require Rebol/Command (not yet available), and would
require using Real version 5 (G2 and v7 do not support this mode of
operation.) You'd use the Rebol script to call the slta program
(simulated live transfer agent) that streams a file to the server as if it
were live. Your Rebol script would need to keep track of how long the
file was, and a second or so before the file ended, you'd need to spawn
another slta, which would 'usurp' the live stream and terminate the
earlier instance of slta. If you don't 'usurp' in time, the clients
player will stop when the current file ends. (Usurping disappeared in
RealServer G2.)
The fake live way would be to have the REBOL script generate a .ram file
containing the names of all the files you want to play, in order. The
clients player will sequence through all of them. This has the
disadvantage that the client can skip past your DJ patter or commercials
by simply hitting page down on the keyboard. (all versions of RealServer)
A third option exists; it's the method we used to operate when no live
programming was in the studio. Play the audio in seqence on one computer
(via .wav, .mp3, or .ra files) and encode the output on a second computer
that is streamed live into the server for delivery. (all versions)
I'm not with that company anymore, but I'd be happy to answer any
questions you have regarding RealServer technology.
If you're doing HTTP streaming off a webserver, only option 2 is
available. Live streaming is only supported on a pnm/rtsp server.
Cheers,
Kev
