[opendtv] Re: On Flash and streaming
- From: Mike Tsinberg <Mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "<opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 15:54:07 +0000
Very nice Mark, thank you. Now I think we reached a point that we need to test
the quality of wireless streaming from various providers in your apartment. If
it passes there - we can declare it a streaming winner!
Best Regards,
Mike Tsinberg
http://keydigital.com
> On Dec 29, 2013, at 10:01 AM, "Mark Schubin" <tvmark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> FYI, totally unrelated to our forum, the following was posted today by the
> executive director of Opera Music Broadcast, a streaming service, on an
> opera-lovers forum called Opera-L. I thought it might be worth reading,
> particularly for its comments on Flash. It followed a discussion on that
> forum about problems receiving certain streams:
>
>> Hi all -
>>
>> I wanted to weigh in on this topic from a tech perspective, since streaming
>> is what we do every day.
>> Not nearly as much opera as other events on other channels, US opera
>> companies are moving at a GLACIAL pace in this regard, but considering that
>> in 2 days I will be directing 30 football games in 3 days?
>>
>> Yeah there is a LOT of streaming being done out there.
>>
>> Your performance on your end will vary GREATLY based on some major factors:
>>
>> - your equipment - this includes your device whether it is a
>> desktop, laptop, smartphone or other device such as a set-top box,
>> Wii, PlayStation, etc. And your TV, if you are pushing content to it.
>> - your internet connection, hardwired, wireless, satellite, DSL, etc.
>> - your network throughput from point A to point B
>>
>>
>> The first you have complete control over based on your location and finances.
>> Desktops tend to perform better than laptops, they usually have a better
>> video card installed. There are exceptions.
>> Smartphones do a surprisingly good job at live streaming. You may have to
>> navigate the world of apps since content providers usually only provide 2
>> types of streaming formats - Flash (majority) and H.264 (quickly gaining
>> acceptance).
>>
>> * Flash for live video is still considered the standard, and is
>> still in use by 90% + of content providers.
>> Droids, Samsungs, Nokias, Windows OS phones all support Flash
>> * H.264 is newer and is accepted by all those phones and by iOS phones.
>> * Tablets have their own issues, and require a special markup language
>> written by the content provider in order to display a stream. Its a
>> PITA and costs us more money in order to support it. (sigh)
>> * You will need to investigate which browsers and which apps work well
>> for the stream you want to watch. I use a Droid and had to install 2
>> apps in order to watch my own streams which on a desktop pop right
>> up and play.
>>
>> The second issue is your internet connection. This you have limited control
>> over. You may only have one provider in your area. You may have several.
>> High speed is better than DSL or satellite. Hardwired is better than
>> wireless. Being near a hub is better than being on the fringe.
>>
>> * WIRELESS USERS - wireless internet works in bursts. You may be
>> paying for x amount of download, such as 26 Mbs. In laymans terms
>> the way it works is that it is delivered to you in "waves", based on
>> getting a signal from the origin to the device. All sorts of things
>> can affect this including other wireless signal devices in use,
>> other wireless users nearby, airplanes near the tower, etc. Even in
>> your home. You all know you have dead spots in your home - I have
>> one right hear at my desk. If I move 3 feet to my left, I can use my
>> phone. So it stands to reason if you are trying to watch a
>> continuous signal and it has to fight it way through traffic, it's
>> going to SLOW DOWN.
>>
>> The third issue is the dreaded network congestion. So the origin signal at
>> the opera house has to travel from Point A (their location) to Point B
>> (you). Internet traffic travels in "hops". So a signal originating in NYC
>> and going to San Fran doesn't travel in a straight line. It hops from hub to
>> hub and node to node, looking for the fastest way to get where it needs to
>> be. There may be a power outage and storms in the Midwest, which means
>> certain hubs will be down or operating slowly. That means the signal in our
>> imaginary broadcast may have to go to Canada, or Atlanta, or somewhere else
>> to try and work its way to San Fran. Obviously a shorter distance is better,
>> BUT NOT ALWAYS.
>>
>> * We see the following all the time in our live chat tech support.
>> "But I can watch a You Tube video with no problem."
>> Yes, you can. You Tube is HUGE, and they have global repeaters all
>> over them world, which means that video of Galli-Curci that someone
>> uploaded is being sent to you from a nearby repeater based on your
>> location. I can guarantee that our company, and medici.tv,and Covent
>> Garden, and the Bayerische Staatsoper are probably not using
>> repeaters because then you would all be paying a lot of money for
>> tickets. Bandwidth for a provider is expensive enough. Relays would
>> kill us. Having said that, when we broadcast classic car auctions
>> live we use repeaters, but our client is selling cars that cost a
>> LOT of money, so its worth it to them. I can barely run the internet
>> radio station on the few donations we get. Repeaters are a happy
>> fantasy at this point.
>>
>> So to finish my point. If you are on a wireless connection and YouTube plays
>> fine and the Staatsoper buffers, is choppy or has other performance issues,
>> it may be the speed available at that time, it may be network congestion, it
>> may be misconfigured software on your device, it may be a hub is down or
>> suffering from a DdoS attack, it can be a LOT of things. Keep in mind that
>> network congestion can be suffered on BOTH sides - the opera house may be
>> rocking content out on a fiber optic cable of epic proportions, and your
>> local hub may have had a copper line go bad. And the reverse may happen as
>> well.
>>
>> I am always amazed at people who turn on an internet device and expect it to
>> magically work exactly the same way every time no matter what. The amount of
>> variables are infinite, and we are SO LUCKY we can get this kind of content
>> AT ALL.
>>
>> Happy Sunday everyone!
>>
>> --
>> Kelly Rinne
>> Executive Director
>> Opera Music Broadcast
>>
>> The Affiliate Center is now open!
>> http://bit.ly/UExE9r - Click here to join and start earning
>>
>> Keeping Classical Music Alive, the future of classical music radio
>> - http://OperaMusicBroadcast.com
>> - http://classicalmusicbroadcast.com
>> "Music does not have to be understood. It has to be listened to." -Hermann
>> Scherchen
>
>
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