About This Guide

Windows Media 4 Walkthrough

Abstract

With Microsoft Windows Media Technologies you can create, deliver, and play streaming media

files for applications ranging from news and entertainment to e-commerce to corporate

communications and training. Windows Media Technologies components include the Windows

Media Tools, Windows Media Services streaming server, and Windows Media Player. These

provide an end-to-end solution for streaming multimedia, from content authoring to delivery to

playback.

This step-by-step walkthrough will guide you in setting up and beginning to use Windows

Media Technologies. It is intended for both technical and non-technical persons who wish to

evaluate Windows Media Technologies as an easy to use, feature rich, and powerful

streaming media platform.

®

© 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

This White Paper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Microsoft, the BackOffice logo, NetShow, Windows, and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product or company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Microsoft Corporation • One Microsoft Way • Redmond, WA 98052-6399 • USA

0498

About This Guide..............................................................................2

About Windows Media Technologies.................................................3Key Features 3

Getting Started.................................................................................5Resource Planning 5

Installing Windows Media Components............................................9Setup Windows Media Encoder 9

Setup the Web Server 10

Setup Windows Media Server 10

Setup Windows Media Player 11

Configuring Windows Media Components......................................12Encoding 12

Serving 14

Using Windows Media.....................................................................20Understanding ASX and ASF Files 20

Embedding the Windows Media Player in a Web Page 20

Microsoft PowerPoint Integration....................................................23PowerPoint 2000 Presentation Broadcasting 23

Windows Media Publish to ASF 24

Windows Media Presenter 24

Monitoring Performance.................................................................25

Logging...........................................................................................26Enabling Unicast Logging 26

Enabling Multicast Logging 26

3rd Party Reporting Tools 27

Getting Help...................................................................................28

Welcome to the Windows Media Technologies 4.0 Walkthrough. This step-by-step walkthrough will guide you in setting up and beginning to use Windows Media Technologies. It is intended for both technical and non-technical persons who wish to evaluate Windows Media Technologies as an easy to use, feature rich, and powerful streaming media platform.

This guide will: Assist you in building a Windows Media test lab.

Getting Started with Windows Media

1

ContentsAbout This Guide

Instruct you on how to encode live and stored digital content.

Instruct you on how to conduct a live, scheduled or on-demand broadcast on the Internet or intranet.

Show examples on how to embed Windows Media in your web pages.

Help you conduct a streaming Windows Media presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint.

This guide assumes readers have a working knowledge of simple TCP/IP networking and the Microsoft Windows operating system.With Microsoft Windows Media Technologies you can create, deliver, and play streaming media files for applications ranging from news and entertainment to e-commerce to corporate communications and training. Windows Media Technologies components include the Windows Media Tools, Windows Media Services streaming server, and Windows Media Player. These provide an end-to-end solution for streaming multimedia, from content authoring to delivery to playback.

Windows Media Tools

The content creation components of Windows Media Technologies include tools for authoring both live and on-demand content, and for converting other file formats such as WAV, AVI, QuickTime and MP3 to Advanced Streaming Format (ASF). The Windows Media Encoder creates live content for broadcast over the Internet or intranets. The Windows Media Encoder can also encode stored content for on-demand playback. The Windows Media Author and ASF Indexer tools allow authors to create illustrated presentations by embedding graphics, markers, script commands, and indexes in an ASF file.

Windows Media Services

The Windows Media server components are a set of services running on Windows NT Server that can distribute audio, video, and other media to client computers via unicast or multicast delivery. To deliver live, real-time content, the server works in conjunction with the Windows Media Encoder, which compresses the audio and video feed in real time and passes it to the Windows Media server for delivery to the network.Windows Media PlayerUsers play ASF content with the Windows Media Player. Intranet and Internet surfers can use the player to play audio, illustrated audio (synchronized sound and still images), and full-motion video files, as well as to offer playback of many other multimedia data types.

Key Features Highest quality audio. Windows Media Audio provides FM-stereo

music to all modem users and CD quality sound at ½ the data rate of MP3—meaning files can be downloaded in ½ the time.

Wide bandwidth range. Offers one of the industry's widest range of bandwidths for high-quality streaming, ranging from mono-quality audio of 2.4 kilobits per second (Kbps) to broadcast-quality video greater than 6 megabits per second (Mbps). Provides high quality in the industry at every data rate.


2

About Windows Media Technologies

Intelligent streaming. Ensures that highest-quality video is delivered to users, regardless of network conditions.

Multibit-rate encoding. Enables developers to encode multiple data

rate streams into a single streaming media file, so users click once and always receive the highest-quality video, regardless of the speed of their network connection.

Highly scalable. Supports over 4,000 clients connecting at 28.8 Kbps on a single-processor Pentium II server. Most cost-effective solution in the industry. Multithreaded to support almost twice as many connections on a dual processor server.

Built-in multicast service. Conserves network bandwidth by delivering a single stream of high-quality video to support unlimited users.

Fast video encoding. Encodes lengthy, on-demand content at the fastest rate in the industry, saving content producers valuable time.

Digital rights management. Windows Media Rights Manager enables content owners to protect their intellectual property and generate revenue from the use of their content.

Seamless stream switching. Provides a smooth viewing experience by eliminating delay between linked content segments, regardless of data type.

Scalable to full-screen. Video playback window can be increased up to full-screen.

Integration with other Microsoft products. Leverage your investment in other Microsoft products such as Windows NT Server, Microsoft Site Server, and the rest of the BackOffice family.

In order to support the demonstrations described in this document, it is suggested that you build a lab with three test machines; one will be used as the media encoder, another as a media server and web server, and a third machine for playback. It is recommended that this test lab be physically separated from your production network. The following diagram shows how all of the components work together.


3

Getting Started

Windows Media Components

Resource Planning

The following tables outline the minimum, recommended and optimal configurations for each of the three roles of machines.


4

Encoder

Component Minimum Required Recommended Optimal

Processor Intel Pentium 90 megahertz (MHz)

Intel Pentium II 266 MHz or better

Fastest processor available. Dual processor is ideal.

Memory 32 MB 64 MB 128 MB or more

Network Interface Card (NIC)

10 Mb TCP/IP Ethernet card

10/100 Mb TCP/IP Ethernet card


Available hard disk space

5 MB for Windows Media Tools

5 MB for Windows Media Tools; enough disk space for content creation and editing

500 MB for content creation and editing

Audio card

Sound card compatible with Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16

High quality card compatible with Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16

High quality card compatible with Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16

Video Capture Card

A video capture card that supports Video for Windows. (See List of supported cards on the Windows Media Technologies website)

ViewCast Osprey 100 or Winnov Videum video capture card

Osprey 100 video capture card

Software

Windows 95 (real-time encoding of audio only)

Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows NT Server or Workstation version 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or above

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 with Service Pack 5


5

http://www.winnov.com/

http://www.viewcast.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/partners/Hardware/default.asp#capture


Media Server


Processor Intel Pentium 90 MHz

Intel Pentium II 266 MHz or better

Dual Intel Pentium III 450

Memory 64 MB 256 MB or more 512 MB

Network Interface Card


10/100 Mb TCP/IP Ethernet card

100 Mb TCP/IP Ethernet

Available hard disk space

21 MB for Windows Media Services; enough disk space for content storage

21 MB for Windows Media Services; 500 MB or more disk space for content storage

4 GB or more SCSI Raid 0

Software

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later; Microsoft Windows 95 with DCOM95 or Microsoft Windows NT Server or Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with SP4

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later; Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01; Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 with Service Pack 5


6

Player


Processor Pentium 90 MHz Pentium 120 MHz or better

Pentium II 266 MHz

Memory

16 MB for Windows 95 or 98

32 MB for Windows NT

32 MB or more 64 MB

Network Interface Card



100 Mb TCP/IP Ethernet Card

Audio 16-bit sound cardSound Blaster compatible 16-bit sound card

High quality Sound Blaster compatible 16-bit sound card

Video 16-color display 16-bit color display

16-bit color display with DirectDraw support

Software

Windows 95; A web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or greater

Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT Server or Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 3; A web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or greater

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 4; Microsoft Internet Explorer 5

Additional Hardware

Dedicated 10 or 100 Mb hub. 100 Mb hub suggested.

VCR with audio and video content or video camera for demonstrating real-time encoding.

This section describes how to setup a demonstration lab for evaluating Windows Media Technologies. For the purposes of this walkthrough, the configuration below assumes that your web server and streaming server will reside on the same machine. In a production environment however, it is recommended that the web server and Windows Media Server be two separate dedicated machines. For more information of planning a production streaming environment, see the Windows Media Services Deployment Guide on the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website.


7

Installing Windows Media Components

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/

There are four installation steps:

Setup Windows Media Encoder

Setup the web server

Setup Windows Media Server

Setup Windows Media playback client

Prior to these steps, each machine should have its appropriate operating system installed and configured with the proper Service Packs according to the tables above. Each machine should be a stand-alone server or workstation in a single workgroup. For example, name the workgroup MEDIALAB. Using User Manager on each machine, create a user ID and password that are the same on all of the machines in the MEDIALAB workgroup. Login to the machines using the same user ID and password.

Setup Windows Media Encoder1. On the encoder machine, install and configure appropriate audio and

video capture devices. For help with configuring each device, contact the device’s vendor.

2. If your encoder is using an Intel Pentium III processor and you wish to take advantage of the Windows Media codecs optimized for the Pentium III Streaming SIMD Instructions:

For Service Pack 4: Download and install the Intel Streaming SIMD Extensions Driver from the Intel website.

or

Install Windows NT Service Pack 5 which includes the SIMD Extensions Driver.

For information on the Intel Pentium III SIMD Streaming Extensions see the Intel Corporation website. For more information on Windows Media optimizations for the Intel Pentium III, see the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website.

3. Name the machine ENCODER01 and configure it to join the MEDIALAB workgroup.

4. Install Microsoft Windows Media Tools. Windows Media Tools can be downloaded from the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website.

Setup the Web Server1. Name the machine designated as the Windows Media Server

MEDIASRV01 and join the MEDIALAB workgroup.

2. Install Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 or greater.

3. Install Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 using “typical” setup. Microsoft IIS is part of the Windows NT Server 4.0 Option Pack and can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.

4. Create a directory on the web server to store Windows Media station configuration files (stations files will be explained later in this document). This directory should be a subdirectory of a web publishing point and its files should be visible to users from a web browser. For


8

http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/downloads/recommended/NT4OptPk/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windowsmedia/features/Compression/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windowsmedia/features/Compression/default.asp

http://support.intel.com/support/processors/pentiumiii/ntdriver.htm

http://support.intel.com/vtune/optidrvr/index.htm

example, if your default web publishing point is C:\Inetpub\wwwroot, create a directory C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\stations.

5. Create a Windows NT network share for the newly created directory called stations:

a. From Windows Explorer, right click on C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\stations and select Properties.

b. Click on the Sharing tab and select Share As.

c. For the share name type “stations” and click Ok.

6. Make sure that the correct MIME type is set for ASF and ASX files. For Microsoft IIS 4.0:

a. Open the Microsoft Management Console (Start, Programs, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Internet Service Manager).

b. Right click on the default website and click Properties.

c. Select HTTP Headers.

d. Click the File Types button.

e. Add the file extensions “.asf” and “.asx” with the MIME type “video/x-ms-asf”.

f. Click Apply, and the Web site will be updated.

Note that any web server software may be used in place of Microsoft IIS 4.0. Support for installing and configuring other web servers and MIME types must be supplied by the software vendor. For help with setting Windows Media Services MIME types for other common web servers, see MIME Type Settings for Windows Media Services on the Microsoft Windows NT Server Streaming Media Services website.

Setup Windows Media Server1. On the web server, MEDIASRV01, install Microsoft Windows Media

Services 4.0. Windows Media Services 4.0 can be downloaded from the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website. During setup:

a. Choose Do not enable HTTP streaming

b. Choose Create Windows Media Services Account

c. Accept the default publishing point C:\asfroot.

2. Create a Windows NT network share for the C:\asfroot directory called asfroot:

a. From Windows Explorer, right click on C:\asfroot and select Properties.

b. Click on the Sharing tab and select Share As.

c. For the share name type “asfroot” and click Ok.

Setup Windows Media Player1. Name the machine designated as the Windows Media client

MEDIACLIENT01 and join the MEDIALAB workgroup.


9

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/

http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/mediaserv/deployment/planning/mime.asp

2. Install a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 or greater or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or greater.

3. Download and install the most recent version of the Microsoft Windows

Media Player from the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website.

This section describes how to configure Windows Media components to create and distribute multimedia content. The section is broken into two categories:

Encoding. Describes the steps necessary to encode live or stored content for live or on-demand streaming.

Serving. Describes how to configure Windows Media Services for live or scheduled broadcasts and on-demand streaming.

EncodingBefore content is available to stream to users, it must be encoded, or converted to Advanced Streaming Format (ASF). The Microsoft Windows Media Encoder, which is part of Windows Media Tools 4.0 can encode both live content in the form of analog signals such as a VCR or video camera and pre-recorded digital content in such as AVI’s, WAV’s or MP3’s.

This section describes how to encode both a live stream for real-time broadcast and stored content for on-demand streaming.

Encoding a Live Stream

In order to encode a live source in real-time, a video capture card is required on the encoder machine. For a list of supported video capture cards, see the list of Windows Media Hardware Providers on the Windows Media Technologies website. Additionally, since the quality of a real-time encoded video stream depends greatly on the speed of the encoder’s processor, the faster the CPU the better audio and video quality you will achieve.

Your camera’s video out and audio out should be plugged in to the encoder’s video capture card and audio input device respectively. If a video camera is not available, you can use a VCR instead to simulate a live feed. Your video capture card should have come with software to test the video input. You may want to verify that the video and audio devices are working before proceeding. Consult the documentation that came with your hardware for details.

To begin encoding a live stream:1. On the encoder machine, ENCODER01, open the Windows Media

Encoder (Start, Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Encoder).

2. The welcome screen should appear with options for creating a new configuration. If it does not, click on File, New.


10

Configuring Windows Media Components


http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/download/default.asp





Windows Media Encoder Welcome Screen

3. Under Create a new configuration using, choose Template with I/O options and click OK (see Welcome screen above).

4. Select an appropriate template from the list of stream template definitions. For example, if you will be encoding audio and video for viewing over a 56K modem, choose 56K dial-up modem video. Click OK when done.

5. For the Input Settings, choose Live Source and click Next.

6. Choose the audio and video capture devices that are connected to the source you want to encode and click Next.

7. Under Output Settings choose whether you want the encoded output to be sent to a Windows Media Server for real-time streaming or stored to ASF for on-demand or scheduled broadcasting, or both. Click Next.

If you chose to send data to a Windows Media Server for your connection method, choose Allow Remote Server(s) to connect via a fixed port. In the MSBD on Port box, type the default of 7007. Click Next/Finish.

If you chose to send data to a local ASF file, in the file name box, type in the path and filename of the ASF file you want to create. For example, C:\temp\test.asf. Check the Enable Auto Indexing box and click Finish.

8. On the Windows Media Encoder menu, select Start to begin encoding. You can see a preview of the encoded video by clicking on View, Preview. Note that opening a preview window degrades performance and may affect the encoded output.

Note: On many systems, the line in source in volume control is not enabled by default. If you do not hear any audio you may need to enable the line in source. To do so:

1. Double click on the volume control icon in the taskbar.

2. Click on Options, Properties and select adjust volume for recording.

3. Check the Line-in checkbox and click OK.

4. Make sure the Selected checkbox is checked beneath the volume slider for Line-in. You can adjust the audio volume during encoding my moving this slider up or down.

If you chose to send data to a Windows Media Server, your live stream is now available to Windows Media Servers for broadcasting on the Internet or intranet. If you chose to store the data to an ASF file, once encoding is complete you can make modifications to the final file before making it available for on-demand streaming or scheduled live broadcast. You can play back the saved ASF file in Windows Media Player by double clicking on it from Windows Explorer.


11

Encoding Stored Content

If the original content is already in digital form such as AVI, WAV, or MP3 format, you can encode the file to ASF and make it available for on-demand streaming or scheduled broadcast.

To begin encoding stored content:1. On the encoder machine, ENCODER01, open the Windows Media

Encoder (Start, Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Encoder).

2. The welcome screen should appear with options for creating a new configuration. If it does not, click on File, New.

3. Under Create a new configuration using, choose Template with I/O options and click OK (see Welcome screen above).

4. Select an appropriate template from the list of stream template definitions. For example, to encode audio and video for viewing over a 56K modem, choose 56K dial-up modem video. Click OK when done.

5. For the Input Settings, choose AVI/WAV/MP3 File and click Next.

6. In the File name box, type in the path to the file you want to encode. For example, a sample AVI installed with Windows NT you can use is C:\WINNT\clock.avi. Click Next.

7. Under Output Settings choose whether you want the encoded output to be sent to a Windows Media Server for live broadcast or stored to ASF for on-demand or scheduled broadcasting or both. Click Next.

If you chose to send data to a Windows Media Server, for your connection method, choose Allow Remote Server(s) to connect via a fixed port. In the MSBD on Port box type the default of 7007. Click Next/Finish.

If you chose to send data to a local ASF file, in the File name box, type in the path and filename of the ASF file you want to create. For example, C:\temp\clock.asf. Check the Enable Auto Indexing box and click Finish.

8. On the Windows Media Encoder menu, select Start to begin encoding. You can see a preview of the encoded video by clicking on View, Preview. Note that opening a preview window degrades performance and may affect the encoded output.

ServingWindows Media Services are a set of services running on a Windows NT server that broadcast audio and video content via unicast and multicast to clients.

The terms unicast and multicast describe how clients receive data packets from a Windows Media server. In a unicast, each client receives a distinct stream from the server which is delivered only when the user initiates a request for that stream. A multicast is a one-to-many connection in which multiple clients can receive the same stream from a server, but have no control over transmission of the stream. An advantage of multicast streaming is that it saves network bandwidth, since many users can watch the same stream at the same time. You can try thinking of a multicast as a television broadcast, where a TV station broadcasts their signal via satellite and your television set receives the signal.


12

To the TV station it doesn’t matter if one person or 100,000 people tune in, just one signal is distributed. In a multicast, much like watching TV, viewers cannot start, stop, rewind, fast-forward, or pause the stream and cannot decide when it begins or ends. For more information on unicast versus multicast distribution, see the Multicast Streaming: An Introduction whitepaper on the Microsoft Streaming Media Services website.

This section explains how to configure Windows Media Services to deliver streams to users. This can be done in many ways:

On-demand unicast delivery gives a user active control of a pre-recorded stream. The user can start, stop, rewind, fast-forward, or pause the stream. On-demand connections can quickly use up the bandwidth of a network because each client has its own connection to a server. For example, if 10 users are simultaneously watching a 100Kbps unicast stream, 1Mb (10 x 100Kbps) of bandwidth is being used on the network.

Live unicast broadcast delivery involves unicasting a live source such as a TV or radio station or a corporate address. In the live scenario, a user has passive control of the stream and cannot rewind, fast-forward or pause the stream.

Scheduled unicast broadcast delivery is the same as live unicast, except rather than streaming a live source, pre-recorded media in the form of an ASF file is played back from disk in real time. Live unicast and scheduled unicast delivery are most commonly used in environments that don’t support multicast, such as a non-multicast enabled LAN or on most of the Internet.

Live multicast broadcast is similar to live unicast streaming except that streams are delivered via multicast packets which saves network bandwidth. Like watching television, a user cannot control the stream.

Scheduled multicast broadcast is similar to scheduled unicast streaming except streams are delivered via multicast packets.

On-demand Unicast

To make stored content available on-demand to Windows Media clients, copy encoded ASF files to the media server’s home publishing point. During the Windows Media Services installation, you were prompted to specify a directory for the home publishing point which by default is created in c:\asfroot.

A publishing point on a Windows Media Server can be compared to a publishing point on a web server: All files in a web server’s publishing point can be viewed from a web browser by typing in the HTTP URL to file. For example with Microsoft IIS, the file in the default publishing point, C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\page1.htm on the machine MYWEBSERVER can be viewed from the web URL http://mywebserver/page1.htm. Likewise, the file in the default publishing point, C:\asfroot\file1.asf on the machine MEDIASRV01 can be viewed from the URL mms://mediasrv01/file1.asf. The MMS protocol is used to access streams on a Microsoft Windows Media Server much like the HTTP protocol is used to access web pages on a web server1.

1 If HTTP streaming is enabled on a Microsoft Windows Media Server, streams can be accessed via the http protocol as well. For more information about enabling HTTP streaming, see the Microsoft Windows Media Services Help documentation.


13

http://www.microsoft.com/NTServer/mediaserv/techdetails/overview/multiwp.asp

To make a stream available for on-demand streaming, copy the encoded file C:\temp\clock.asf from the encoder to the home publishing point, C:\asfroot, on the Media Server.

To playback the file:1. Open the Windows Media Player on MEDIACLIENT01 (Start, Programs,

Accessories, Multimedia, Windows Media Player)

2. Click File, Open and type mms://mediasrv01/clock.asf.

Live or Scheduled Unicast Broadcast

To configure a live or scheduled unicast broadcast:1. Start the Windows Media Administrator on MEDIASRV01 (Start,

Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Administrator). Windows Media Administrator was installed with Windows Media Services.

2. You should see MEDIASRV01 as the selected server in the server drop down box. Under Configure Server click Unicast Publishing Points.

3. In the bottom window titled Broadcast Unicast Publishing Points, make sure the Use wizard to create new broadcast publishing point check box is selected and select Broadcast, New.

4. The Configure and Publish Unicast Broadcast Streams QuickStart wizard appears. Click Next.

5. On the Select publishing point screen, select Create a broadcast publishing point. Click Next.

6. In the Specify source window, select the source for the broadcast:

If you will be broadcasting a live stream from an encoder choose Windows Media Encoder as your source.

If you will be broadcasting a pre-existing ASF, choose Remote publishing point as your source.

7. Click Next.


14

Unicast Broadcast QuickStart Wizard

8. In the New broadcast publishing point window (see Unicast Broadcast Wizard figure above), type a name for the publishing point in the Alias box. For example, “LiveStream1”.

9. In the Path box, type the protocol and path to the stream you are broadcasting

If you are broadcasting live from the encoder, type “MSBD://encoder01” and use the default port number of 7007 you chose in the section above, Encoding a Live Stream.

If you are broadcasting stored content, type the URL path to the file you created. For example, “mms://mediasrv01/clock.asf”.

10. Click Next.

11. At Select publishing method, choose Create an .asx file that points at the asf stream and click Next.

12. Click Finish and save the ASX file in a directory on a web server that clients can access . For example, \\MEDIASRV01\stations\LiveStream1.asx.

Once created, the broadcast can be accessed via a web browser by typing in the URL to the ASX file on the web server: http://mediasrv01/stations/LiveStream1.asx. For more information on ASX’s refer to the Using Windows Media section below.

Live or Scheduled Multicast Broadcast

This section describes the steps necessary to broadcast a live or scheduled multicast stream on an internal network such as an intranet. Multicast broadcasts are not suitable for Internet streaming since most of the Internet is not multicast enabled. For Internet broadcasts, use unicast streaming.

Multicast streaming introduces the concept of station configuration files (.nsc files). NSC files contain settings such as the bit rate, video size, codec used, IP address and port of the multicast stream. In an on-demand scenario, this information is read from the ASF’s header. In a multicast however, since a user is connecting to a multicast IP address and not a static file, there must be an external file to configure the player. In a multicast, an ASX file points to an NSC file which sits on a web server or Windows NT share that configures the Windows Media Player to load the multicast stream. The following diagram describes the role of an NSC file and the web server during a multicast broadcast.


15

To configure a live or scheduled multicast broadcast:1. Start the Windows Media Administrator on MEDIASRV01 (Start,

Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Administrator). Windows Media Administrator was installed with Windows Media Services.

2. You should see MEDIASRV01 as the selected server in the server drop down box. Under Configure Server click Multicast Stations.

3. The Multicast Stations page appears. Make sure the Use wizard to create new station check box is selected and select Stations, New.

4. The Configure and Publish Multicast Broadcast Streams QuickStart wizard appears. Click Next.

5. On the Select a station screen, select Create a new station. Click Next.

6. On the Create a new station screen, type a name for the station. For example: “Station1”. Under Distribution Mode select Multicast and distribution. Click Next.

7. On the Specify a program and stream name screen, type a name for the program in the Program Name box. For example: “Program1”.

8. In the Stream Name box on the same screen, type a name for the stream. For example, “Stream1”.

9. Check Start Program Once Wizard is finished to make the program immediately available for viewing after the station is created.

10. Check Replay stream objects once finished (loop), to play the program repeatedly after it is started. Click Next.

11. Under Specify a Source for the Stream Object box:

If you are multicasting live from a real-time encoder, choose Windows Media Encoder as your source and click Next.


16

1. User requests ASX file from web server2. Web server returns URL to NSC File3. Media Player requests NSC from web server4. Web server returns NSC file with IP address of multicast5. Media Player connects to multicast IP and plays stream

If you are multicasting a pre-existing ASF file, choose Advanced Streaming Format (.asf) File and click Next.

12. In the Specify Source URL for the Stream Object window, type the path to the source file or remote encoder you setup in the section Encoding a Live Stream:

If you are multicasting from a remote encoder:

a. type the protocol, machine name, and port number of the encoder machine in the Source URL box. In this example, since we chose the default distribution port during the encoder setup, type “msbd://ENCODER01:7007”. Click Next.

b. In the Specify Stream Format Information window, select You chose a standard configuration in the Windows Media Encoder. This is because we used a built-in stream template during encoder setup. Click Next. If you customized the template or created your own, you will have to type the path to the saved encoder template (.asd) for the stream.

If you are multicasting an ASF file:

a. type the protocol, server name and filename in the Source URL box. For example, “mms://mediasrv01/clock.asf”. Click Next.

b. In the Specify Stream Format Information window, type the actual path to the ASF file (not the mms path). For example, \\MEDIASRV01\asfroot\clock.asf.

13. In the Export Path for the station information window type the path to the saved Windows Media Station Configuration file (.nsc file) in the Path text box. This file should be stored on a web server (Internet or intranet) or network share (intranet). In this example, save the file on the web server’s share, \\MEDIASRV01\stations\station1.nsc.

14. Click Next to bring up the Station Information File URL screen. Since the NSC file was published to a web server, select Use an HTTP path to the station information file and type the URL to the file. For example, “http://MEDIASRV01/stations/station1.nsc”. Click Next.

15. On the Select publishing method screen, make sure that the create an ASX file that points at the ASF stream checkbox is selected. Click Next.

16. On the Ready to publish screen click Finish. Save the ASX file in a directory on a web server that clients can access via HTTP. For example, \\MEDIASRV01\stations\station1.asx.

17. On the Publishing Complete screen, click Test .asx to ensure that the stream is functioning properly.

18. Click Close to complete the creation of the station.

To play back the multicast stream, on MEDIACLIENT01, open a web browser and type in the URL to the ASX file you just created. For example, http://MEDIASRV01/stations/station1.asx. This URL can be reference by a hyperlink on a web page. For information about embedding the player in a web page, see Embedding the Windows Media Player below.


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Understanding ASX and ASF FilesAn ASF is a data format for streaming audio and video content, images, and script commands in packets over a network. ASF content can be a static .asf file or a live stream generated by the Windows Media Encoder. An ASX, or ASF

Stream Redirector, is an XML text file that redirects the Windows Media Player to a static ASF or ASF stream on a Windows Media server. ASX files can include information such as which protocol to use to view the stream, the content author, description, title, copyright and can be used to define custom playlists.

ASF files are generally stored on a Windows Media server publishing point so that they can be streamed to user’s desktops. ASX files on the other hand reside on a web server and are used to launch the Windows Media Player and redirect it to the appropriate ASF file or stream.

Embedding the Windows Media Player in a Web PageThe Microsoft Windows Media Player can be embedded into a web page and customized via the API documented in the Windows Media Player Software Developer’s Kit (SDK). The code sample below embeds the Windows Media Player as an ActiveX control in Microsoft Internet Explorer and as a plug-in for Netscape Navigator browsers. This code can be automatically generated by the Multicast Station wizard or the Broadcast Publishing Point wizard in Windows Media Services. See the Windows Media Services help documentation or the Windows Media SDK for more information.

The code for the Netscape Navigator plug-in is included between the <EMBED> tags. The code within the <OBJECT> tags is used to embed the Windows Media Player ActiveX control.

Insert the following code between the <BODY> and </BODY> tags in your HTML document. Replace the three lines pointing to http://mediasrv01/stations/LiveStream1.asx with the URL to your published ASX file. The FileName field can also point directly to the ASF, as in mms://mediasrv01/clock.asf.


18

Using Windows Media

<OBJECT ID="MediaPlayer" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240CLASSID="CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95" CODEBASE="http://activex.microsoft.com/activex/controls/mplayer/en/

nsmp2inf.cab#Version=5,1,52,701"STANDBY="Loading Microsoft® Windows® Media Player components..." TYPE="application/x-oleobject"><PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="http://mediasrv01/stations/LiveStream1.asx">

<EMBED TYPE="application/x-mplayer2" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/ Downloads/Contents/Products/MediaPlayer/" SRC="http://mediasrv01/stations/LiveStream1.asx" NAME="MediaPlayer" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240> </EMBED>

</OBJECT>

<BR><BR> <a HREF="http://mediasrv01/stations/LiveStream1.asx"> Start the streaming media presentation in the stand-alone player.</a>

Adding Control Buttons

You can also control an embedded Windows Media Player control using scripting languages such as JavaScript of VBScript. For example, you can add a play, pause, and stop button by using the following lines of code in your HTML:

<input type="button" value="Play" name="Play"Onclick="MediaPlayer.Play()">

<input type="button" value="Pause" name="Pause"Onclick="MediaPlayer.Pause()">

<input type="button" value="Stop" name="Stop"Onclick= "MediaPlayer.Stop()">

For more information on embedding the Windows Media Player in web pages and applications, download the Windows Media Player SDK from the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website.

Adding Chat

A chat feature can be added to your web pages to provide two-way feedback for live presentations. With the sample code below, you can embed a Microsoft Chat 1.1 ActiveX control in the browser together with slides and video.


19

http://download.microsoft.com/msdownload/wmedia/wmt4.0/x86/en/wmsdk.exe

<form name="WEBChat">Chat Path: <input type="text" size="37" maxlength="64" name="Room" value="//Comicsrv.microsoft.com/#SampleRoom"><BR>Nick Name: <input type="text" size="37" maxlength="32" name="Alias" value="YourNickName"><p><input type="button" name="FluxBtn" value=" Join the chat " onclick="Flux" Language="VBScript"> </p></form>

<p><object id="Chat" classid="clsid:D6526FE0-E651-11CF-99CB-00C04FD64497"codebase="MSChatOCX.Cab#Version=4,71,730,0" align="baseline"border="0" width="600" height="250"standby="Downloading the Microsoft Chat Control"codetype="application/x-oleobject"><param name="UIOption" value="4095"><param name="Appearance" value="3"><param name="BorderStyle" value="0"><param name="BackColor" value="255"></object></p>

<script language="VBScript">SUB Flux

Dim Form Set Form = Document.WEBChat

If (Chat.State = 1) ThenChat.EnterRoom Form.Room.Value, "", Form.Alias.Value,

"ALL", 1, 3Else

If (Chat.State = 2) ThenChat.CancelEnteringChat.ClearHistory

Else If (Chat.State = 3) Then

Chat.ExitRoomChat.ClearHistory

End IfEnd If

End IfEND SUB

SUB Chat_OnStateChanged(ByVal NewState)If (NewState = 1) Then

Document.WEBChat.FluxBtn.Value = " Join the chat "Chat.BackColor = 255

ElseIf (NewState = 2) Then

Document.WEBChat.FluxBtn.Value = "Cancel Entering"Chat.BackColor = 33023

ElseIf (NewState = 3) Then

Document.WEBChat.FluxBtn.Value = "Leave the chat"

Chat.BackColor = 49152End If

End IfEnd If

END SUB</script>

The Microsoft Chat 1.1 ActiveX control in this example works with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or higher, however, any web-based chat plug-in can be used in its place. For more information on the Microsoft Chat 1.1 ActiveX control and the Microsoft Chat Java applet see the Microsoft Chat Home on the Microsoft website.


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http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/chat/

One of the most compelling benefits of Microsoft Windows Media Components is its tight integration with other Microsoft products such as Microsoft Office, Site Server, Internet Information Server, Internet Explorer and others.

This section includes three examples of how Windows Media Components can be used together with Microsoft PowerPoint to deliver live or on-demand audio/video with slides to users’ desktops.

PowerPoint 2000 Presentation Broadcast allows users to broadcast streaming PowerPoint presentations in real time to network users. In addition to slides, presenters can broadcast video and audio simultaneously to deliver a live multimedia show online.

Windows Media Publish to ASF is a useful tool for converting PowerPoint presentations into on-demand ASF files.

Windows Media Presenter for Microsoft PowerPoint 97 is an add-in tool that helps you synchronize a PowerPoint presentation with an ASF stream. With the customizable sample web pages, users can view the audio, video and slides from their web browser.

PowerPoint 2000 Presentation BroadcastingWith the Presentation Broadcasting feature of PowerPoint 2000, presenters can broadcast synchronized streaming PowerPoint presentations – slides, video, and audio – in real-time, and then store their presentations for on-demand playback.

Presenters create their slides using the familiar PowerPoint software program and then launch a wizard to schedule, publish, and deliver their presentation. During the presentation, all of the slide transitions and animations are synchronized with the actions of the presenter, allowing the audience to follow the presentation as if they were in the same room as the presenter. Audience members only need a Web browser and the Windows Media Player to view a presentation.

For more information on configuring Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 for Presentation Broadcasting, see the article entitled Presentation Broadcasting in PowerPoint 2000 on the Microsoft Developer Network web site.


21

Microsoft PowerPoint Integration

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/imedia/windowsmedia/ppt2000.asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/imedia/windowsmedia/ppt2000.asp

Windows Media Publish to ASFUsing the Publish to ASF wizard, any user can convert their PowerPoint 97 or PowerPoint 2000 slides and narrations into an ASF file for streaming on the company website or intranet.

To use the Publish to ASF tool:1. Install the Windows Media Publish to ASF plug-in for Microsoft

PowerPoint which is part of the Microsoft Windows Media Tools installation.

2. Open a saved presentation in PowerPoint.

3. If you have not done so already, record slide narrations for your presentation by clicking on Tools, Record Narration.

4. When recording is done, save the presentation and click on Tools, Publish to ASF to begin the Publish to ASF wizard.

5. Click OK to export the slides to JPEG images.

6. Select a target bandwidth. For example, intranet (100 Kbps).

7. Select a location to save the ASF file. For example, C:\Temp\Presentation1.asf.

8. Click Finish to end the publishing wizard.

To stream the presentation, copy the ASF file to an ASF publishing point on the Windows Media server. The file can also be played back locally in Windows Media Player by double clicking on it in Windows Explorer.

Windows Media PresenterMicrosoft PowerPoint 2000’s Presentation Broadcasting feature has replaced Windows Media Presenter as the easy to use and integrated solution to stream a presentation. However, in environments where PowerPoint 2000 cannot be leveraged, Windows Media Presenter for PowerPoint 97 can be substituted. Windows Media Presenter is installed by default with Windows Media Tools. Instructions for setting up and configuring Presenter is included with the Windows Media Tools documentation (Start, Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Tools Documentation). See the section titled Windows Media Presenter.Windows Media Services ships with a set of Windows NT Performance Monitor counters for monitoring streaming server performance. Examples of items that can be monitored include active TCP/UDP/HTTP streams, number of connected users, total send rate as well as late reads and CPU usage. By monitoring certain counters, you can monitor your server’s health and have it alert you when performance degrades. Performance Monitor is also a useful tool in determining your media server requirements for a production streaming environment. Consult the Windows Media Services help documentation for a complete list of available performance counters.

To start Windows Media Performance Monitor, on MEDIASRV01, click on Start, Programs, Windows Media, Windows Media Performance Counters. This loads the performance monitor template Nsperf.pmc which includes counters for the Windows Media Unicast service and Windows Media Station service.


22

Monitoring Performance

Windows Media Services provides extensive logging features that enable administrators to view virtually every aspect of a user’s streaming activities on their site. Once the information is logged, usage reports can be generated to determine aspects like the number of users that played a stream and when and how long they played it.

All streams requests from the media server are written to a W3C standard plain-text log file that can be examined or imported into statistical analysis packages for reporting. Examples of fields that are recorded in a unicast log file include the client’s IP address, name of stream played, average bandwidth received, quality received, start time and duration.

By default, Windows Media log files are saved in %systemroot%\system32\logfiles and have the format NetShow.yymmddiii.log for unicast logs and NetShow.yymmddiiii.log for multicast logs, where yy is the year, mm is the month, and dd is the day. The iii extension specifies the version of the file if more than one file is generated in a calendar day.


23

Logging

This section describes how to configure Windows Media services for unicast and multicast logging.

Enabling Unicast Logging1. Open the Windows Media Administrator (Start, Programs, Windows

Media, Windows Media Administrator) and click on Server Properties in the left pane.

2. On the Configure Server - Server Properties page, click on Publishing Point Logging and click Enable Logging.

3. Under Period select an interval (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly) or a maximum size for the log file to reach before it is written. For example, select Daily.

4. Accept the default log file directory and click the Apply button.

Enabling Multicast LoggingMulticast logging for Windows Media Services is handled by an ISAPI extension that runs on a Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). This is because during a multicast, a user does not connect directly to the media server. Recall that in order to connect to a multicast, the Windows Media Player loads an NSC file which configures the player to connect to a multicast IP address. Therefore, multicast logging must be recorded at the point when the user requests an NSC from the web server.

1. If not already installed during Windows Media Services setup, install the Windows Media logging ISAPI application by copying the file nsiislog.dll from C:\Program Files\Windows Media Components\Server to the scripts directory in your default installation path for IIS, usually C:\Inetpub\Scripts.

2. Create a new multicast station using the QuickStart Wizard.

3. When the wizard is complete, if the station is playing, highlight the station and click on the Stop Program.

4. Right click on the new station and click Properties.

5. In the Logging URL text box, type the HTTP URL to the nsiislog.dll. For example, “http://MEDIASRV01/Scripts/nsiislog.dll”.

6. Click OK to save the changes to the station.

If you choose not to use the Windows Media ISAPI dll for multicast logging you may build your own customized extension and enter its path in the Logging URL box when configuring the multicast properties in Windows Media Administrator.

3rd Party Reporting ToolsSince Windows Media log files are generated in standard W3C format, Microsoft Site Server Express Usage Analysis can be used to generate preliminary reports from Windows Media log files. These reports are useful in determining viewer trends, such as most commonly watched streams, top viewers by domain or total hits by IP address/hostname. Site Server Express is part of the Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Option Pack.


24

For more advanced customizable reports, statistical analysis packages by other 3rd party vendors are available which allow you to report on streaming activity at your site. For a complete list of reporting tool vendors check the Windows Media Software Providers page on the Microsoft Windows Media Technologies

website.There are a number of ways to get help with Windows Media Technologies:

The Microsoft Windows Media Technologies website contains numerous troubleshooting guides and Frequently Asked Questions as well as downloads, product documentation and latest product news.

Windows Media Technologies Newsgroups on msnews.microsoft.com:

o microsoft.public.windowsmedia.technologies

o microsoft.public.multimedia.windows.mediaplayer

The MSDN Online Windows Media Technologies Workshop contains guides to help beginning and semi-experienced streaming media content authors and web developers move into the fast lane. The site includes content creation overviews, step-by-step tutorials, code samples and tools information.

Windows Media Technologies Online Seminars are do-it-yourself online streaming seminars covering a range of hosting and delivery issues.

The Windows Media Technologies Online Special Interest Group (OSIG) is an online developer community offering free technical support, code samples, and downloads, discounts on software and hardware from partners, and interaction with other developers.

The Windows Media Technologies Discussion Group is an e-mail discussion group focused on developing for Windows Media Technologies.

o To subscribe, send an e-mail message to:

[email protected]

Leave subject blank

Message text: subscribe Windows Media your name

o To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to:

[email protected]

Leave subject blank

Message text: signoff Windows Media

The Microsoft Windows Media Technologies Deployment Helpdesk offers free technical support for 30-days. Send e-mail to [email protected].


25

Getting Help

mailto:[email protected]



http://msdn.microsoft.com/osig/wm/default.asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/training/seminars/wmt.asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/imedia/windowsmedia/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/partners/Software/default.asp#im

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/partners/Software/default.asp#im

Documents

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