A
Windows Media Services system can be set up to host the broadcasting of
a single video file. A single video file broadcast is typically set up
on demand, meaning that a user requests the playback of the video file
on request. On-demand video playbacks are commonly used for replays of
video files, such as on-demand training classes, or viewing captured
meetings or presentations.
Configuring a Server for Single On-Demand Video Playback
To
configure a Windows Media server for on-demand video playback
broadcasts, a publishing point needs to be configured for on-demand
communications. The configuration process is as follows:
1. | In
the Windows Media Services MMC, right-click on Publishing Points in the
navigation tree, and select Add Publishing Point (Wizard).
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2. | Click Next to move past the Welcome screen.
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3. | Enter
a publishing point name that describes the function. In the case of
this on-demand single file broadcast, you might choose something like Company Mtg 11-16-2009. Click Next to continue.
Note
The name of a publishing
point should not have special characters, such as <, >, \, ?, %,
&, ‘, #, “, {, }, [, ], or *. These characters can interfere with
the successful publishing of the broadcast over the Internet.
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4. | Select One File (Useful for a Broadcast of an Archived File), and click Next.
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5. | Choose either Broadcast Publishing Point or On-Demand Publishing Point, and click Next.
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Broadcast publishing is a
process where the publishing of a video is scheduled, similar to a
television program. A time is scheduled when the stored video file will
be played back. This might be used in an environment in which training
videos are played back during specific times during the day for
employees to view.
On-demand publishing is a
process where an individual requests the playback of a video file. This
allows users the flexibility of deciding when they watch a video.
As each session is
independent with on-demand video, there is no benefit to doing a
multicast session because the video will only be viewed by an
individual. Therefore, the default delivery option for on-demand
published videos is unicast, and the multicast option is not provided.
When choosing a
broadcast published video, because multiple users are likely to access
the broadcast at the same time, the organization can choose to multicast
the video as long as the remote client systems and network
infrastructure support multicast video routing. With multicast delivery,
the Enable Unicast Rollover option provides a unicast delivery stream
if the remote client does not support multicast broadcasts.
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At this point, whether you
selected Broadcast Publishing Point or On-Demand Publishing Point in
step 5 will determine what options are available in the remaining steps
of the wizard.
If you
selected On-Demand Publishing Point in step 5, you will be prompted to
either add a new publishing point (which will start the wizard over at
step 2), or you can select Use an Existing Publishing Point and then
click Next to finish the on-demand file publishing point.
If you selected Broadcast Publishing Point in step 5, you will be prompted with several other options:
1. | Select Unicast or Multicast as the delivery option for the broadcasting publishing point, and then click Next.
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2. | You will then be prompted for the name of the file that you want to publish. Select the file and then click Next.
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3. | Select the Enable Logging option if you want to log media events, and then click Next.
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4. | The
next screen shows a summary of the created publishing point. You can
choose to start the publishing point when the wizard is finished, and if
you want to capture and archive the live event, select the Start
Archiving When Publishing Point Starts option. Click Next to continue.
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5. | Before finishing the Add Publishing Point Wizard, you are prompted to choose between three file creation options:
- Create an Announcement File (.asx) or Web Page (.htm)—
An announcement file is similar to an invitation file that can be used
to notify users of a pending live broadcast or the availability of an
on-demand video playback session.
- Create a Wrapper Playlist (.wsx)—
A wrapper playlist is content that can be added to either the start or
end of a broadcast. An example of wrapper content might be a welcome or
closing message, advertisements, or broadcast identification.
- Create a Wrapper Playlist (.wsx) and Announcement File (.asx) or Web Page (.htm)—
Choosing this option launches both the Announcement File and Wrapper
Playlist Wizards to create the invitation announcement, as well as the
capability to add content at the start or end of a broadcast.
Choose one of these three options or deselect the After the Wizard
Finishes check box if you don’t want to choose any of the options. Click
Finish when complete.
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Starting a Single File Publishing Point
A single file publishing point
can be started immediately or at a later time. Unless the broadcast is
to be scheduled at a different time, usually single file publishing
points are started immediately so that they can be accessed at any time.
Testing a file publishing point ensures that the session process is
working properly. Some key aspects to test include making sure the
multicast delivery broadcasting is working properly, and that the video
and audio quality and volume are acceptable.
