ClusterFunk

So its been a while, I have been very busy with lots of different projects including a number of VOD platform proposals and a Windows 2008 active directory design for a gaming company with international presence….

So excuses over I have decided to have a good look adaptive streaming and Microsoft adaptive streaming capabilities in Windows IIS 7.

Adaptive Streaming What is it?

Traditionally streamed assets are encoded at a specific bitrate and presented along the lines of low, medium and high quality streams. It’s up to the users to request the appropriate stream for their connectivity. If they pick the wrong one they must stop the stream and try a different one.

Apart from the obvious issues with customer satisfaction, this raises issues with content providers. They have to provide multiple encodings of assets at differing bit rates, users can request inappropriate streams leading to waste of network bandwidth and capacity. “I need to server 10,000 stream but actually need capacity to server 10,500 dues to user error”. When you consider different container formats you quickly end up with a considerable number of stream to manage and associated infrastructure.

Move Networks have a patented adaptive streaming technology which:  

“divides video into segments called “streamlets” and encodes them using a single process for multiple bandwidths (dial-up, broadband, wireless) and platforms (computer, television, cell phone). A dual-pass variable bit rate encode is used on both live and on-demand streams, preparing video images with sharp, HD quality”

Microsoft invested an undesclosed sum in Move Networks in August last year after announcing a partnership with MN in March of the same year in relation to the SilverLight cross browser player.

Microsoft IIS 7 with Smooth Streaming 

So IIS 7 recently received adaptive streaming capability in the form of an IIS media extension called Smooth Streaming.

IIS Smooth Streaming

This diagram gives you a flavour for how the technology delivers a variable bit rate stream to the player.

Installing on IIS 7 with Smooth Streaming Windows Server 2008

Select Server role

Message about required dependencies

Intro to IIS7

Confirm installation components 
Selected ASP.NET and then let the defaults install

Quick points of interest:

IIS 7 doesn’t use a metabase anymore for configuration. Everything (components) is configured in XML configuration files. If you intend to configure IIS7 remotely this capability needs to be installed. In fact most IIS6 standard functions like support for authentication, serving default page or directory browsing needs to be configured/installed. This is good news from a security/attack vector perspective but a pain in the posterior when you are doing hands on lab type work   – can’t please all the people all the time.

Installing

Components installed results

and install log

Viewing Server Roles now shows

Ok Once IIS7 is installed lets install Smooth Streaming media extension

And that’s that. Don’t even need a reboot

You can download the demo material from Microsoft

OR

You can encode your you own using Microsoft Expression Encoder

Great Guide here

Install

GUI

Expression Encoder 2 SP1 provides built-in features that make it easy to create Smooth Streaming presentations simply by choosing Adaptive Streaming video and audio profiles and the IIS Smooth Streaming output media format

Playback and Adaptive streaming in practice

Screenshot shows player. Notice the graph at bottom left.

This shows the bit rate of the stream.

In this screenshot I have throttled the bandwidth to demonstrate the artifacts of the lower bit rate stream.

The quality is superb

Again I throttle the bandwidth

and then remove the restriction it resolves

Links

More details for IIS7 configuration

http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/569/smooth-streaming-for-iis-70—managing-your-presentations/

Silverlight

http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/

Deep Dive IIS 7 configuration

http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/127/deep-dive-into-iis-7-configuration/

Expressions Encoder

http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/cc507507.aspx