| Archive for SLMC Second LifeŽ Music Community Forum |
| Slim Warrior |
Video Streaming into SLOne of the most reliable and best services in SL to get your live video feed into SL is from Vee Audio, owned and run by Veronica Skjellerup.I have used it several times and have been really pleased with the reliability , Plus Veronica is there to help at anytime! I have copied and pasted Veronicas info from her card and I think it would be great to see more of you stream into SL using video Overview: ========== Streaming live video, is still quite a complicated process, as videos usually need to be prepared for streaming, saving them in a certain video format, choosing a data rate and setting them as hinted file for streaming. A powerful/fast computer is essential if you are plannig to encode video live and broadcast. If you have any comments, feedback or have experience with using other software for video streaming please do let me know, I'd love to know how people get on with broadcasting their live videos in Second Life. Viewing video content in Second Life ==================================== In order to view videos/movies in Second Life you will need to have quicktime installed, you can download a free version from http://www.quicktime.com Displaying videos in Second Life works by first assigning a texture to an object and also assigning the same texture into the parcel of land Media settings. Then when a static or live video stream address is set in the About Land > Media > Media URL section. The video would be displayed on the object(s) with the same texture as previously set in the Media tab. Once an address is set, you should see that a Movies control panel appears along the bottom of the Second Life window, allowing you to stop/start the video. Video types =========== Videos can be either: Static/Non-hinted - these require that the whole video be downloaded before it will play. Hinted - these can start playing as soon as they start downloading, being you don't need to wait for the entire file to finish downlaoding. Live - as the name suggests these are streamed live to all, as soon as you connect you would start seeing the video, the advantage of a live stream is that everyone watching the video sees exactly the same content at the same time. Streaming content from Quicktime server ======================================= From the quicktime server, uploaded videos can either be static hinted videos played individually or streamed live as part of a online playlist. To prepare videos for the server, I would recommend using Quicktime Pro (the full version) of the Quicktime viewer program. Videos can be exported from Quicktime Pro in the format your require and also coverted to Hinted movie (which is needed, if you will be using the video in a online playlist or want the video to play as its watched. I would suggest either the MPEG-4 Video or H.264 video format when exporting videos. If you are planning to stream mutliple videos in a playlist, all videos will need to be saved with the same format and same data rate, and don't forget to set the video to be hinted for streaming. Personally, I've found the H.264 format and restricting the data rate to 300kbit/s to be ideal for Second Life. For example a file might a 320x240 sized, h.264 format, with a maximum data rate of 300kbit/s and hinted. Streaming live content from a PC ================================ Unfortunately there are limited options for streaming live content from a PC to a quicktime server, currently the most popular program is WireCast from Vara software. It can support multiple cameras, multiple broadcasts, titles and graphics, think of it like a mini tv studio program, however is quite expensive at US$450. http://www.varasoftware.com/products/wirecast/ Streaming live content from a Mac ================================= On a Mac, Apple's own Quicktime Broadcast will allow you to stream live content to a quicktime server, and is free. http://www.apple.com/quicktime/broadcaster/ WireCast is also available on the Mac. It can support multiple cameras, multiple broadcasts, titles and graphics, think of it like a mini tv studio program, however is quite expensive at US$450. http://www.varasoftware.com/products/wirecast/ Playing back video content in SL ================================ To watch the video inside SL you need to do two things: - First, go to you land settings in "About Land" and click the Media tab. Enter the link to your video source. It should look something like "rtsp://veeaudiovideo.com/MY_STREAM.sdp". In case you experience troubles with playback and connecting you might want to change it to "rtsp://veeaudiovideo.com:554/MY_STREAM.sdp" - Second you need to put the media texture that you set in the media tab on a prim. Once you hit video playback on the bottom right of your viewer, this texture will be replaced with the video source. Legal Notice ======== If you choose to stream your own video or music content into SL directly or using a streaming relay host, the content and any copyright/royalty fees and any other possible issues are the sole responsibility of the individual. You can find out more by going to Veronicas Store inworld here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Collins/185/106/28 |
| vee |
Aw. Thanks so much Slim for the great introduction 
I'd like to maybe add some general introductory notes to streaming video and/or audio into SL. So this is how it all works... You might be wondering why you need such a thing and why people can't connect to your music or videos directly? Well, technically they could but you're likely to not have the required bandwidth to serve your stuff to a larger number of listeners. Even DSL or Cable won't be enough for more than a handful of listeners because you're upstreaming data. Also, most broadcasting software doesn't support the required protocols for communicating with all the SL viewers. So that's where my stuff comes into play... For playing your music you can download broadcasting software like Winamp with the Shoutcast DSP Plugin or Simplecast for PC. For Mac there is Nicecast (which costs a few bucks but is well worth it). All of those applications stream MP3 encoded music to a so-called shoutcast server. You can rent one of those right now and here from one of the vendors and have your music streamed to up to 100 people in-world. As I said earlier, each parcel can set a media link for music and video. What the parcel owner needs to do is put in the corresponding URL that points to to your newly rented shoutcast server and your music gets played to all the residents on that parcel. Details for that come in your rental notecard that will be given to you after payment. On the left wall you see a little display that gives the name of the song that's on right now in this store. The music you hear is played from a playlist so it works pretty much as my own little internet radio station. If you're interested in setting up such a thing for your place let's talk 
Pretty much the same setup goes for video. Except that it's not MP3 based but relies on Apple's Quicktime protocol. As you can see, I also rent out the corresponding Quicktime Streaming Server. However, streaming video is a bit more complicated and I would like you to sit down in the back of the store and try playing the video on the screen. If that works for you, we should talk about your setup and whether you would like to play live video feeds or upload videos to my server and have them played in a playlist. That way you could have your own drive-in cinema and invite your friends over for a movie night If you can't wait and want to play around with it right now, you can pay the rental vendor and get access to the Quicktime Streaming Server immediately.
And yes, of course, you can rent those servers from my shop
Have fun! Vee |
| ticious |
Hi Vee!! Welcome to the forum and thanks for the great information.
I would like to point out tho, this is the FAQ section for the Music Community forums. This is not a place to offer your services. There are other sections in the forums more appropriate for that. I notice there is no SLURL for your shop or inworld contact info for you here. That's good and since your post is generally informative we'll leave it here. But if you'd like to add slurl or contact information, please put it in the appropriate area (possibly under Audio Hardware and Software http://slmc.myfastforum.org/forum3.php ) , not here in the FAQs. The SLMC does not endorse any one provider over any other. Our recommendation when you are looking for stream server rentals is that you shop around for price and features and talk to other musicians and venue owners about their experience. |