QuickTime Streaming Server is Apple’s media server that allows you to stream live or prerecorded content over a network or the Internet. It uses RTP (Real Time Protocol) to stream media to clients in real time via RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol).

For real time streaming, you would typically have a video/audio source like a video camera connected to a Mac running Quicktime Broadcaster at the site of the broadcast.

That video/audio feed is sent to a server running QTSS which in turn streams it to clients over a network or the Internet. QTSS Publisher is the application used for managing content on the server.

While QTSS can handle thousands of simultaneous connections, the number of clients will be limited by the available bandwidth.

For example, if you have a T1 line with a theoretical bandwidth of 1500 kilo bits per second serving a 100 kbps video stream, you should be able to handle about a dozen or so connections in real world situations. For streaming within a typical network however, you’ll be able to host a far greater number of connections.

You should be ok if you have a relatively fast connection like a T1 or greater but keep in mind that consumer broadband services like DSL or Cable have relatively low upload bandwidth, which may not suite your needs.

Also, if your OS X Server is running multiple services like Open Directory, Mail, Web, etc. you should avoid running QTSS on the same machine since it’s very processor intensive.

• Launch Server Admin and select your server under Computers & Services. Click on QuickTime Streaming and press the Settings tab.
• In the Media directory, you’ll see the default directory where all of your media is stored on the server. This would also be the root of the server for accessing files.

• The maximum connection and throughput is also set to its default numbers. You can change them as you see fit for the types of media you plan on delivering.

RTSP uses port 554, so you’ll need to configure port forwarding on your router for RTSP traffic on port 554 (TCP) to your server. Also, check the firewall to allow RTSP traffic on port 554 (TCP).

Let’s try a test since there are sample files already stored in the default media directory.

• Press Start Service button to start QTSS.
• Go to another machine and launch QuickTime Player.
• Under File, go to “Open URL…”
• Type in the following. Remember, you’re now using RTSP protocol to access the media.

• Press OK. If all is well, you should be streaming the sample file.

Now that you’ve verified that your QTSS is working, let’s get back to the settings in Server Admin.

• Click on the Access tab. Here you can set a password to access your MP3 broadcasts.
• You can also administer QTSS through a web browser. You’ll need to set up an account name and password.

• Click on IP Bindings tab. Here you can set which servers will be enabled for streaming by selecting it from a list.
• Some clients behind firewalls may not be able to connect via RTSP so there is an option to enable streaming via port 80. Just be careful that it won’t conflict with Apache web server which also uses port 80 by default.

That pretty much covers the basics of QTSS. I personally don’t use QTSS since I have many services running on my server, besides the fact that I don’t have a need to stream things in real time.

Obviously there’s much more to QTSS so if you’re seriously thinking about using it, consult the manual.

So that’s the end of the OS X Server 10.4 tutorial. Congrats for making it this far and I hope you found it useful. Bye!

Previous

Trackback URI | Comments RSS