Functionalities
- Live Streaming
This consists of distributing a stream that is drawn from a live broadcast. To do this, the original signal must be encoded into a suitable format to be broadcast over the Internet. Flumotion offers an end-to-end solution that covers everything from acquisition of the signal to delivering it to the end user.
- Audio On Demand (AoD) and Video On Demand (VoD)
This is broadcasting an audio or video file over the Internet that does not come from a live signal. These files are stored on a server or a Content Delivery Network (CDN), which is the case with Flumotion, and they are served in their format. To change formats, the files must be transcoded.
Formats
- What is a Format (or container)?
This refers to the file's format. Its specifications affect the way in which data is stored and not how it is encoded, which depends on the codec. In audio and video files, each container is compatible with given codecs. Windows Media Video (.wmv), Flash Video (.flv), QuickTime (.mov) and others are multimedia formats.
- MP3
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, better known as MP3, is a digital audio encoding format and codec developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). The standard bitrate is 128 kbps because of the quality/size relationship.
- OGG
OGG format is an free open source format (container) that has been created as the framework of a larger initiative aimed at developing a set of components for the coding and decoding of multimedia content which are available free of charge and are freely re-implementable in software.
- Flash
Flash is a container file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player (initially produced by Macromedia). Flash Video content may be embedded within SWF files, using H264 or VP6 codecs for audio and AAC or MP3 codecs for audio.
- Windows Media (or ASF)
Windows Media Format or Advanced Systems Format (ASF) is Microsoft's proprietary digital audio/digital video container format, especially meant for streaming media. ASF is part of the Windows Media framework.
- MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a multimedia container standard format standard. It is most commonly used to store digital audio and digital video streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images. Like most modern container formats, MPEG-4 allows streaming over the Internet. A separate hint track is used to include streaming information in the file.
Codecs
- What is a Codec?
An abbreviation of 'coder-decoder', they allow a stream or signal to be encoded so it can be transmitted, deciphered and played in an appropriate format. They are necessary for broadcasting audio and video over the Internet.
- Video Codec - WMV
Windows Media Video is Microsoft's codec. It works with the WMA audio codec in streams with the same name (WMV). They can be played using Windows Media Player among other players.
- Video Codec - VP6
TrueMotion VP6 is a video codec developed by On2 Technologies and it is used for files in Flash Video format (.flv).
- Video Codec - H264
It allows bitrate to be reduced while maintaining quality. Among others, it works with the Flash (.flv) and QuickTime (.mov) formats. It was made popular by the iPod and iPhone.
- Video Codec - Vorbis
Vorbis is an open source software video codec. It works in OGG format together with the Vorbis audio codec.
- Audio Codec - WMA
Windows Media Audio is the codec developed by Microsoft that works with the format of the same name for audio files. Playback is done with the Windows Media Player among others.
- Audio Codec - MP3
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, better known as MP3, is a digital audio encoding format and codec developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). The standard bitrate is 128 kbps because of the quality/size relationship.
- Audio Codec - AAC
This is the acronym for Advanced Audio Coding. For broadcasting audio, this codec functions alone, and together with H264, it works for video streams. Like H264, it offers a significant reduction in file size without a loss in quality. Flumotion uses the version AAC+ v2. It is compatible with .flv and .mov files.
- Audio Codec - Theora
This is an open source software audio codec that is used in conjunction with the Ogg container.
Tech Glossary
- Bitrate
Defines the number of bits that are transmitted per unit of time through a digital transmission system or between two digital devices. It is the speed of data transfer: kilobits per second (kbps), megabits per second (Mbps) and so on.
- HD
HD video or high-definition video is a video system with a resolution of 720 or 1080 lines (the number of vertical lines that make up the image). On the Internet, HD is normally encoded with bitrates over 1 Mbps and using 16:9 or panoramic format.
- SD
Standard definition transmits images of around 500 lines. The typical formats are 576 and 480 lines. On the Internet, standard definition normally has bitrates from 500 kbps.
- LD
Low definition transmits images with lower resolution than standard definition.
