I've been running a ZFSGuru server for a couple months now and was hoping to be able to get some video streaming/transcoding software. This way I can log in and stream some videos over the net wherever I am at the time. My job requires lots of traveling and it would be nice to be able to do this type of thing. What software would you suggest in order to accomplish this?
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Video Streaming (Internet)
- Thread starter spankit
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VPN and NFS or SMB shares will make you happy, without the use of extra software.
VPN is really good and you should be able to set it up, just make sure to open a port on your router, depending on your location.
VPN is really good and you should be able to set it up, just make sure to open a port on your router, depending on your location.
VPN is one option except playability might be a problem because bandwidth will be gimped in many places while traveling and then you're trying to squeeze an elephant through a garden hose. Not to mention most ISP's severely limit upstream bandwidth for residential customers. That's why the ability for the server side to transcode down dynamically based on available bandwidth is ideal, but I'm not aware of anything like that existing for FreeBSD. My guess is you'd have to set up a separate box or VM to do the transcoding and feed it to the remote client, in order to accomplish this.
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It doesn't matter if the video is pre-processed or not, it is going to have the same bandwidth usage and you will be limited to whatever ISP you are using or the travel location's ISP's download.
If your upload is only 50KB/s, then it doesn't matter what software/VPN you use, you won't be streaming anything other than 320x240 at best.
In the end, you'll be limited by your upload speed.
If your upload is only 50KB/s, then it doesn't matter what software/VPN you use, you won't be streaming anything other than 320x240 at best.
In the end, you'll be limited by your upload speed.
^ huh? i think we're both saying the same thing but in different ways 
but in fact transcoding makes a big difference. 50k isn't a good example because then you aren't going to be watching any video anyway. where x-coding makes the difference is with a decent 196k-256k upstream and you want to play back say a dvd or MKV, then it will ratchet down the bitrate enough to be watchable. A VPN connection alone with no transcoding or preprocessing and you'll get a slideshow.
but in fact transcoding makes a big difference. 50k isn't a good example because then you aren't going to be watching any video anyway. where x-coding makes the difference is with a decent 196k-256k upstream and you want to play back say a dvd or MKV, then it will ratchet down the bitrate enough to be watchable. A VPN connection alone with no transcoding or preprocessing and you'll get a slideshow.
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Well, a simple answer would be using Orb and connect through that. That being said, I've used Orb and the quality is sub-par imo, much worse than Netflix would be on the same connection. I can upload at 250KB which means I can get some good quality streaming (or so you'd think), Orb usually looks poor even if I'm on a huge pipe on the other end. For the fun of it I converted some videos to .wmv and was streaming them with Windows Media Services in Server 2008, these looked VERY nice and never hiccuped.
Getting back to Orb for a moment, I still think it would be your best bet (or something equivalent) because where you'll be traveling, it tests your connection speeds and then sets the bitrate accordingly - although like I said, in my opinion it looks much worse than it should.
I'd pay good money for a professional application that would measure speeds, stream any type file and set bitrates properly.
Getting back to Orb for a moment, I still think it would be your best bet (or something equivalent) because where you'll be traveling, it tests your connection speeds and then sets the bitrate accordingly - although like I said, in my opinion it looks much worse than it should.
I'd pay good money for a professional application that would measure speeds, stream any type file and set bitrates properly.
Adidas4275
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if you have a Media Center Rig RemotePotato is another option. I have used ORB and it was good enough...
the other option would be a slingbox hooked up to a WDTV Live or another streaming device
the other option would be a slingbox hooked up to a WDTV Live or another streaming device
FIrst off, thanks for all the replies.
I have a 250KB upload as well. Might not be worth the effort according to some of these posts. I have signed up for a netflix account although it would be much nicer to utilize the 10TB of movies/tv I have at home.
I have a 250KB upload as well. Might not be worth the effort according to some of these posts. I have signed up for a netflix account although it would be much nicer to utilize the 10TB of movies/tv I have at home.
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Sweet, I never knew about Orb or that something like that was possible. Definitely give that a try if you have a 250KB/s upload speed.
well if you've got 10TB of movies then I'm guessing a bunch of those are Blurays which you can probably forget about trying to stream even if realtime transcoding. but some other formats might be do-able.