HTTP Streaming can be several things. Here is an attempt to outline the different HTTP streaming protocols:

MP3/AAC/aacPlus HTTP Streaming:
This is usually the SHOUTcast or Icecast ICY protocol, which uses ADTS packetization over TCP. This is NOT compatible with ANY RTSP streaming. This uses an ICY based Streaming Server such as SHOUTcast or Icecast2. This is the part that is MOST confusing: QuickTime/Darwin Streaming Server includes an ICY server module for MP3 streaming only. It is based the old deprecated Icecast1 protocol, and is no longer supported or recommended. Icecast2 is the preferred server here.  Read more... (229 words, estimated 55 secs reading time)

Many times, you may want to have a listener stream MP3s from your site, but you don’t have any streaming software set up. One solution is to create an M3U file which acts as a playlist that opens up with many mainstream MP3 players such as iTunes and Winamp. Following is an example of an M3U playlist:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:199,Radiohead - Creep
http://www.yoursite.com/radiohead-creep.mp3
#EXTINF:217,Pink Floyd - Money
http://www.yoursite.com/pinkfloyd-money.mp3

The .m3u file can be placed on any web server, and linked to a web page with the standard a href tag. For instance, to link to a file named “playlist.m3u” from a web page in the same directory with the file, the link could be:

<a href="playlist.m3u">Play my playlist</a>  Read more... (219 words, estimated 53 secs reading time)

We are proud to announce the latest member center plug-in, our very own file viewer application. With this new feature, members are able to view all of their media files in one easy-to-use interface. This application also makes it a breeze to embed your media into any web page. Just find which video you want to link to and copy & paste the provide code. You can also customize FLV video embedding, choosing your own skinned video player that just works, no complicated uploads of javascript or flash swf players! If you don’t already have an account, sign up for our affordable video hosting today!

Here’s a short summary of the best encoding bit-rates and formats for mobile video

Problem: I can’t access my GravityLab Multimedia files with Internet Explorer!

Answer: Make sure to use the following format in the URL bar for accessing your GravityLab FTP account:

ftp://username:password@ftp1.gravlab.com

Downloading
When a user wishes to view video on your site, there are several possible methods that can allow said user to see the video. The easiest method is the create a hyperlink to the video file. This method is useful if you want the viewer to save the movie to their computer before viewing. This is fine for small files, but the bigger the file size, the longer the wait time and the less likely your viewers will want to wait for the entire movie to download before they can watch it. Delivering video files this way is known as HTTP streaming or HTTP delivery. HTTP means Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, and is the same protocol used to deliver web pages. For this reason it is easy to set up and use on almost any website, without requiring additional software or special hosting plans.  Read more... (479 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

From the Microsoft Expression Encoder download site:

“Microsoft^® Expression^® Encoder, a feature of Expression Media, offers encoding, enhancement, and publishing of rich media experiences to Microsoft Silverlight. ”

Features Include:

Better Encoding

VC-1 advanced authoring SDK integration: by adopting the new VC-1 authoring SDK, Expression Encoder 2 is able to author better quality video faster. We’ve exposed a set of presets for tuning the encoder as well as detailed settings with comprehensive tooltips for the advanced compressionist.

New profiles, and video codecs for streaming media: Encoder 2 supports a number of new modes and codecs including Quality VBR, WMA Pro (stereo), WMA Lossless, 24 bit audio and audio/video encoding stream selection.  Read more... (451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Before you read ahead, consider GravityLab Multimedia’s streaming media encoding services. We take the complexity out of creating streaming media for an affordable price.

Often times, companies that wish to stream their media are given video from a production company on a DVD. This is a great multi-purpose archival format, because the disc is high capacity, and therefore can store high-quality video. Until recently, DVD video was difficult to extract and convert into video files. If you’ve ever looked inside the DVD on your computer, you would have noticed all sorts of VOB, IFO, and BUP files. This is a confusing mess of files, and it takes specialized software to convert this data into streaming video.  Read more... (566 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

When streaming media over the web, it is important to take into consideration the speed at which your viewers are connecting to the internet. Listed below are several common connection speeds and the corresponding bit-rate at which your videos will need to be encoded in order to play back smoothly. Bit-rates are listed in Kilobits (1000 bits = 125 bytes)

All files that are to be streamed must be hinted for streaming. This is made possible by the hint track, which is a small piece of data inside a streaming movie file. Our streaming servers recognize the hint track and use it to guide the streaming process. The hint track is never sent to the viewer, it always resides on the server.

Hinting your movies is essential for streaming media hosting, because without a hint track, the viewer will see an error instead of video.

Quicktime Pro provides the ability to check for hint tracks in a video. Simply open the video qith Quicktime Pro, and select Window > Show Movie Properties. If there is a hint track, you will see the words “Hint Track” under the Name column.  Read more... (152 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)