Macromedia Flash Server - Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

Author

Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

BRYAN MASON

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

Hello everyone. I am brand new to the Flashcomm list. I originally posted
this on the Flash Newbie list, but Jesse suggested I post it here.

I am evaluating all four of the FVSS's listed on

Macromedia.com: SpeedERA, Vitalstream, Mirror Image and Akamai.

Do any of you have any experience with these companies and their services?
If so, please tell me your opinions.

Any FVSS that you know to be reputable, but NOT on the list above?

TIA

Bryan

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Brandon_Krakowsky-t6Q6IArRIhmxKhIkFyZ7poFTLv+w

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

We use a Uvault FlashComm server AND Web Server. Haven't had any issues
yet.

Brandon

BRYAN MASON <BMASON-3HlnQnbi75NMRgmVZSpWw0EOCMrvLtNR@public.gmane.org>
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Subject
[FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

Hello everyone. I am brand new to the Flashcomm list. I originally posted
this on the Flash Newbie list, but Jesse suggested I post it here.

I am evaluating all four of the FVSS's listed on

Macromedia.com: SpeedERA, Vitalstream, Mirror Image and Akamai.

Do any of you have any experience with these companies and their services?
If so, please tell me your opinions.

Any FVSS that you know to be reputable, but NOT on the list above?

TIA

Bryan

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Sean Moran

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

Oh boy.

Let me say that VitalStream is now called VitalStreamNotFound around
my office...they have had some "growing pains" (in their words) and
we are in the process of evaluating Mirror Image.
When we started with VS in February, their service and support was
excellent. Propagation times were 5-15 min (to have your video on all
servers). Lately we have seen times from 4 hours to almost 36 hours!
Completely unusable for our needs. I was sick of the workarounds (if
Stream.Not.Found then switch to prog download from our servers).
Service has been down as well, with little or no notice sent to us.

So far (3 days in) we have been happy with mirror image. First test -
videos were live in 4 minutes. Nice. They also allow a main.asc file
for bandwidth detection (using something similar to Stefan's tutorial
at DevNet) and that has worked far better that VS.

I could go on and on but will stop here.

BRYAN MASON

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

Thanks for the information. I have noted that their sales staff doesn't seem
to want any new customers either. Within moments after inquiring at Mirror
Image and Akamai, I had a sales rep calling me. Have yet to hear anything
from VS....

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Moran [mailto:sean-mzx94KdJ7Zk@public.gmane.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 4:39 PM
To: FlashComm Mailing List
Subject: Re: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

Oh boy.

Let me say that VitalStream is now called VitalStreamNotFound around
my office...they have had some "growing pains" (in their words) and
we are in the process of evaluating Mirror Image.
When we started with VS in February, their service and support was
excellent. Propagation times were 5-15 min (to have your video on all
servers). Lately we have seen times from 4 hours to almost 36 hours!
Completely unusable for our needs. I was sick of the workarounds (if
Stream.Not.Found then switch to prog download from our servers).
Service has been down as well, with little or no notice sent to us.

So far (3 days in) we have been happy with mirror image. First test -
videos were live in 4 minutes. Nice. They also allow a main.asc file
for bandwidth detection (using something similar to Stefan's tutorial
at DevNet) and that has worked far better that VS.

I could go on and on but will stop here.

Sean

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Sean Moran

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

No prob. The other nice thing about MI is you get a RTMP
address....VS uses a cgi to return an rtmp to the "best" (whatever
that means) server for your stream. This results in an XML file you
must parse through to get the server info. A bit of a pain if you
have your own player. Not a big deal if you use their component
player though.

Sean

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BRYAN MASON

2005-07-20, 5:45 pm

Good to know!

-----Original Message-----
From: Sean Moran [mailto:sean-mzx94KdJ7Zk@public.gmane.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 4:44 PM
To: FlashComm Mailing List
Subject: Re: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

No prob. The other nice thing about MI is you get a RTMP
address....VS uses a cgi to return an rtmp to the "best" (whatever
that means) server for your stream. This results in an XML file you
must parse through to get the server info. A bit of a pain if you
have your own player. Not a big deal if you use their component
player though.

Sean

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Stefan Richter

2005-07-21, 2:45 am

As many of you know Speedera is supporting me and my site by letting me use
their video on demand and live event broadcasts for free but what follows is
nevertheless my personal opinion.
I haven't used Speedera's services much but can say that I have had no
troubles whatsoever, any videos that I have deployed have always been
available and my logs show now gaps in usage. Propagation times where always
very quick.

The guys at Speedera are approachable and friendly. I can't say the same
about Vitalstream who I tried to contact on several occasions regarding
exposure on and possible partnership with Flashcomguru.com but I received no
reply on that matter.

Note that Speedera is now part of Akamai although I believe the Speedera
brand will live on. What I am trying to say is that there should be little
or no difference between the 2 services.

In regards to bandwidth detection Speedera AFAIK will not let you upload any
main.asc files but they do have an API in place which uses the Macromedia
bandwidth sniffer and using it should be no problem.
The only small glitch I spotted was with their live streaming. The way that
API works is that you have to request a stream, you can't simply subscribe
to it 'blindly' and wait until the broadcast starts (if you're early to
attend). That can cause your app to have to poll for a stream which I didn't
find very intuitive. However it's not a major problem in my opinion as it
can be worked around easily. In fact as soon as I find the time I will
finish work on a little live player component which works specifically for
Speedera. Having said that, most users will probably use the video on demand
services anyway.

Bryan, I can get you hooked up with a free trial account if you want. But if
you have already contacted Akamai then you may be sorted on that front. Keep
us posted.

Regards

Stefan

-----Original Message-----
From: flashcomm-bounces-1Ss2GqJETD3yZ38Mhd3e/9ZfFG6BLHNm@public.gmane.org
[mailto:flashcomm-bounces-1Ss2GqJETD3yZ38Mhd3e/9ZfFG6BLHNm@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Sean Moran
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:44 PM
To: FlashComm Mailing List
Subject: Re: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

No prob. The other nice thing about MI is you get a RTMP address....VS uses
a cgi to return an rtmp to the "best" (whatever that means) server for your
stream. This results in an XML file you must parse through to get the server
info. A bit of a pain if you have your own player. Not a big deal if you use
their component player though.

Sean

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BRYAN MASON

2005-07-21, 7:45 am

Stefan,

Thanks for your thoughts and for the offer. I have a conference call with Ed
Wolf from Akamai this afternoon, so I will be sure to ask for a demo account
to try it out.

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: Stefan Richter [mailto:stefan-fMeCE+ULXElEfu+5ix1nRw@public.gmane.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 4:18 AM
To: 'FlashComm Mailing List'
Subject: RE: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

As many of you know Speedera is supporting me and my site by letting me use
their video on demand and live event broadcasts for free but what follows is
nevertheless my personal opinion.
I haven't used Speedera's services much but can say that I have had no
troubles whatsoever, any videos that I have deployed have always been
available and my logs show now gaps in usage. Propagation times where always
very quick.

The guys at Speedera are approachable and friendly. I can't say the same
about Vitalstream who I tried to contact on several occasions regarding
exposure on and possible partnership with Flashcomguru.com but I received no
reply on that matter.

Note that Speedera is now part of Akamai although I believe the Speedera
brand will live on. What I am trying to say is that there should be little
or no difference between the 2 services.

In regards to bandwidth detection Speedera AFAIK will not let you upload any
main.asc files but they do have an API in place which uses the Macromedia
bandwidth sniffer and using it should be no problem.
The only small glitch I spotted was with their live streaming. The way that
API works is that you have to request a stream, you can't simply subscribe
to it 'blindly' and wait until the broadcast starts (if you're early to
attend). That can cause your app to have to poll for a stream which I didn't
find very intuitive. However it's not a major problem in my opinion as it
can be worked around easily. In fact as soon as I find the time I will
finish work on a little live player component which works specifically for
Speedera. Having said that, most users will probably use the video on demand
services anyway.

Bryan, I can get you hooked up with a free trial account if you want. But if
you have already contacted Akamai then you may be sorted on that front. Keep
us posted.

Regards

Stefan

-----Original Message-----
From: flashcomm-bounces-1Ss2GqJETD3yZ38Mhd3e/9ZfFG6BLHNm@public.gmane.org
[mailto:flashcomm-bounces-1Ss2GqJETD3yZ38Mhd3e/9ZfFG6BLHNm@public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Sean Moran
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:44 PM
To: FlashComm Mailing List
Subject: Re: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

No prob. The other nice thing about MI is you get a RTMP address....VS uses
a cgi to return an rtmp to the "best" (whatever that means) server for your
stream. This results in an XML file you must parse through to get the server
info. A bit of a pain if you have your own player. Not a big deal if you use
their component player though.

Sean

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Mike Weiland

2005-07-21, 7:45 am

Bryan,

We use Akamai for larger FVSS needs, we've been using them for=
the past 2 months and haven't had any issues. We stream about=
140 hours of video a week. The biggest determining factor for us=
in choosing Akamai was the fact that their network had servers=
in Canada.

Good luck,

Mike Weiland

Original Message -----------------------
Hello everyone. I am brand new to the Flashcomm list. I=
originally posted
this on the Flash Newbie list, but Jesse suggested I post it=
here.

I am evaluating all four of the FVSS's listed on

Macromedia.com: SpeedERA, Vitalstream, Mirror Image and Akamai.

Do any of you have any experience with these companies and their=
services?
If so, please tell me your opinions.

Any FVSS that you know to be reputable, but NOT on the list=
above?

TIA

Bryan

=3D-----------------------------------------------------------
Supported by Fig Leaf Software - http://www.figleaf.com
=3D-----------------------------------------------------------

To change your subscription options or search the archive:
http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcomm

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BRYAN MASON

2005-07-21, 7:45 am

Mike,

Thanks for the reply. I am curious as to how many other companies you
evaluated prior to signing with Akamai? You say that the major factor in
your decision was the proximity of their nearest server... Being new to
FVSS, is this a big factor in streaming quality? Assuming that it is, how
close "should" their nearest server be to my physical location in order to
get decent results?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Weiland [mailto:mike-HOtZ5tJKmNzN/KKgT+RXvNBPR1lH4CV8@public.gmane.org]
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 8:58 AM
To: flashcomm-1Ss2GqJETD3yZ38Mhd3e/9ZfFG6BLHNm@public.gmane.org
Subject: RE: [FlashComm] Macromedia Flash Streaming Services

Bryan,

We use Akamai for larger FVSS needs, we've been using them for the past 2
months and haven't had any issues. We stream about 140 hours of video a
week. The biggest determining factor for us in choosing Akamai was the fact
that their network had servers in Canada.

Good luck,

Mike Weiland

Original Message -----------------------
Hello everyone. I am brand new to the Flashcomm list. I originally posted
this on the Flash Newbie list, but Jesse suggested I post it here.

I am evaluating all four of the FVSS's listed on

Macromedia.com: SpeedERA, Vitalstream, Mirror Image and Akamai.

Do any of you have any experience with these companies and their services?
If so, please tell me your opinions.

Any FVSS that you know to be reputable, but NOT on the list above?

TIA

Bryan

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Supported by Fig Leaf Software - http://www.figleaf.com
=-----------------------------------------------------------

To change your subscription options or search the archive:
http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcomm

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Supported by Fig Leaf Software - http://www.figleaf.com
=-----------------------------------------------------------

To change your subscription options or search the archive:
http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcomm

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To change your subscription options or search the archive:
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