Flash Media Server 3.5 and related ideas

The live/vod switch should indeed be possible with the "streamer" flashvar in 4.3. Note that 4.3 is as good as done and you can download it from the wiki.

DVR / and BW switching are indeed items that are on the list. I just got a copy of FMS 3.5 and can do some first testing with these new features. The 4.4 should have the switching implemented.

And more plugins are on the way!

Thanks for your answer Jeroen! I figured the vod/live stuff somehow before your answer (and posted howto in another topic).

Thanks again for your great work!

When will the DVR functionality be implemented?

Hi all,

We are also using FMS 3.5 and JWplayer.

I'm still very keen to get a visualisation plugin that works with a live stream, none of those published on the site do, they only work with an on demand file.

Cheers

Jarrod.

DVR functionality would be great. Any news?

DVR functionality excluded from 4.6 and not mentioned in 5.0 Alpha. What gives?

They have NO intention of supporting DVR functionality. I feel ripped off and lied to. If anyone knows of a player that cares about the new FMIS 3.5 features, please let me know.

JW - our clients don't want or need your ad solutions - they need the FMIS 3.5 features on what use dto be the #1 FLV player online.

@Rich: that's a bit harsh, especially since we have such a long trackrecord of listening to our users and building what people request.

As you can see, the 4.6 player was all about FMS3.5, with the integration of bitrate switching. As far as I know, we're the only player that offers such a wide array of supported features for FMS (302 redirects, dynamic streaming, streamlength checking, live streaming, mp3 streaming, stream subscription ...).

I'll revisit DVR functionality and see if this can be implemented in a sane way. This was abandoned early on in the 4.6 player, since by then we couldn't get our hands on an FMS3.5 server. Plus, DVR functionality basically works in the JW player from a playback point of view. There just needs to be some sort of button to toggle between live and delayed. That's why you'll find it listed as a plugin now in the ticket list.

@Jeroen, Zach, Pablo, Ethan, and everybody else on the Longtail team.

Don't let a couple of pr*cks bother you.

I've seen the development of the players and the rotator for almost three years now. You guys are doing a terrific job! Sure, there've been a few glitches along the way — that's expected in any software of this complexity. But there have been tremendous advances in functionality. My huge pages of JS are no longer needed — replaced with a plugin or two and a few flashvars.

Keep it up, we love your player. (The v5 is looking nice also — especially since it can be compiled with MXMLC!!!)

JeroenW, I am sorry if I offended but we have been working on a solution here to no avail - we really would like it to be all under one player - yours. If you would like any input on what our clients are asking for please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks

PS: hobbs - I'm not a pr*ck but a paying customer who needs a feature that obviously is not important to your application.

>> There just needs to be some sort of button to toggle between live and delayed.

Yes, but a skip back by increment is key as well - like TiVo has. Also, some clients are looking to have a seek bar for the recorded content.

Thanks again

Can you explain in more details how the skip back with Tivo works? I'm not familiar with it.

I then see three features as related to DVR:

1. Toggling between the beginning of a live stream and the live "head". Guys that tune in before the stream starts will get the live stream by default; guys that tune in later will see the event from the beginning. There'll be a button in the player that manages the toggling.

2. The ability to pause a live stream and then resume where you left off. This needs no specific button, but simply a different handler on the pause functionality of the player. Right now, when pausing a livestream, the stream is actually stopped.

3. The ability to "skip back" an XX number of seconds (15?). This will require another button in the player. This button, as well as the live/restart toggle, is probably best off in the dock of the player: then it's bigger and it has a little caption.

Does this seem right?

JW, Correct on all three!

Clarification on #1 - If the event is still happening the player should "snap to live" - if the event has ended it should start form the beginning of the file.

The TiVo skip back lets you do your own "Instant replay" of sorts. This is very important to sports webcasters and was one of the biggest features on MLB.com this past season from what I have read.

The TiVo skip back is about 8 seconds - maybe 10 is best. They can always keep clicking it or maybe it can be a variable in the plug-in setup.

All right! Now I only have to find a testserer that has DVR enabled.

I have several! Please contact me directly - rich@multimediapros.com

Thanks

Hi, I want make a test DVR
contact me please viorel.nicorici@gmail.com

sorry nicorici.viorel@gmail.com

Got one and working on the implementation (test account from Edgecast)...

DVR streaming has been implemented in the 4.7.707 player. You can read how to enable it (flashvar rtmp.dvr=true) in this ticket:

http://developer.longtailvideo.com/trac/ticket/584

DVR will probably be officially released in player 5.1

Jeroen: Thanks for the info on this -- I'm also trying to get this working with 4.7.707 and an Edgecast account -- two questions:

1. Is DVR functionality something Edgecast needs to set up on a Flash account, or is it enabled by default?

2. FME throws up the following when I start the stream with DVR Auto Record checked: "Warning : Please prefix 'mp4:' to the stream name to record H264/AAC/HE-AAC encoded data at FMS using DVR feature." If I do this, I can no longer seem to construct a set of commands that will play my stream. Is the "mp4:" prefix really necessary here? If so, what corresponding change do I need to make to get my stream to play?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

-steve

I read in the docs that the JW 5.1 player would have a "repaly" plugin to skip back 15 seconds... but i can not find it! any help would be appreciated.

@Mar -

Where in the docs did you see this? There's currently no plugin that does this, although writing one should be pretty easy. Why don't you download the plugin API and give it a try?

http://developer.longtailvideo.com/trac/browser/sdks/fl5-plugin-sdk

http://developer.longtailvideo.com/trac/wiki/Player5PluginsBuilding

Replay Plugin

http://developer.longtailvideo.com/trac/changeset/708

The replay plugin there was checked in a while back, but it was never fully tested or released, and in fact was removed a bit later (http://developer.longtailvideo.com/trac/changeset/905).

You're free to use the source code there as a starting point to building your own replay plugin.