Streaming Real Media Via HTTP
NOTE: Because RealNetworks offers a free 12 month trial license for their
RealSystem Server, there is little reason for streaming Real Media via HTTP. Instead, you should install the
RealSystem Server and "serve" the RealAudio/RealVideo content rather than "stream" the
content via HTTP (which is what is explained below).
Many VPS users want to offer RealAudio and RealVideo streams but
do not want to install the RealSystem Server
that streams these files. Streaming files means that the RealAudio and RealVideo
files begin playing before the entire file is downloaded. RealAudio and
RealVideo files can be quite large and many people surfing the web would
not wait to see the entire file download before it started playing. A RealAudio/Video
server allows you to offer these streamed files. However, you can also stream
these files without the RealAudio/Video server. It isn't quite as nice as
using the server, but it will cost you no money. It is known as HTTP
streaming.
Configuration
To stream RealAudio and RealVideo content using HTTP from your VPS, do the following.
- Add the following two MIME
Types (if necessary) to your ~/www/conf/mime.types file:
audio/x-pn-realaudio rm ra ram audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin rpm
Note: If you choose to FTP this file and edit it on your local
machine with a text editor (such as Notepad), be sure you FTP it in ASCII mode since it is
a text file.
- Copy your encoded RealAudio and RealVideo files (files with the .rm and .ra extensions) to
your VPS using FTP. Be sure to FTP these files in Binary mode.
- Use a text editor to create a metafile containing a RealAudio or RealVideo URL. For example, the
contents of your metafile should be in the following form:
http://YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/path/filename.rm
- Save the metafile as a text file with the .ram extension. For
example:
filename.ram
Then FTP this file to your VPS in ASCII mode (because it is a text file).
- In your HTML document, reference the metafile in a hyperlink. For
example:
<A HREF="filename.ram">
<A HREF="http://YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/path/filename.ram">
You can use relative or complete paths. If you use complete paths, you must include both the hostname and the
complete path.
- When a user clicks on the link, the audio/video file(s) begin to download. The RealPlayer begins playing
after a few seconds; it does not need to wait for the entire file to be downloaded.
Examples
Here are a few working examples:
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