I came across quite a few video distribution services (one is heyspread). The video they have on their home page is like, you upload your video only once and it is distributed to other video sharing sites. To me, it looks like they have coded it in Php.
Can anyone explain me the logic behind it? How is possible? Also, will it take the bandwidth of uploading it only once or uploading it to all the sites that we are using?
Also, if I had to code one like that, are there any links which I can use as a start up to kick off?
Here is my explanation based on what I know and your requirements:
Can anyone explain me the logic behind it?
You basically act as a mediator for all the sites. What the users do is given the site their permission to use their credentials that they set up in this multiple sites and allow you to upload video on their behalf so they don't have to do it themselves thereby saving them time
How is possible?
Many of the video hosting websites operate on HTTP protocol. In order to upload on your behalf the video distribution service do the following for each of the website (I have generalize the steps, there could be more than these steps for some of the sites):
Authenticate using the credentials that you give
Upload the video using one of the following ways:
If there is API available, then this is the preferred way for the service to upload on your behalf as the interface to authenticate/upload are clean and well define
If no API is available for a particular website, then the service has to simulate the HTTP sequence as if the request is made from the browser by the user. This is not the best way but sometimes is the only way. This approach is not as robust as the first one because the contract could change and you don't necessarily get the confirmation message (for success/failure of upload for example) other than via parsing the HTML
Also, will it take the bandwidth of uploading it only once or uploading it to all the sites that we are using?
It will use your bandwidth once to upload the video the first time. In order to upload to other websites on your behalf, the video distribution service will use its datacenter/cloud service bandwidth
Also, if I had to code one like that, are there any links which I can use as a start up to kick off?
I don't know any that does exactly like that, but you should look at each site that you want to mediate and see if they have the API first. You might want to start with those who have before trying to simulate user's click for those who don't have API. For example YouTube even goes further by providing the Client Library for you to use based on your language of choice.
Related
I'm trying to figure out a workflow for an app that allows users to upload files (Pdfs, Docs etc) and share them with other users in their organization.
The users who need to view the document will not necessarily have permissions to do so through Google Drive, only through the app.
At present, users can upload documents but I want to allow them to link to documents in their Google Drive.
I'm unable to figure out how I would initially go about doing this.
At present, the best idea I have is to gain offline access to their Google Drive account, and retrieve a copy of the document to the server. This doesn't seem like the best idea as having to retrieve a document, save it and show it (ironically using the Google Docs viewer) for every page load would hog server resources.
I could get a copy when the user first adds the document, but then there's no guarantee that it's up to date when someone accesses it several months later.
Is there a correct way to do this?
Check out Drive Platform Best Practices and Performance Tips to help you build high quality Google Drive apps and improve the performance of your application.
To know any changes, you may want to see the document about Detect Changes and Push Notifications.
For Google Drive apps that need to keep track of changes to files, the Changes collection provides an efficient way to detect changes to all files, including those that have been shared with a user. The collection works by providing the current state of each file, if and only if the file has changed since a given point in time.
The Drive API provides push notifications that let you watch for changes to resources. You can use this feature to improve the performance of your application. It allows you to eliminate the extra network and compute costs involved with polling resources to determine if they have changed. Whenever a watched resource changes, the Drive API notifies your application.
In Manage Revisions, you can always flag to see if there are new revisions created as discussed in the video of Google engineers discussing related tips and tricks.
I need some guidance around how to develop the app I'm working on.
It's basically a backend system to manage photos and slideshows (eg arrange photos in albums, decide which ones to publish, update names and captions etc)
I would like to avoid giving the source code to clients but would like to keep the actual photos and thumbnails on the client's server.
I'm not sure what would be the best way to achieve this. In my mind the steps are:
a) client uploads a photo to MY site
b) photo is registered into my DB
c) the original photo is moved to client's server
d) thumbnails are generated and saved on client's server
then the public site:
e) install the public website on my client's server;
f) when a user is browsing the client's website, the script gets the list of images to show from my database, and gets them from the local server.
(hope I made myself clear)
basically the question is: what's the best way to give the client minimal/no access to the source code?
I agree with benjy, however, you can get away with using an API to manage the system specific calls, and just have an upload handler that communicates back to your API on the clints box, so they still have some code, it is minimal, and the code requires an API call to function. That way you reduce the DB need, and reduce the resources required to manage the clients code.
API is used to authenticate / manage communication while the upload / manage scripts handle the upload/image handling.
IMO, this seems a little unnecessary. What exactly is your concern about having the source code rest on a client's server? All you need is a signed license agreement between you and the client preventing them from doing anything with it.
Or, if you really don't trust them, just sell it as hosted software. No point in the above procedure, which is rather convoluted (no offense), when you can just have everything on one server.
Just my $.02.
You can obfuscate the code with a commercial tool like IonCubelink text, or you can develop your application and license it using a SaaS model, and provide an API for the client software to use.
Zend Guard, SourceGuardian, IonCube, and similar are other viable options if you cannot keep it local but want to make it difficult to find out what the "source" is.
I am developing an application where I need to record voice(for those who does not have a webcam so they can use only microphone to record voice) or video(those who have a a webcam - like laptop or external) files and save them on server, thereafter save the file name and logged in users id on database for later access.
I know I need to use some sort of flash app for this. But is there any free one which could server this purpose or even if there are paid ones which could serve this purpose that would be great. I tried google but may be I was not being able to go after the proper term or something, I could not succeed finding a proper solution for this.
Please, help me out!
You can do that simply using jRecorder, a jQuery plugin. You don't even need a Flash Media Server or RED server. JRecorder is same as jPlayer, you can use jQuery and HTML to design your recorder and you don't even need Flash or Action script knowledge for this.
jRecorder uses 1 pix hidden swf file which manages all the recording / previewing and sending the file data (wav file) to a URL you defined (Where you can write code in PHP or Java to receive a POST file)
It is quite simple and tidy.
You can download this Plugin from:
http://www.sajithmr.me/jrecorder-jquery
I have same feature in our latest project, the client want to have video recording from webcam and the video appear in the user's profile page.
For the server, we implement the RED5 server. It need a Java virtual machine in your hosting. You can read the detail requirement and installation instruction in the website.
To handle recording, we develop our own flash application, because the client request a custom interface to match with the overall website interface. I don't know the detail, since we outsource it to a fellow flash developer. Maybe you can see follow this thread, the development of flash recording by JeroenW.
To play recorded video, you can use any flash video player that support playing rtmp video source. You cannot play the recorded flv file in RED5 directly, since the file lack of metadata required by the player. Serving the recorded file as rtmp is done by RED5.
In addition to red5 there is Adobe's own Flash Media server that allows you to record audio/video straight to the server.
Or if you feel geeky you might be able to put together your own solution for this using a socket connection to the server and decoding the stream yourself on the server side. You should be able capture the audio/video locally into memory and then feed the byte stream up to your own server application.
There are Open Source solutions but you will need an own server to run them.
There is no way to run these things from shared hosting except if your provider is really nice, and ready to install the necessary software.
I asked the same question a few weeks back, check out the answers.
This question when googling "How to record audio php" comes up first so here for anyone from the future.
A simple way to record audio with flash and save it with PHP:
https://github.com/clouddueling/SimpleRecorder
Record audio, post audio data to your choice of url.
You could try recordmp3online.com which has an SDK. The nice thing about this one, is that it doesn't need a third party server(ala Red5), and supports mobile devices that don't have flash installed.
I need help finding resources that would help me or at least point me in the right direction in building a Flash media server/PHP application. I basically want to improve my current application by instead of progressive download using flash media server so that the videos will not only stream well but they can't be downloaded by the end user.
What the current application does is show a login form on the homepage and then when logged in the user can then navigate the site by choosing videos from a particular video category or video uploaded by a specific user. All this is done with PHP. The video page uses progressive download to display the video after the video ID has been passed using PHP.
I need to know how PHP and flash media server work together. Are there any resources out there where I can find a good application example (really simple) that demonstrates how PHP and flash media server can be used to stream videos dynamically such that PHP checks for the login, video ID, video channels, and video category information while the flash media server streams the video.
Really, PHP and FMS shouldn't be talking at all. It can be done within FMS, but a much easier approach is to let your Flash Player (which you'll have to have anyway) do the talking to FMS. Flash to FMS communication is well documented and very easy. Just have the PHP call forth a Flash video player with whatever info you need. It would probably be eaiser to have PHP authenticate and give the Flash some sort of authentication token if you're really worried about security.
Just so you know though, just because your media is streaming doesn't mean someone can't download it. There's several tools to rip streamed media out there. It is of course more secure, but it's not full-proof.
You may want to try Red5 instead of Flash Media Server. I've use Flash Media Server in the past and it can be a pain to take care of. With Red5 you at least have more flexibility and it is free. If you go down the Red5 path you will find more people customizing it like this one time ticket for Red5 post. I believe that is very close to what you are looking for.
The biggest problem with PHP and Flash (mediaserver) is the different "flow" of code.
PHP is straightforward:
Start request, do something, send response. Done.
Flashmedia only loads (compiles) your code when a client connects, and then only events are triggered. Most operations do not return, but need a callback.
Load application.. wait for something.. Event launched: do something, fire off another request together with a response handler object.. etc.
I have build an extensive chatservice with FlashMedia server and PHP as front and back-end.
The front-end is simple: just plain PHP/HTML-pages which will eventually create an <OBJECT>-tag loading some Flash applet.
That flash applet should connect to the Flash media server using information/credentials passed to it with the FlashVars-option or loaded (generated) XML-data from a separate URL.
From that point, the Flash applet (client) does it's thing with the Flashmedia server.
For this example, you want to verify credentials from the Mediaserver. You should use the AMFPHP framework for that.
AMFPHP is a replacement for Macromedia's "Flash Remoting" system where Flash [applets/servlets] can do asynchronious communications over HTTP.
For the AMFPHP-framework you write an interface class wrapping your credential-validation code. There is a test-page which validated the response of your wrapper.
(The AMFPHP Framework can also generate AS2 sample code so you have an idea how the Flashmedia server should send an request and handle responses.)
A warning: AMFPHP uses POSTs to send
and retrieve data. In the past,
there were problems when more than
2k of data was truncated. I now only
use it for relative short messages.
AMFPHP is very reliable. You can use it to do external logging for example.
Using flash media server so that the
videos will not only stream well but
they can't be downloaded by the end
user
This won't really work. It make make it "harder" for some people in the same way that not putting a big, huge "download here" button makes it "harder", but the content is still being downloaded to their computer, just in a different way. Anything that's downloaded can be saved to the disk.
I am doing similar thing. First, for authentication, you can use FMS's authentication plug-in. Of course, you can make your own stuff in PHP. Instead of adding PHP into FMS's original Apache, I decided to run XAMPP in parallel, with different port of course.
To start and stop the encoder, you can make use of FMLEcmd command.
My environment:
Flash Media Development Server 3.5
Flash Media Live Encoder 3.1
XAMPP (at port 8080)
I have a PHP/AJAX/MYSQL chat application. I want to add video chatting to my application. How can I create live video streaming to be used for live video conferences/chatting in a PHP application. What are the key-terms I need to know if I wanted to build such a system? Is it a good idea in the first place to use PHP? Is there something I'm not thinking about? What other languages can I use, perhaps in conjunction with PHP?
I am not saying that you have to abandon PHP, but you need different technologies here.
Let's start off simple (without Akamai :-)) and think about the implications here. Video, chat, etc. - it's all client-side in the beginning. The user has a webcam, you want to grab the signal somehow and send it to the server. There is no PHP so far.
I know that Flash supports this though (check this tutorial on webcams and flash) so you could use Flash to transport the content to the server. I think if you'll stay with Flash, then Flex (flex and webcam tutorial) is probably a good idea to look into.
So those are just the basics, maybe it gives you an idea of where you need to research because obviously this won't give you a full video chat inside your app yet. For starters, you will need some sort of way to record the streams and re-publish them so others see other people from the chat, etc..
I'm also not sure how much traffic and bandwidth this is gonna consume though and generally, you will need way more than a Stackoverflow question to solve this issue. Best would be to do a full spec of your app and then hire some people to help you build it.
HTH!
Please note that the below described service is no longer available as
it was based on FLV media (Flash)
This project which utilizes the Red5, Flex and PHP for Live Video Streaming and Recording has many features
Stream Live video to the viewers
Record the streams from your cam or other video input devices to the server
Preview the recorded streams and files and thumbnail the frame which you would like to display for the video.
Upload the videos from your computer and convert them to FLV which can be streamed using Red5 .
Choose from any resolutions
Can be plugged to any script
Each website user can have a separate Directory for storing their videos and thumbnails use this link
http://code.google.com/p/red5-flex-streamer/
PHP will let you build the pages of your site that make up your video conferencing and chat applications, but it won't deliver or stream video for you - PHP runs on the server only and renders out HTML to a client browser.
For the video, the first thing you'll need is a live streaming account with someone like akamai or the numerous others in the field. Using this account gives you an ingress point for your video - ie: the server that you will stream your live video up to.
Next, you want to get your video out to the browsers - windows media player, flash or silverlight will let you achieve this - embedding the appropriate control for your chosen technology into your page (using PHP or whatever) and given the address of your live video feed.
PHP (or other scripting language) would be used to build the chat part of the application and bring the whole thing together (the chat and the embedded video player).
Hope this helps.
PHP/AJAX/MySQL will not be enough for creating the live video streaming application There is a similar thread here. It primarily suggests using Flex or Silverlight.
For live video conferencing you can't ignore the need of a streaming server.
Yes, flash will let you display video from a webcam within the local flash control, but that won't let you then send that video over the network - for that you need a streaming server to send it to.
If you're going to build something like this it's prudent to think about how you're going to host the video from a very early stage as it will influence how you build the application. Flash/Flex/Silverlight/Windows Media....etc....
There are a lot of "off-the-shelf" 'servers' that will run in your environment.
Most of these utilize the aforementioned Flex or Silverlight to implement the actual video itself but I'm pretty sure all will run under LAMP/PHP.
The challenges will picking the best software from everything that's available and getting your hosting-provider to let you stream video (it goes without saying that streaming is heavy on bandwidth).
You can easily build a website as per the requirements. PHP will be there to handle the website development part. All the hosting and normal website development will work just as it is. However, for the streaming part, you will have to choose a good streaming service. Whether it is Red5 or Adobe, you can choose from plenty of services.
Choose a service that provides a dedicated storage to get something done right. If you do not know how to configure the server properly, you can just choose a streaming service. Good services often give a CDN that helps broadcast the stream efficiently. Simply launch your website in PHP and embed the YouTube player in the said web page to get it working.
Same problem/answer here, quoted below
I'm assuming you mean that you want to run your own private video
calls, not simply link to Skype calls or similar. You really have 2
options here: host it yourself, or use a hosted solution and integrate
it into your product.
Self-Hosted
----------------- This is messy. This can all be accomplished with PHP, but that is probably not the most advisable solution, as it is
not the best tool for the job on all sides. Flash is much more
efficient at a/v capture and transport on the user end. You can try to
do this without flash, but you will have headaches. HTML5 may make
your life easier, but if you're shooting for maximum compatibility,
flash is the simplest way to go for creating the client. Then, as far
as the actual server side that will relay the audio/video, you could
write a chat server in php, but you're better off using an open source
project, like
janenz00's mention
of red5, that's already built and
interfacing with it through your client (if it doesn't already have
one). Or you could homebrew a flash client as mentioned before and
hook it up to a flash streaming server on both sides...either way it
gets complicated fast, and is beyond my expertise to help you with at
all.
Hosted Service
----------------- All in, my recommendation, unless you want to administer a ridiculous setup of many complex servers and failure
points is to use a hosted service like
UserPlane or similar and offload all the
processing and technical work to people who are good at that, and then
worry about interfacing with their api and getting their client well
integrated into your site. You will be a happier developer if you do.