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Manually Configure Live Streaming 4

For Windows Media Encoder Version 4.1

This only applies if  the Video Surveillance WebCam Software uses Windows Media Encoder Version 4.1, and not if the Video Surveillance WebCam Software uses Windows Media Encoder Version 9. When Windows Media Encoder is run click on Help, About to see which version it is.

In order for Stream Mode i.e Remote Viewing to work, it needs to be configured. It is configured by creating a file called LiveToLive1.asd, which is then used by Windows Media Encoder to help us do the live video streaming.

Different computers have different video and audio capture hardware, therefore the Stream Mode video configuration files may have to be adjusted on initial program installation. (This pertains to Windows Media Encoder Version 4.1.0. and assumes video and audio hardware are already installed.) Following describes how to configure Live Streaming Mode for Remote Viewing for a Personal Computer.

Procedure to Manually Configure Live Streaming

  1. Close all video applications that are running ie the Video Surveillance WebCam Software.
  2. Go to c:\monitor1\program\   folder, and double click on a file named LiveToLive1.asd. If Windows Media Encoder gives you message like "No Audio Device Found", then you will need to get a sound card which sits on the PCI bus and install it and it's drivers, and try this procedure again.
  3. After double clicking  on the file named LiveToLive1.asd, Windows Media Encoder starts then one of the first menus to popup is to create a new configuration file i.e. "Welcome Create a new configuration file using" - select Custom Settings, click OK. (If some other Encoder window popped up select menu item, File, New and proceed as per above.)
  4. On the next Input Source page, select Live Source, click Next.
  5. On page, Capture Source and Media Type, Under Audio Capture, select your audio hardware you are using on your computer. It should be listed there. Under Video Capture, select your video capture hardware or driver. Uncheck Script Commands. Click Next.
  6. On the Bandwidth Selection Page, select Use Multiple Bit Rate. Click Next.
  7. Under, What are target audiences would you like to support, select Low Bandwidth. Click Next.
  8. On the Compression and Formats Page, under Audio Codec, select, Windows Media Audio V2, 8k mono. Under Video Codec, select, Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3 - note V3 is best. Click Next.
  9. On the Output Options page, select, To Windows Media Server(s) over a Network. Click Next.
  10. On the Transmission page, select, Allow remote servers to connect via a fixed port. Check Http Port. Accept the default port number shown e.g. it will be something like 1048 or 1038. Uncheck initiate connection to station manager. Click Finished.
  11. The main page of the Encoder will appear, showing Summary Statistics, and Summary Settings. At the top of the window, select menu items, File, Save As, c:\ monitor1\program\LiveToLive1.asd. - the name of the file must be exactly so. Replace the file if it exists. And do the following procedure.
  12. From the  main window of the Encoder, showing Summary Statistics, and Summary Settings. At the top of the window, select menu items, View, Preview Video, a small video preview window opens. Now select menu item, Encoder, Start. 
  13. If live video shows in the Video Preview then the configuration we have created is good and it was saved to c:\monitor1\program\LiveToLive1.asd. Go to step 15.
  14. If no video appears in the Video Preview window then the configuration is not good. Try changing the video input source under menu item Video Capture Settings see if it makes a difference and Preview again, else. Close the Video Preview Window.  Select menu item, Encode, Stop.  Got to step 3 and try again . Try changing some of the parameters in steps 5-8 (select different video and audio drivers) Also try .
  15. Select menu item, Encode, Stop. Close the Preview Video Window. 
  16. Now close the Encoder so it exits menu item File, Exit.
  17. Now startup the Video Surveillance WebCam Software.
  18. Now lets test the Live Streaming. From the Video Surveillance WebCam Software, click on menu item Run, Stream. If no errors popped up or seen in the status bar, then Live Streaming is configured properly.

End of Procedure.

Note: 

The default LiveToLive.asd video streaming configuration files supplied may be:

  • LiveToLive1.asd = 160x120 video+audio low band width
  • LiveToLive2.asd = 160x120 video+audio lower bandwidth for cell phone
  • LiveToLive3.asd = 320x240 video+audio high bandwidth for LAN, Cable or ADSL.

If you get a message from Windows Media Encoder 4.1 when it starts up saying, "No Audio Device", then install an inexpensive sound card on the PCI bus. Even though you might have a sound device on the motherboard. In some cases it cannot find it or use it. A sound is needed for Windows Media Encoder 4.1.

If you are planning on using more than one of these configuration files e.g. LiveToLive2.asd, repeat the above procedure. Since on the remote web page commands one can specify which configuration file to use. All other LiveToLive?.asd files you create must be set to have the same Video Port (stream reference, HTTP on Port)  number as used in the LiveToLive1.asd file. You can create and run many different configuration files for the Video Surveillance WebCam Software each with different transmission bandwidths and image sizes in order to accommodate your preferences.

The program directory path might be c:\monitor1\program, or c:\monitor2\program... depending on which version of the software you installed.

For Windows 98, you may need to set compressor to Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1, instead of Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V3 above.

 

Test Video Streaming

Configure Streaming with Wizard

 

 

Video Surveillance WebCam Software by FG Engineering
Edition: Surveillance WebCam
Product Documentation Version 5.0
Copyright (c) 2001+ FG Engineering Inc.
www.fgeng.com