TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 7 offered some background about streaming media serving to help you understand some of the basics. This chapter goes into more step-by-step detail about publishing your work via a Windows Media Services. By the end of the chapter, you'll understand:
The difference between HTTP streaming and "true" streaming
How to install Windows Media Services
More about publishing points
How to use Windows Media Services Administrator
The basics of testing and Windows Media Load Simulator
This book distinguishes between "true" streaming, which uses specialized streaming protocols, such as Microsoft Media Services (MMS), and a second type, called by various names, ncluding pseudo-streaming, progressive download, or HTTP streaming. As the last name suggests, the second type of streaming uses the HTTP protocol. It's the same protocol web browsers use to communicate with web servers. The following discussion will use the term HTTP streaming.
With HTTP streaming, you treat your encoded file just like an HTML file or graphics file by putting it on your web server. You create a link to the encoded file in the same way you create a link to another webpage. The user clicks the link and the encoded media file starts to download. As it downloads, it starts the media player, which plays the file as it comes through. In many cases, the user experience with HTTP streaming is virtually the same as "true" streaming.
To make this work, ask your system administrator to...
