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Adobe Media Server User Group Meeting Tuesday, August 28th

RSVP: http://ams.groups.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=post.display&postid=43945

Topic: HLS Best Practices for AMS 5.0

Speaker: Sarge is a Senior Applications Engineer on Adobe's Video Solutions team. Formerly a FMS Technical Account Manager working with the top tier CDNs, Sarge has years of experience developing, deploying, and supporting Flash video solutions on FMS.

Agenda: Adobe added Apple's HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) to its technology stack with FMS 4.5 a few years ago as a continued investment delivering immersive on-demand and live video experiences over standard HTTP connections to Apple (iOS & MacOS) devices. This technology has been deployed at CDNs such as Akamai, Limelight, and Level 3, and used by broadcasters like the BBC for the London 2012 Olympics. Adobe updated its HLS workflows in Adobe Media Server 5 -- adding an offline packager, updated Just-in-Time encryption, and DRM support for iOS devices using and new Adobe Access 4 (AXS) technology. Come learn the recommended best practices for deploying HLS with AMS 5.0 from Sarge, Sr. Applications Engineer for Adobe Video Solutions.

Encode high quality video mezzanine MP4 files and deliver them in real-time simultaneously through RTMP, HDS, and HLS.
Configure HLS settings to optimize HTTP caching.
Add DRM to your iOS publishing workflows.

Sarge walks you through the changes to HLS in AMS 5.0, including:
Just in Time packaging (JITP) encryption
Offline packaging with the HLS Segmenter
iOS DRM

http://ams.groups.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=post.display&postid=43945

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Posted on August 27, 2012 at 8:17 AM. 2286 views. Print

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If you are running your emails through a Google Apps account and are not using two-factor authentication then now may be a good time to do so.

Keeping on top of one's online security can be challenging, but protecting your email account from unauthorised access is crucial since most sites and systems fall back onto email for account password recovery. This means that once a hacker has access to your email account they can use it to gain access to your Twitter account, Facebook, potentially other email accounts and in some cases even cause you to lose your data as the recent case of Matt Honan dramatically demonstrates.

So why exactly is two-factor authentication so much more secure than a normal (even a super-strong) password? The answer is pretty simple: in addition to having to supply a piece of information ('something you know' such as your password), using two-factor-authentication requires you to supplement the password with 'something you have' such as a one-time-use token which proves that you are in possession of your phone (in the case of using Google Authenticator or SMS tokens) or your keyfob (in the case of online banking and Paypal for example).

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Posted on August 12, 2012 at 1:41 PM. 3240 views. Print

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Admittedly I may be promising too much with that title: Microsoft isn't exactly sharing its plans in detail but they certainly are making it clear that their vision differs slightly from that of Google and other browser vendors when they recently published a post titled 'Customizable, Ubiquitous Real Time Communication over the Web (CU-RTC-Web)' on the official Skype blog.

So what did they announce? In the post several key Skype/Microsoft engineers (headed by Matthew Kaufman who many Flash developers will remember as the inventor of RTMFP) explain Microsoft's contribution of the CU-RTC-Web proposal to the W3C WebRTC working group.

So why is Microsoft submitting their own RTC proposal to the working group? In short Microsoft thinks that the existing proposal falls short in several areas. According to Microsoft it doesn't address interoperability between different types of clients (not just web browsers) very well ("instead focuses on video communication between web browsers under ideal conditions") and also needs more flexibility when it comes to media formats and codecs.

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Posted on August 6, 2012 at 2:32 PM. 2541 views. Print

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The newly renamed Adobe Media Server User Group has an interesting online meeting coming up in July.

Multi-Bitrate and Multi-Screen Streaming With Flash Media Server 4.5

Date and Time:
July 17, 2012 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (GMT-7 Mountain Time US & Canada)

Address:
Join via Adobe Connect: http://realeyes.adobeconnect.com/amsug

Call-in Details:
Join via Adobe Connect: http://realeyes.adobeconnect.com/amsug

Speakers:
Lisa Larson-Kelley - owern of LearnFromLisa.com and Adobe Community Professional, specializing in Flash media technologies.

Agenda:
The latest edition of Flash Media Server supports multi-bitrate streaming over a wider variety of protocols -- not only to Flash Player and AIR, but to iPads and iPhones as well. New features in FMS 4.5 such as server-side HLS transcoding and adaptive bitrate (set-level) manifest support provide more flexibility than ever. In addition to introducing you to new features and best practices, this session provides you with examples of cross-platform video players that put them into action -- detecting the viewer's bandwidth and operating system and delivering the appropriate format stream at the optimal bitrate.
Link: http://realeyes.adobeconnect.com/amsug

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Posted on June 26, 2012 at 9:00 AM. 2659 views. Print

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Thanks to my good friend Simon I've been a happy git user for a few months now. I installed my own git server on Amazon EC2 using Ubuntu, git and gitolite and just fired it up once or twice a day to push and pull. This worked out fine but with more and more easy to use git hosting services springing up I gave Atlassian's bitbucket a try since it offers unlimited private repositories which is a bonus.

It took me a little while to figure out how to move my existing repository into bitbucket, especially since it was already tracking the existing remote repo on my server. What follows are a few easy steps that describe the process - but note that you follow along at your own risk.

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Posted on May 16, 2012 at 9:03 AM. 14366 views. Print

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An annoying bug has surfaced in Flash Player 11.2 that breaks support for some webcams. It appears that cameras of the Microsoft Lifecam VX series are most affected.

A few days ago a customer contacted me about an issue he was experiencing on Scribblar whereby his webcam image would freeze immediately after starting the camera. He also noticed that this problem only occurred in the latest Flash Player versions 11.2.202.228 and 11.2.202.229.

The only known workaround currently is to use an older version of the Flash Player - the following forum post has some details: http://forums.adobe.com/message/4320673#4320673

The initial bug that was filed is now Adobe internal and no longer visible (for reason only known to Adobe...), but please add your vote to this duplicate bug anyway if you are affected.

I've heard reports that there may already be a fix in Player 11.3 beta - we will know more when the final release drops.

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Posted on April 20, 2012 at 4:37 AM. 4181 views. Print

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After several recent announcement around Adobe's LiveCycle platform, it may not come as a surprise to some that the LiveCycle Collaboration Service (formerly Cocomo, formerly Flash Collaboration Service) will be shut down at the end of 2012. What may be a surprise however is the relatively short notice that Adobe is giving existing customers and a total lack of a migration path, leaving many people in a real tight spot.

Remember that LCCS is a hosted collaboration service, effectively cloud based, that allows developers to build real-time communications right into their Flex applications. The work that has gone into LCCS is impressive, and the platform offers a range of great features such as room provisioning APIs, live and audio and video communications (both over RTMFP and RTMP) and even screensharing capabilites (but let's not warm that topic up again...).

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Posted on March 23, 2012 at 8:34 AM. 6736 views. Print

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Joseph Labrecque will be presenting 'Getting Familiar with Flash Media Server' tomorrow (Tuesday, March 13th) at the FMS Online User Group.

FMSUG is thrilled to have Joseph Labrecque, Adobe Education Leader and Adobe Community Professional presenting at our March meeting.

Date: Tuesday, March 13
Time: noon EST, 11:00am Central, 9:00am Pacific
RSVP: http://fms.groups.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=post.display&postid=41402
Attend: http://realeyes.adobeconnect.com/fmsug

This presentation will provide an introduction to Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 and the use of streaming video with the Flash platform. We will have a look at a number of topics, including; setting up a local development server instance, testing RTMP, HDS, and HLS streaming with sample files, using the Flash Media Server adminstration console, extending HDS/HLS to tap into the applications directory to share RTMP-ready streams over HTTP, have a look at a variety of playback options including Strobe and the OSMF, provide some pointers on encoding tools and settings for video, examine some extended uses for Flash video playback through real-world application development scenarios.

This is a real-time meeting, so you'll have the opportunity to ask Joseph questions so that you can get more familiar with Flash Media Server.

RSVP: http://fms.groups.adobe.com/index.cfm?event=post.display&postid=41402
Attend: http://realeyes.adobeconnect.com/fmsug

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Posted on March 12, 2012 at 9:12 AM. 3052 views. Print

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If you are in or near New York City on April 10th 2012 and are interested in web video then this one day workshop by my friend and co-author Jan Ozer and fellow developer Lisa Larson-Kelley is for you. What's more, you can use the discount code SLC10 to get 10% off the ticket price. The code is valid through March 15th.

Attendees will learn encoding, server configuration and player development for playback in Flash, HTML5, iOS, Android and OTT.

The mobile video market is expanding rapidly. The wide range of devices with varying platforms and capabilities makes reliable video playback on mobile costly and time consuming. Mobile compatibility has three elements; appropriately compressed and formatted files, a properly configured streaming server and an intelligent player that can detect the capabilities of the remote viewer and connect the viewer to the correct files. This requires extensive knowledge of the playback capabilities of a wide range of devices, a deep familiarity of various compression technologies, plus Flash and Javascript development.
Until this workshop, there literally has been no single resource that pulls this information together and presents it in a cohesive way.

To assist websites seeking comprehensive mobile compatibility – as well as compatibility with HTML5 and OTT devices – Web Video Workshops announces a one-day seminar entitled Encoding, Serving, and Player Development for Multiple Screen Delivery. The workshop will be held in Manhattan on April 10, 2012, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

The workshop is presented in two 3-hour sessions. Compression expert Jan Ozer, author of Video Compression for Flash, Apple Devices and HTML5, will present Encoding for Multiple-Screen Delivery. Web video consultant Lisa Larson-Kelley, author of Flash Video for Professionals and the producer of Lynda.com's Publishing Video with the Flash Platform and Up and Running with Flash Media Server 4.5, will present Video Serving and Player Development for Multiple-Screen Delivery.

The cost for the full one-day workshop is $395, or each session can be taken individually for $220. The workshop will be held at the Learning Tree Education Center located at One New York Plaza. For more information on the workshop, or to sign-up, visit webvideoworkshops-ny2012.eventbrite.com.

Web Video Workshops is a joint venture between the Streaming Learning Center and LearnFromLisa.com. The Streaming Learning Center's Jan Ozer covers video encoding and Lisa Larson-Kelley illuminates video delivery and player development – providing end-to-end knowledge to achieve the best playback across desktops and devices.

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Posted on March 5, 2012 at 4:25 PM. 2869 views. Print

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Here's a quick tip that is a real time saver in some situations. As a developer you often come across programs, tools or servers that produce output in form of a log file. Or maybe - and this includes myself - you use logs for debugging purposes.

In ColdFusion for example I regularly find myself adding cflog tags to my code in order to get a view into what my code is doing. Having to open and close log files constantly can be tedious at best, but luckily there is a really simple way of displaying a live view of the most recent entries using the standard Unix tail -F command.

Whereas tail on its own simply displays the last part of a file, the -F option will not stop when the end of the file is reached but will keep monitoring the file for new lines and displaying them, thereby giving you effectively a live console view into the file.

Taking ColdFusion logs as an example, here's how you'd monitor a particular log file (mine are typically named according to the site or application I am working on):

As my application runs I can see new entries being displayed in real time in my log file - very handy. This particular log is produced by adding

This technique works for any kind of text based log file on operating systems that have the tail command or similar available.

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Posted on February 28, 2012 at 8:34 AM. 4336 views. Print

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