Streaming QuickTime Media

Virginia Commonwealth University supports the use of streaming QuickTime (.mov). This page describes what you need to do to make your QuickTime Audio/Media available to a web browser.

How it works

The following diagram shows that there are three files involved in displaying a streaming media file: an HTML Page stored on a web server (e.g. www.vcu.edu), a Reference Movie page stored on a web server, and the QuickTime file (.mov) stored on the Video Server. The web browser displays a web (HTML) page, which contains a link to a special Reference Movie (explained below). The reference Movie contains the links to the .mov file.

Video Diagram

Step 1: Add a hint track to your QuickTime Movie

You must hint your movie before uploading it to the Video server. A QuickTime movie cannot be streamed unless it has been hinted. The hint tracks tell the server exactly how to package the media data for the network. To hint a movie you must purchase QuickTime Pro. After you have QuickTime Pro follow these steps to hint your movie:

  1. Open the movie in QuickTime Player.
  2. If the movie is not self-contained, choose Save As and save it as a self-contained movie-otherwise, the hinted movie will contain references to the media tracks in the original movie, which would also have to be on the server.
  3. Choose Export from the File menu. Name the movie using the .mov suffix.
  4. Simplest hinting method: If the movie is already compressed and the data rate is set, choose Movie to QuickTime Movie from the Export pop-up menu. Choose Default Settings from the Use popup; these usually work fine. Hit OK and you're done.

Use the following steps if you are converting a movie from another file type to QuickTime:

  1. If you still need to set video compression and other parameters, first choose Movie to QuickTime Movie. (Note that Movie to QuickTime Movie deletes MIDI music and renders text tracks as video, so if you want to stream MIDI or text add these types of tracks after you compress the movie, then export using Movie to Hinted Movie.)
  2. For audio-only movies, you can set compression and create hint tracks in one step. Choose the proper setting from the Use pop-up, according to the characteristics of the movie you are streaming and the bandwidth of the anticipated connection. For example, choose Streaming 20kbps - Music to compress your audio movie with the QDesign Music compressor and hint it for a dial-up connection.
  3. If the movie contains video, click Options . . . to see the Movie Settings dialog. Choose the video size and compressor settings in the Video section and the audio compressor settings in the Sound section. Check the Prepare for Internet Streaming box and choose Hinted Streaming from the pop-up menu.
  4. While you are still in the Movie Settings dialog, you can tweak the streaming compression and data rate. Click on the Settings.... button to open the Hint Exporter Settings dialog. Check Optimize Hints for Server so that the hint tracks will have the media data embedded in them. That way, the server can read the hint and media track packets all at once, which increases the number of viewers the server can support-at the cost of a file that is almost twice as large.
  5. From the Hint Exporter Settings dialog, click on Track Hinter Settings to change the default compressors and data rates for each streamable track. Generally, don't do this without specialized knowledge of each compressor's capabilities and the parameters of your network. For example, if you know the maximum packet size your network allows, you can set that as the streaming packet size. You can also increase the number and frequency of data repetitions for text and music to improve the playback of those tracks; however, this will drive up the data rate.

Step 2: Transfer the Media Files to the Video Server

First you need to upload your QuickTime Audio/Media file (.mov) to the video server (video.vcu.edu) using SSH (Secure Shell) software.  You can obtain the SSH software for Windows 95/98/2000/NT for free. To learn how to transfer files to the server see the SSH Instructions. Please note that the video server does not act as a web server and a web server account is needed to link to your video files.

Step 3: Create the Reference Movie

For every file you want streamed you need a Reference Movie. The Reference Movie tells the browser where the actual QuickTime file is. It is also possible to set different QuickTime files for different download speeds. The reference Movie only contains the address of your file which directs the QuickTime player to stream from that address. The reference Movie is created using the MakeRefMovie Program. This can be downloaded from the Apple website and is located under "Webmaster Tools."

  1. Open MakeRefMovie.
  2. Make sure the reference movie filename contains the '.mov' extension. This reference movie will call upon the hinted movie you just created.
  3. Select 'Movie' >> 'Add URL' from the menu bar. Type in the directory where you just uploaded the hinted movie (rtsp://video.vcu.edu/juser/hinted_movie.mov).
  4. Set the minimum connection speed for the movie in the Speed: pop-up menu. (If you just have one movie, then leave the minimum speed at the 28.8 Default setting)
  5. (optional) If you have different quality movies for different connection speeds you can set the load order of the movies in the Priority: pop-up. For example, you may want the reference movie to call the highest quality movie first, then the medium quality movie, and last the lowest-quality or default movie. If there is more than one movie designed for the same connection speed, set a priority for which movie will load first.
  6. Save the reference movie and upload it to the directory or folder on the web server.

Step 4: Create the link to the Reference Movie 

(By linking directly to the Reference Movie, it will be 
 displayed in the center of the browser's window)
<a href="file_ref.mov">Click Here to Watch A Movie</a>

For example if the Reference Movie is called 'football_ref.mov' the link would be:

<a href="football_ref.mov">Click Here to Watch the 
 Football Game</a>

Click Here for an Example

Embedding a QuickTime Movie

You can include a QuickTime movie in your web page. This makes the movie play when the page loads.  The code necessary to embed a windows movie is:

Click here for the text file with the code for embedded video.

Click here for an example of an embedded movie: Embedded QuickTime Movie

 

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