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bobsagat123
bobsagat123
42 posts
Oct 3, 2011
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HLS On Demand not working with larger f4f files

Oct 3, 2011 4:31 PM

Tags: #flash #hls #server #ios #4.5 #media #m3u8

Hello,

I'm running into an odd bug at the moment. We are using livepkgr to record live streams coming in, then we use f4fpackager to package the streams for ondemand use. The packaged f4f file plays back fine in the flash player, but when trying to watch the .m3u8 on iOS (or Mac), it says "The Operation Cannot be Completed" - I have a shorter file I tested which is ~ 50MB large, and it playsback fine. But the rest of the files, ranging from 1-5GB do not playback.

 

If there is any more information I need to provide, please let me know. Using FMS 4.5

 

Thanks

2064 Views   17 Replies   Latest reply: Ed Chan, Oct 4, 2011 8:09 AM
 
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  • Ed Chan
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    1. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 4:34 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    What codecs are being used?  And what do you mean you are using f4fpackager to package the live content?

     
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  • bobsagat123
    42 posts
    Oct 3, 2011
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    2. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 4:36 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    H264 and AAC, I'm using f4fpackager to create manifest files for ondemand delivery (multi bitrate streams) (http://help.adobe.com/en_US/HTTPStreaming/1.0/Using/WS9463dbe8dbe45c4c -c126f3b1260533756d-7ffc.html)

     

    Thanks

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    3. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 4:45 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    I think I’m missing something.  You’re publishing a live stream into the livepkgr application in FMS via RTMP.  That live stream is being recorded for HDS delivery; i.e. f4m, f4f, f4x, .bootstrap.  So you are pointing your HDS player to an f4m url that looks something like this,

     

    http://server:8134/hds-live/livepkgr/_definst_/liveevent/livestream.f4 m

     

    Is that right?  And that works, you’re able to play the live stream?

     

    If you try from your iOS device, pointing to an m3u8,

     

    http://server:8134/hls-live/livepkgr/_definst_/liveevent/livestream.m3 u8

     

    Does that work?

     

    Now, where does f4fpackager come into play in your workflow?  What are you specifying as input to the f4fpackager?

     

    Thanks,

    Ed

     
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  • bobsagat123
    42 posts
    Oct 3, 2011
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    4. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 4:58 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    Here's my workflow so you can get a clearer picture:

     

    - FME encodes a multibitrate stream to FMS4.5 (custom application called "pp", which is essentially the livepkgr sample with a few additional lines for multipoint publishing)

    - my server url in FME looks like this rtmp://server/pp/event

    - "pp" records both bitrates in the pp application folder, under streams/event/livestream1 and livestream2

    - livestream1 and livestream2 each contain a .f4f, f4x, bootstrap, .control, and a .meta file.

    - I feed the files into f4fpackager to create a manifest so I can serve these as mutilbitrate streams

    - f4fpackager then creates a NEW f4f file and .f4m file

    - I move these files to webroot/vod and can access them using http://server/hds-vod/folder/file.f4m or hls-vod/folder/file.f4f.m3u8

     

    The issue to me looks like with the m3u8 file, it tries to download the WHOLE file (8gb) or something along those lines, and it times out before then (instead of streaming)

     

    This is what I gathered from reading docs and such, If there's a better way - I'll gladly listen

     

    Thanks for your assistance.

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    5. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 5:13 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    I see.  HLS doesn’t support packaging of f4f; only f4v/mp4.

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    6. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 5:15 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    That doesn't make much sense then. A smaller file, packaged in the exact same way playsback just fine. It's the larger files that do not playback. (I assume they time out due their large size, but there has to be a setting somewhere to fix that)

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    7. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 5:21 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Well, I don’t think it is officially supported.  But an f4f is just a fragmented mp4.  So technically, it could work.  But it’s not something that we test or is officially supported.  We have tested with large f4v/mp4 files.  But we don’t test HLS packaging of f4f content.

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    8. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 5:22 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    What would you suggest? Live playback is perfect, we also need it to playback on demand how ever

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    9. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 5:30 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Maybe try also recording that input stream to an mp4, then try delivering that via HLS VOD?  This resulting MP4 is recorded in a fragmented MP4 format, which is essentially what an f4f is.  So the same reason it is not working for f4f could also be the case with this recorded mp4.  If that doesn’t work, you could also try downloading the F4V Post Processing tool from the FMS Tools Download page,

     

    http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver/tool_downloads/

     

    This tool will flatten the mp4 and try delivering that via HLS VOD.

     

    That’s all I have for you at this time.

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    10. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 6:46 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    I don't think that would make any difference - There's gotta be a way since a small file works wonderfully. Is there anyone else that can possibly be of help?

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    11. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 7:22 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Well, like I said, even if it works for small files, it’s not officially supported.  Do you have any large MP4’s that can repro this problem?

     

    How big is the f4f?  If you can post it to an ftp site, I can download it and create a bug for you.

     

    It’s up to you if you want to try the suggestions.  But that’s all I have to offer you at this point in terms of possible workarounds.  Someone else on the forum may have a better idea though.

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    12. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 7:55 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    The f4f is 8GB :\ I'll try to see if recording in segments, and then joining the segments with f4fpackager will fix the issue.

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    13. Ed Chan,
    Oct 3, 2011 8:04 PM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Do you have an ftp site to use?

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    Oct 3, 2011
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    14. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 8:52 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    When I create the MP4, do I just put it in the vod folder and create a vod instance?

     
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  • bobsagat123
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    Oct 3, 2011
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    15. bobsagat123,
    Oct 3, 2011 11:13 PM   in reply to Ed Chan
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    I've sent you a PM with links to where you can get the files.

     

    Thanks

     
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  • bobsagat123
    42 posts
    Oct 3, 2011
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    16. bobsagat123,
    Oct 4, 2011 3:48 AM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Thanks Ed, Flattening the file did the job.

     
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  • Ed Chan
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    17. Ed Chan,
    Oct 4, 2011 8:09 AM   in reply to bobsagat123
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    Awesome.

     
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