Flash Media Live Encoder

[Guest]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes.  I'd like to hear from anyone using Flash Media Live Encoder for long format webcasts (1 hour or longer).  Is a software solution viable compared to an encoder appliance or card?  I'd like to use this on a laptop for portability reasons, but I need assurance that it will work.  Otherwise I'll go with a desktop computer and an encoder card.  Your recommendations?

Also, can I encode using Flash Media Live Encoder and record an AVI or MPG2 directly to the same computer for creating DVD's?  Will a laptop or desktop be able to handle this much processing?

[ChoonTV]

FME is certainly stable enough - I have a music video channel on Ustream that I have left running for 60+ hours without any problems. Here is the rub though- on my AMD Turion duo 1.6 GHz laptop with 1 GB memory running Vista, FME maxed out my CPU. It is processor intensive, especially if you are using anything like ManyCam to play video. I ended up buying a cheap new desktop to use as a dedicated broadcast machine and that works great with FME and virtual webcam software running. CPU use is only ~ 40% that way. Keep in mind as well that your upload speed is likely throttled by your ISP. I have an 8 Mbps cable connection, but I can only upload at around 500 kbps since my ISP throttles upload speed as most do. It's not a problem quality-wise for a 480 X 360 window but would be for anything more.

[Guest]

Thanks, Choon.  Anyone else?  I hear FME only encodes video and not audio when using firewire.  Is this true?

[Guest]

1.  FME does audio and video via firewire.

2.  I am using FMW and FMS for our church service.  We have a BlackMagic Decklink Pro card as well as a ViewCast Osprey 210 video card.  We use these now instead of firewire.  If it were me I would get the desktop because it is much more customizable for hardware.  I would avoid any and all external video capturing devices. (usb, firewire)  It helps when the processing power can be handled through a capture device on PCI Express Card.

Let me know if you need anything else.

[Guest]

drew, I'll be using this for a church service also.  Just so I understand, you're using the ViewCast Osprey 210 video card to capture and FME to encode...is that how it works?  I may also need the ability to record an AVI or other file directly to the same computer.  Will a quad core computer with 2 gigs of RAM be enough to handle these two tasks simultaneously:  encoding live to the web and recording to the hard drive?

My proposal: shoot the worship service with one camera initially, maybe add cameras later.  Come out of the DVcam to the Osprey card and encode using using FME.  If I use firewire, do I even need an Osprey card, as long as I have a firewire input?  I'm not exactly sure how this works.

[Guest]

Yes.  I am using the osprey 210, at the moment, and I am using 4 sony ptz cameras with a datavideo se-800 video mixer.  I wanted the ability for switching cameras and video input processing to be handled by more hardware than software.  So, I ditched the idea of using firewire  when we decided to go multi-camera.

The quadcore is fine and the ram should be fine.  I would consider using two computers though.  One for encoding and one for streaming.

As far as the recording goes........I would get an external dvr or dvd recorder to record your service.  This is one thing that I have always wondered about.  Does it hinder the performance of the computer, in terms of client data transfer, when the following are happening at the same time:

     1.  Encoding the video

     2.  Saving the video to the harddrive

     3.  Streaming to your clients.

If you do endup using the firewire input I would make sure that the firewire input is a pci card and not integrated with the motherboard.  Just found it to better this way.  Anything else just ask.  You can even call me at my church if you would like.  We could exchange ideas. 

[Guest]

If I use one camera, firewire in a PCI slot should work fine, right?  Just firewire and FME?  Then, if we add more cameras later, I'll go with an Ospry and switch to AV cables.  Does this sound like a workable plan?

[Darrel_Veldhouse]

Hi...don't mean to jump in unannounced here, but if I understand correctly, Firewire will get the audio if I use a PCI card rather than the integrated Firewire connector. We just started with the live streaming, and not being able to have video and audio feed in through my Canopus is driving me nuts.

Thanks
DV

[Guest]

Regardless if it is integrated or a pci firewire port they should both carry audio and video.  But, it is better to have a pci firewire card.  Do you not have any sound?  What is your setup as far as hardware is concerned?  What are your FME settings?

[Darrel_Veldhouse]

We eventually brought up sound by plugging a 1/8" cable to the microphone jack (sync held pretty well), but the Firewire wouldn't feed audio from our Canopus ADVC 100(which was receiving a clear signal from our TriCaster mobile production computer). We didn't try the PCI card for audio since we were setting up for our first stream with less than 30 minutes to make it work, which it did marvelously. The audio through Firewire was the only sticking point.

Graphics card: Nvidia Quadros FX 570M, 512 MB, Integrated RAMDAC, 1 PCI bus

Audio: SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

Video setting on FME: Microsoft DV Camera and VCR (no other option), VP6 format

Audio setting: SoundMAX HD Audio (no other options available)

If the laptop has to be reconfigured, unfortunately we have security lockdowns that require only certain people do that, and I'm not one of them.

Thanks for the quick response!

DV

[Guest]

I'm not really sure why there is no audio.  I have run into a lot of problems using FME

with brands outside of what Adobe recommends.  I bought a capture card from Black Magic design and it would only recognize in FME if I prayed really really hard.  It also had  a problem with audio because it was unable to produce a sampling rate of 44.1 and this caused my default Realtek Audio HD to be the only option.  I would say that the sampling rate of the Canopus ADVC 100 is higher than 44.1 and this is why you have no audio.  Just to verify that it is FME and not the hardware I would download wirecast trial and test your hardware.  The framedropping will be high but it gives you an idea at least if it's your hardware or the software.

Adobe FME, I feel, needs a lot of work and for as much as they charge for the streaming server you would think they would have a better working solution for their clients.  Oh well.  Let me know if there is anything else I can do.

Andrew

[chestines84459312]

Sorry, I'm trying to find the correct to place to post this question. I want to have a simple live stream with a camera, laptop and the AFMLE. But my laptop will only show  the intergrated webcam on the laptop, not my video camera. The streaming program I am using says this is all I need but it does not work. What am I missing. I am new to this and really trying to learn.