Using Windows Media Encoder. 

StartUp Screen

Select Broadcast A Live Event

Select and configure your audio and video devices.

If using Push then enter IP and publishing point name, If using Pull enter the Publishing Point name and the port #.  This will be specified by your ISP.  You will have to determine your IP address and give this info to the Service Provider.  They will configure the server on the other end to "listen" for the signal that you are broadcasting via the specified port on your local machine.  The server listens for this signal and then rebroadcasts it.  Why not broadcast from your local machine?  Streaming media requires specialized setups and a high bandwidth connection, something you are generally unable to provide from your home.  

You then select your Encoding Options.  The bitrate determines the quality of the signal.  It also determines the amount of bandwidth you will consume with each connected player.  There is a trade off here, and expect a few moments delay, since you are sending this across the Internet, not a LAN.

You then have the option to save a file locally, not a bad idea if you want to burn an DVD later, otherwise something to skip...

You can then add a title and subject info to the header, then Finish.

Once the program loads click on Start Encoding.  If all is good you should see something similar (with an image in the screen of course, not capture because was a screenshot...)

If all is well you will see, as below that you are connected to the server.

You can then change any of the parameters of the broadcast, example size, speed, security.  The first few times you broadcast, and throughout your first months you will be very interested in the resolution and video quality.  There is a trade-off between quality and expense.  Low resolution serves many folks, too high resolution is just not feasible with today's technology.  After awhile most people come to a speed/quality ratio they are comfortable with and stick to it.  These parameters are of course saved as a configuration file for next time.  One click and you resume broadcasting Live.

Here is a screenshot of the connection on the server side:

Now to test we open up Windows Media Player and type in mms://IPaddress/publishingpoint and if all is good we will see:

Anyone, next door or on another continent can now see your streaming video.

Very cool, very powerful.

BACK TO STREAMING TUTORIAL HOMEPAGE