A   S t r e a m i n g   M e d i a   P r i m e r :  

H O W   D O   I   P U T   M Y   S T R E A M I N G   M E D I A   O N  T H E  W E B ?

If your fi les are MBR (multiple bit rate) encoded, use the above equation for each stream 

contained in every MBR fi le. Add the results of your calculations for all of your stream 

  If you're delivering a lot 

ing media fi les together, then don't forget to add the amount of storage you need for the 

of streaming content over the 

server software itself, and whatever incremental capacity you anticipate needing.

Internet, telecommunications 

What about my Internet connection?

bandwidth is typically the major 

Perhaps surprisingly, the capacity of the streaming server is not typically the limiting 

factor for throughput the bandwidth of your Internet connection is what really counts. 

expense. Leasing costs for the 

 A single Macintosh running QuickTime Streaming Server can deliver up to 1,000 

high bandwidth digital lines 

simultaneous streams at 56 kilobits each, or an aggregate of over 50 megabits per second. 

you need can cost more per 

That's enough to saturate 40 T1 connections to the Internet, or to completely swamp 

fi ve 10Base T Ethernet LANs. 

51

week than your server and 

But the good news is that you only need enough bandwidth to accommodate the 

software cost annually. 

amount of streaming you plan to do  To serve a small number of streams from 

  Setting up a Streaming Server 

your home or offi ce, 128K DSL is the minimum you should consider. Cable modem 

QuickTime Book

50

can be used, but continual traffi c fl uctuations make the network unreliable, potentially 

compromising the quality of your streams. In fact, attempting a live Webcast over a cable 

modem connection would be unwise. A single T1 line can carry enough streaming data 

to serve 25 end users simultaneously connected at 56K. Whatever your connection, be sure to check 

with your ISP your throughput will be limited by your ISPs backbone carrier; some ISPs are better 

prepared for the anticipated explosion of streaming media demand than others.

So just how much bandwidth do you need?  Let's use a bit more bandwidth math to fi gure it out  

the bandwidth required for serving content can be calculated by multiplying the data rate (in kilobits 

per second) of your streaming production(s) by the maximum number of simultaneous streams 

you expect to serve:

Kbps X maximum number of simultaneous streams = Kbps of bandwidth needed

Example bandwidth calculations

Data rate of streams

Max. audience size

Bandwidth needed

Example connection

20 Kbps

60

1,200 Kbps or 1.2 Mbps

T1

60% 20 Kbps plus 

100

4,400 Kbps or 4.4 Mbps

Fractional T3

40% 80 Kbps

80 Kbps

100

8,000 Kbps or 8 Mbps

10 Mbps fractional T3

20 Kbps

2,000

40,000 Kbps or 40 Mbps

T3

Enough math already!  I just want to make streaming media 

We've got good news for you... If you don't want to mess around with servers, you don't have to. Just as 

there are Web hosting providers, there are hosting services that can serve your streaming media fi les for 

you. Should you serve your own streaming media or outsource?

  Defi ne your target audience: Are they dial up or broadband customers? Is your 

content video, audio or both? Live or on demand? Is your content mission critical? 

namic Media

How much redundancy do you require? Do you require support or do you have 

y

the expertise to run the hardware and software? Do you want yourself or someone 

else to take the page at 3am when the service is down? 

 Steve Stevenson

obe D

Streaming Media.com

52

d

A

50  QuickTime for the Web, by Steven W. Gulie, May 1, 2000, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

35

51  ibid.

52    Choosing a Hosting Provider,  by Steve Stevenson, http://www.streamingmedia.com/tutorials/view.asp?tutorial_id=52