HELIX BROADCASTER QUICK START GUIDE

Transcription

1 HELIX BROADCASTER QUICK START GUIDE Helix Broadcaster with Helix Universal Server Version 15.1 Firmware Version Revision Date: 18 April 2014

2 RealNetworks, Inc. PO Box Seattle, WA U.S.A RealNetworks, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of RealNetworks, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Helix, the Helix Logo, Real, the Real "bubble" (logo), RealJukebox, RealOne, Real-rTV, RealArcade, RealAudio, RealDownload, RealNetworks, RealPix, RealPlayer, RealPresenter, RealProducer, RealProducer Plus, RealPoducer Pro, RealProxy, RealPublisher, RealSites, RealSystem, RealText, RealVideo, Rhapsody, ra/ve, SureStream, The Future is Real, TurboPlay, and Xing are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. Other product and corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Warranty All warranties are as documented in your Helix Broadcaster EULA.

3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...1 How this Guide Is Organized...1 Typographical Conventions...2 CHAPTER 1: HELIX BROADCASTER...3 Helix Broadcaster...3 Network Server Input...3 SDI or HDMI Input...3 Helix Server...3 Media Client Delivery...4 Stream Repacketization...4 Live Archiving and On-demand Distribution...4 Stream Splitting and Uploading...5 Content Security...5 CHAPTER 2: SYSTEM SETUP...7 Logging into Helix Broadcaster...7 Logging in with a Browser...7 Using the Interface...7 Setting Network Addresses...8 Network Access...8 WAN and LAN Addresses...9 Configuring Web Servers...10 Internal Web Server...11 API Web Server...12 Public Web Server...13 SSL Certificates...15 Setting the Clock...17 Configuring FTP Access...17 CHAPTER 3: INPUTS...19 Receiving a Network Stream...19 Setting Up Server Input Properties...19 Start Mode...20 NET Name...20 Input Protocol...20 Input Type (RTP and UDP Streams)...21 Input Interface...21 Input Port (RTP and UDP)...22 Remote URI (HTTP, RTSP, and RTMP)...22 Input Buffer Size...22 Encoding with an SDI/HDMI Device...22 Setting Up the SDI/HDMI Input...23 Start Mode...23 SDI Name...24 iii

4 Contents Aspect Ratio Video Mode Audio Configuration Audio Rate Audio Channels HD-SDI Input Bits Input Buffer Size Using a File Input Setting Up File Input Properties Start Mode File Description Filename/Playlist Playlist Format Looped Playback CHAPTER 4: OUTPUTS Creating a Profile (optional) Assigning Profiles to Outputs Unlinking a Profile Setting up a New Output Stream Defining the Output Stream Stream Name Output Format Demux Mode Programs and Stream IDs Multibitrate Mode Helix Stream Setup Destination IP Destination Port Output PID Control Output TTL Pushing an RTMP Stream Akamai Portal Setup RTMP Public Stream Name Primary and Backup Target URLs User Name and Password Flash Version Identifier Akamai Advanced Video Options Saving Output to a File File Name Time Stamp Selecting a Storage Group Encoding Video Video Format Video Bit Rate Video Transcoding Method Video Output Format Video Encoding Quality Output Aspect Ratio Framerate Conversion Deinterlacing Logo/Watermark Insertion Encoding Audio iv

5 Contents Audio Format Audio Bitrate Audio Rate Audio Channels Audio Gain Audio Profile Using the Service Control Palette CHAPTER 5: HELIX SERVER Controlling the Helix Server Service Using the Service Control Palette Restarting Helix Server Viewing the Helix Server Statistics Log Helix Administrator Helix Administrator Access Helix Control Palette Accessing Helix Server Online Help Helix Server Setup Pages Helix Server File System Configuration File Certificate Files CHAPTER 6: STREAM DELIVERY Bandwidth Constraints URL Components Protocol Address Ports Client Mount Points Broadcast Mount Points Stream Name Direct HLS and DASH Requests Receiving an Encoder Stream Monitoring Streams Delivering Content to HLS and DASH Clients Enabling HLS or DASH Segmentation Tips for Streaming to HLS and DASH Clients Streaming to Flash Players Multi-Rate Content for Flash Sample Flash Player Streaming to RTSP Clients APPENDIX A: CONSOLE SETUP Connecting to the Hardware Using Secure Shell Windows PuTTY Client Linux SSH Console Menu Network Settings Showing IP Addresses Changing IP Addresses Editing Network Settings v

6 Contents APPENDIX B: ENCODING TIPS Low-Latency Encoding Buffer Sizes for Low Latency Video Codec Settings for Low Latency Low-Latency Delivery Characteristics Rate Shifting Characteristics Bandwidths for Rate Shifting Video Stream Characteristics for Rate Shifting Audio Stream Characteristics for Rate Shifting vi

7 INTRODUCTION Welcome to Helix Broadcaster. This guide explains how to install and run Helix Broadcaster with the embedded Helix Server. It shows you how to configure encoding inputs and write URLs that format the encoded stream for popular media clients. How this Guide Is Organized This guide contains the following chapters and appendixes. Chapter 1: Helix Broadcaster This chapter introduces you to Helix Broadcaster features. Chapter 2: System Setup You set up Helix Broadcaster by assigning it an IP address and creating administrator passwords as described in this chapter. Chapter 3: Inputs This chapter walks you through the process of receiving input from a device such as a camera or another server and Chapter 4: Outputs Using any input, you can create a single-rate or multi-rate output that you pass to Helix Server or another server. Chapter 5: Helix Server Helix Server can deliver encoded streams to multiple types of clients. This chapter explains how to set up Helix Server for use. Chapter 6: Stream Delivery Using the embedded Helix Server software, you can deliver a live stream to popular types of media clients. Appendix A: Console Setup This appendix explains how to use the console menu to set up the Helix Broadcaster IP addresses along with other network settings. Appendix B: Encoding Tips This appendix provides details about various encoding options. This information will help you to create multi-rate and low-latency streams. 1

8 Introduction Typographical Conventions The following table explains the typographic conventions used in this manual. Convention syntax variables Notational Conventions Meaning This font is used for syntax of configuration files, URLs, or command-line instructions. Italic text represents variables. Substitute values appropriate for your system. emphasis Bold text is used for emphasis.... Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from examples. [ ] Square brackets indicate optional material. If you choose to use the material within the brackets, don t type the brackets themselves. An exception to this is in the basic access log, where statistics generated by the StatsMask variable are enclosed in regular brackets. 2

9 Chapter 1: HELIX BROADCASTER CHAPTER 1 Helix Broadcaster combines a powerful media encoder with Helix Server to deliver live H.264/AAC streams to popular clients like iphones and Flash Player. This chapter covers the major features of the Helix Broadcaster encoder and its integrated Helix Server. For More Information: For additional background on Helix Broadcaster, refer to Helix Broadcaster Network Server Input SDI or HDMI Input The Helix Broadcaster encoder can accept direct input from an SDI or HDMI camera or microphone, encoding the input with full control over frame sizes, frame rates, sampling rates, and so on. Helix Broadcaster can also accept input from a variety of network servers, transcoding the input to meet precise output specifications. Helix Broadcaster can accept content from a local network or the Internet that is delivered over different transports and control protocols, including UDP, RTP, RTSP, and RTMP. For More Information: See Receiving a Network Stream on page 19. Depending on the internal capture card, Helix Broadcaster is capable of accepting output from most cameras. The input device can deliver an uncompressed audio/video stream in NTSC, PAL, or HD format. It can also accept input that uses any of the following types of compression. video MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264 audio MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-3, AC3, MPEG-4A (H.264 audio), Ogg-Vorbis For More Information: See Encoding with an SDI/HDMI Device on page 22. Helix Server Helix Server can deliver live streams encoded by Helix Broadcaster to popular media clients and other network servers or content distribution networks. Chapter 5 covers Helix Server setup while Chapter 6 explains the basics of how Helix Server unicasts encoded streams to different types of media players. Helix Server includes comprehensive online help (see page 53) for all of its features. 3

10 CHAPTER 1: Helix Broadcaster Media Client Delivery Stream Repacketization Helix Server can deliver H.264/AAC content to a wide range of popular media players: HLS clients such as the Apple iphone and ipad To support, HTTP Live Streaming, Helix Server writes the H.264/AAC broadcast stream to a series of MPEG-2 transport files (.ts) that it delivers to HLS clients using HTTP. HLS clients request these transport files using a text-based playlist (.m3u8) that Helix Server generates. Segment encryption and multi-rate streams are supported. For More Information: See Delivering Content to HLS and DASH Clients on page 67 DASH media clients Similar to HLS clients, DASH clients request transport segments containing H.264/AAC content using HTTP. For these client types, Helix Server generates an XML-formatted playlist (.mpd). Both the MP4 (.m4s) and the MPEG-2 (.ts) transport stream formats are supported. For More Information: See Delivering Content to HLS and DASH Clients on page 67 Flash clients To support embedded Flash clients, Helix Server delivers the H.264/AAC stream using Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), the same protocol used by Flash Media Server. For More Information: See Streaming to Flash Players on page 70 RTSP clients Real-Time Streaming Protocol is used by RealPlayer and mobile 3GPP clients to receive H.264/AAC content. Multi-rate streams and rate shifting are supported. For More Information: See Streaming to RTSP Clients on page 71 If H.264/AAC input is generated on a separate server or encoder and does not need to be transcoded to change the bit rate, frame rate, sampling rate, or so on, the input can be ingested directly by Helix Server, bypassing the Helix Broadcaster encoder. Helix Server can then repacketize the content as necessary for delivery to media clients. Streams from Flash Media encoder, MPEG-2 encoders, MPEG-4 encoders, and QuickTime encoders are accepted. For More Information: After you set up Helix Server as described in Chapter 5, refer to the online help section Helix Administrator > Broadcasting. Live Archiving and On-demand Distribution In addition to delivering live broadcast streams, Helix Server can stream on-demand content to all supported media clients. Commonly, H.264/AAC content is written to an MPEG-4 file. For live H.264/AAC broadcasts generated by Helix Broadcaster or another encoder, Helix Server can archive the streams as MPEG-4 files for on-demand delivery. Using the content caching 4

11 CHAPTER 1: Helix Broadcaster feature, you can automatically propagate on-demand clips among Helix Servers in your network. For More Information: After you set up Helix Server as described in Chapter 5, refer to the online help. For more about live stream archiving, see the section Helix Administrator > Broadcasting > Broadcast Archiving. Stream Splitting and Uploading Helix Server provides robust methods for propagating a live stream through a network and delivering it to users from edge servers: Helix Server to Helix Server Helix Servercan split a live stream to other Helix Servers, either other Helix Broadcaster encoders or standard Helix Servers running on Windows, Linux, or Solaris. This is often done on a multicast-enabled network to reduce bandwidth consumption. Helix Server to Flash Media Server Using RTMP, Helix Server can deliver a live H.264/AAC stream to Flash Media Server for delivery to Flash clients. Helix Server to CDNs Helix Server supports the upload of live RTMP streams and HLS segments to major content distribution networks, including Akamai. For More Information: After you set up Helix Server as described in Chapter 5, refer to the online help section Helix Administrator > Broadcast Distribution. Content Security To provide media security, Helix Server provides encryption features and support for add-on security products. HLS Segment Encryption Helix Server can provide AES-128 encryption of HLS transport segments. It can also integrate with Verimatrix servers to secure the HLS content. For More Information: After you set up Helix Server as described in Chapter 5, refer to the online help topic Media Types > HLS Clients > HLS Segment Encryption. Helix Session Manager Helix Session Manager allows Helix Server to integrate with any external, third-party authorization server to verify access attempts. Helix Server uses HTTP posts to notify the authorization server of the client IP address and requested URL. The authorization server responds with instructions to allow the request, deny the request, or redirect the request to a different clip on Helix Server or a different server. 5

12 CHAPTER 1: Helix Broadcaster Helix Security Manager For More Information: For information about configuring the Helix Session Manager plug-in on Helix Server, refer to the Helix Server online help topic Session Manager. Helix Security Manager generates tamper-proof, time-limited URLs to live or on-demand content. It runs on a Java application server such as Apache Tomcat and works in conjunction with the security manager plug-in on Helix Server. Helix Security Manager does not require integration with a third-party web server, although an external server can be used to reauthorize URL requests that are rejected. For More Information: For information about setting up and using Helix Security Manager, refer to the PDF document Helix Security Manager Deployment Guide. 6

13 Chapter 2: SYSTEM SETUP CHAPTER 2 This chapter describes the basic setup procedure for Helix Broadcaster. It explains how to configure IP addresses, enable web servers, and change the default administration password. Logging into Helix Broadcaster The back of the Helix Broadcaster machine lists the default IP address for the WAN port. You can log in and configure network settings using either of these methods: Logging in with a Browser Using the Interface If you can place the machine on your network without having to change the default IP address at first, log in with a browser as described below. You can then make any network address changes. If you must configure the WAN IP address or enable DHCP first before adding the Helix Broadcaster machine to your network, use the console menu as explained in Appendix A beginning on page 72. Once the machine is connected to your network and powered on, you can log into the interface from your network using the secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocol to access the the default address listed on the back of the machine (or the new address if one was set through the console menu). For example: You will be prompted to enter the default administrator name and password: user name admin password admin Tip: Helix Broadcaster uses self-signed certificates unless you obtain officially signed certificates (see page 15). In most browsers, you can add a security exception for the Helix Broadcaster address. For More Information: The section Internal Web Server on page 11 explains how to change the log-in password. The Helix Broadcaster configuration utility organizes functional areas using tabs that appear at the top of the page. 7

14 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Tabbed Functional Areas Click the appropriate tab to manage the various parts of Helix Broadcaster: System Status Display information about CPU usage, network bandwidth, and stream encoding. Encoder Setup Configure inputs and outputs. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 cover these topics. Delivery Setup Deliver content to media players using Helix Server. See Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. Apps Setup Configure services such as HTTP, FTP, and SNMP. System Setup Set up network addresses, turn services on and off, and update firmware. Setting Network Addresses Network Access Helix Broadcaster includes one wide area network (WAN) Ethernet port and one or more local area network (LAN) ports. Use the WAN port as the primary connection. You can use LAN ports as additional Ethernet connections. In the Helix Broadcaster interface, features that require an IP address allow you to select the WAN or a LAN connection. Tip: The WAN port is meant to be accessible from outside of your organization s firewall. The LAN ports are typically accessible from inside of the firewall. However, any of the Ethernet connections can be accessed from inside or outside the firewall depending on your network setup and policies. Note: In some cases you may need to reboot Helix Broadcaster to put networking changes into effect. To do this, click the System Setup tab and choose the Reset Unit menu option. On the page, click the Reboot Now button. Once you have logged into Helix Broadcaster, you can set the basic network characteristics such as the Helix Broadcaster domain name and DNS servers. For details about which values to set, consult your network administrator. To set the primary network address: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Network Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose Network Setup menu entry. 8

15 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Network Setup Page 4. For Hostname, enter a Helix Broadcaster host name for the network. Check the box Show in Header to display this name in the upper-right corner of the Helix Broadcaster top banner. 5. If the host name is registered with a local or public domain server, the host name functions as the domain name. For Domain, use local if the domain name is registered on your local network. Otherwise, enter the Internet public domain such as net or com. 6. Specify the IP address of the network gateway in the Default Gateway field. 7. Enter the IP addresses for the primary and secondary DNS servers in the DNS Server fields. 8. Check any of the boxes for Enable IP Forward, Enable Natting, Enable Port Mapping, or Enable Firewall to enable these features, which you can configure on the pages under the System Setup > Network Setup menu. 9. Click Update. WAN and LAN Addresses For the WAN and each LAN port you use, you can specify the IP address or use DHCP to assign the address automatically. To set a WAN or LAN address: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Network Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose the LAN: wan entry or one of the LAN:lan#n ports, where #n is the number that corresponds to the LAN port you want to configure. 9

16 CHAPTER 2: System Setup WAN or LAN Setup Page 4. For Interface Mode, select Separate to enable the address. Choose Disabled to remove this address from service. 5. The LAN Name identifies this connection in the Helix Broadcaster interface. It is not a domain name that can be used to access Helix Broadcaster. 6. In the LAN DHCP drop-down, select Disabled to set the IP address manually. If your network has a DHCP server and you want to assign the IP address or an IP address along with a domain name automatically, choose the appropriate entry from the LAN DHCP drop-down. 7. If you are assigning the IP address manually, set a static IP address by entering the IP version 4 network address in the LAN IP Address fields. 8. Set the value for LAN Net Mask as specified by your network administrator. 9. The LAN MAC Address value is used if the DHCP server uses static IP address allocation in which IP addresses are assigned based on the interface s hardware MAC address. You can find the MAC addresses under the Ethernet Names menu entry. 10. Check the box for Enable DHCP Server to allow IP address allocation for this port. 11. Set the DNS server address range as specified by your network administrator. 12. For DHCP Server Lease Time, choose a time value in the drop-down. Helix Broadcaster must renew its lease on this IP address within the specified time or the DHCP server may allocate the address to another device on the network. 13. Click Update. Configuring Web Servers Helix Broadcaster provides separate web server utilities for configuring the system, running remote APIs, and serving content publicly. The Helix Server media server also provides web 10

17 CHAPTER 2: System Setup server functionality for delivering content to HLS and DASH media players. The following table summarizes the default HTTP and HTTPS ports used by these processes. Default HTTP Port Values for Web Servers Web Server HTTP Port HTTPS Port Notes Internal Web Server (standard) Required to configure Helix Broadcaster. Unsecured HTTP access is not enabled by default. API Web Server Optional. The selected port is used either for HTTP or HTTPS, but not for both. Public Web Server 80 (standard) 4443 Optional. Helix Server Required to serve media from Helix Server. See Ports on page 62 for details. Internal Web Server The Helix Broadcaster internal web server allows you to log into the Helix Broadcaster interface. Here you can change the password for the admin log-in and, optionally, enable unsecured HTTP access to the interface. To set up internal Helix Broadcaster web server: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Web Server Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose Config Web Server. Internal Web Server Page 4. Under SSL Web Server, you can choose the port used for secure HTTP access. The default is port 443, which is the standard port for HTTPS. If you have an officially signed certificate (see page 15), select that certificate in the drop-down. Otherwise, choose Self Signed. Note: As long as port 443 is used for the SSL port, the port number does not need to be included in the URL when you access Helix Broadcaster using secure HTTP ( If you select another port, you must include the port number in the URL. Tip: If you use the Helix Broadcaster self-signed certificates, browsers warn that the Helix Broadcaster web server cannot be authenticated. The browser can store an exception so that the warning does not appear on subsequent accesses. 11

18 CHAPTER 2: System Setup API Web Server 5. Using standard HTTP access for the Helix Broadcaster interface is not recommended. However, under Web Server, you can enable HTTP access and set the port used. The default is port 81. You can choose a different, unused port, but to avoid conflicts with the public web server, do not choose port 80. You must include the port number in HTTP URLs. 6. For Web Server Password and Confirm Web Server Password, enter a case-sensitive password used to access the Helix Broadcaster interface. 7. The optional Read Only User Password (monitor) field sets a password for a read-only account named monitor that can log into Helix Broadcaster to view the configuration but not make any changes. 8. Click Update. 9. Click Restart on the Service Control palette. Tip: The internal web server process can also be started, stopped, and restarted from the services control page. On the System Setup tab, click Services Setup and choose Services Control. The item name is httpd. Helix Broadcaster includes application programming interfaces (APIs) that can configure settings remotely. The APIs pass information using the API web server. If you are not using the APIs, you can leave the API web server disabled. For More Information: The Helix Broadcaster APIs are not described in this document. For more information, refer to your RealNetworks representative. To set up the API web server: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Web Server Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose API Web Server. API Web Server Page 4. Check the box for Enable API Web Server to allow Helix Broadcaster to respond to remote API requests. 12

19 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Public Web Server 5. In the Web Server Type drop-down, you can choose HTTP or HTTPS connections. Secure HTTP is recommended unless you are issuing the APIs from a computer on your network and you bind the API web server to a local address that is protected from outside access by a firewall. 6. For Bind IP, you can select the IP address used for the API web server. Select All to enable Helix Broadcaster to take API requests on all of its interfaces. 7. For Web Server Port, you can choose the port used for HTTP access. Do not use any other HTTP port such as 80 or 443. The default is The port number must be included in HTTP requests to the API web server. 8. If you have an officially signed certificate (see page 15), select the certificate in the SSL Certificate drop-down. Otherwise, choose Self Signed. 9. The Enable User Security drop-down allows you to enforce the use of a password in API calls. RealNetworks recommends setting this to Yes and defining the password in the next field. 10. For API User Password, enter a case-sensitive password used to authenticate API calls. 11. The optional Monitor User Password (monitoruser) field sets a password for a read-only account named monitoruser that can use the APIs to view the configuration information but not make any changes. 12. Click Update. 13. Click Restart on the Service Control palette. Tip: The API web server process can also be started, stopped, and restarted from the services control page. On the System Setup tab, click Services Setup and choose Services Control. The item name is httpd_api. The public web server allows Helix Broadcaster to deliver content over HTTP. This includes serving HTTP-based media player requests directly from the encoder rather than going through Helix Server. Enabling the public web server is optional based on your needs. If you intend to serve all media requests using Helix Server (see Chapter 6) and do not need to host any Web pages on Helix Broadcaster, you can disable this server. Note: These web server settings do not affect HTTP-based media player requests made to Helix Server, which are described in Chapter 6. To set up the public web server: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Web Server Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose Public Web Server. 13

20 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Public Web Server Page 4. Check the box for Enable Web Server to allow Helix Broadcaster to respond to external HTTP requests. 5. For Bind IP, you can select the IP address used for the public web server. Select All to enable Helix Broadcaster to take public requests on all of its interfaces. You can also select the WAN port or one of the LAN ports. 6. For Root Path, choose the top level of the Helix Broadcaster file system where public Web files are kept. Request URLs resolve to this directory. Public files may be placed in any subdirectory you create under the root path if you include the appropriate subdirectory path in the URL: / FTP root directory. www www subdirectory of the FTP root directory (recommended). For More Information: For details about setting up FTP, see Configuring FTP Access on page For Web Server Port, choose the port used for HTTP access. This is typically the default port of 80. If you select another port, all HTTP URLs must include the port number. 8. For enable secure HTTP requests, do the following for SSL Server: a. Choose the port to use for secure HTTP requests. Do not use port 443, the standard HTTPS port, if that port is being used by the internal web server. The port number you select must be included in the URL. b. If you have an officially signed certificate (see page 15), select that set in the Certificate drop-down. Otherwise, choose Self Signed. Note: Some media players will not allow an HTTPS connection to a server that uses self-signed certificates. c. Select Yes in the Enabled drop-down. 14

21 CHAPTER 2: System Setup 9. Check the box for Enable Directory Listing to allow Helix Broadcaster to return a list of a directory s contents when the request URL specifies a directory level. 10. The Worker Processes field determines how may processes the public web server process may use to handle requests. You may want to set a higher number than the default of 10 if the web server fulfills many concurrent requests. 11. The Worker Connections value sets the total number of concurrent requests that can be fulfilled. You can set a higher number if you increased the number of worker processes. 12. The Logging drop-down sets the type of events that are recorded to the log. The default is not to log any events, but you can choose a different logging level: None Errors Only All Debug Log no events. This conserves system resources for encoding and delivery tasks. Log only error events. Log error and access events, such as client media requests. Log debugging information. RealNetworks recommends that you use this setting only under instruction from a RealNetworks representative. Tip: Display the log by clicking View Log on the Service Control palette while viewing the public web server setup page. 13. Check the box for Allow Crossdomain Media Players to generate an XML file at the root level of the public web server. The allows certain types of media players to make media requests from Helix Broadcaster IP addresses other than the address that the public server binds to (see Step 5 on page 14). 14. The Redirect Root drop-down allows you to redirect URL requests that are directed toward the public web server: Disabled To https on Config Web Server To https on Public Web Server Do not redirect requests. Serve requested content. Redirect requests to the HTTPS port (default 443) on the internal web server (see page 11). Redirect requests to the HTTPS port (default 4443) on the public web server. Ensure that SSL is enabled as explained in Step 8 on page 14. SSL Certificates 15. Click Update. 16. Click Restart on the Service Control palette. Tip: The public web server process can also be started, stopped, and restarted from the services control page. On the System Setup tab, click Services Setup and choose Services Control. The item name is httpd_public. Helix Broadcaster can maintain up to three sets of security certificates in the ASCII-based PEM format. Depending on your Helix Broadcaster IP configuration, you may be able to use a single set of certificates for all web servers. Or you may need separate certificates for each of the web servers. Refer to your signing authority for more information. 15

22 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Tip: You can learn more about the signing process at the Web site of a signing authority such as RealNetworks does not endorse the use of any specific signing authority. For More Information: For delivering content to media clients over secure HTTP, the Helix Server component of Helix Broadcaster uses a different set of certificates. For details, refer to Certificate Files on page 59. To add officially signed certificates: 1. Click the System Setup tab. 2. Click the Web Server Setup category in the menu. 3. Choose SSL Certificates. SSL Certificates Page 4. For Certificate #1 (PEM), copy and paste the ASCII contents of the certificate.pem file. 5. For Key #1 (PEM), copy and paste the ASCII contents of the key.pem file. 6. If you also received a certificate chain verification, copy and paste that file s ASCII contents in the CA Chain #1 (PEM) field. 7. If you have more certificates, repeat the preceding steps for the #2 and #3 fields. 8. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Update. 9. Update your web server configurations as described in the preceding sections so that each server uses the appropriate certificate set. 16

23 CHAPTER 2: System Setup Setting the Clock You cannot access the system clock on the Helix Broadcaster machine directly. To set the time, synchronize Helix Broadcaster using Simple Network Time Protocol as described in the following procedure. To enable Simple Network Time Protocol: 1. Click the Apps Setup tab. 2. Click the SNTP Setup category in the menu. SNTP Setup Page 3. Check the box for Enable SNTP Service to enable time synchronization. 4. For SNTP Host, enter the URL that Helix Broadcaster contacts to synchronize its clock. The default value us.pool.ntp.org accesses a standard pool of time servers. Use this URL unless you have a specific time server you want to use. For More Information: Refer to 5. For Time Zone, choose the time zone to use for the Helix Broadcaster clock. 6. For Relay Bind Interface, select the Helix Broadcaster interface that receives time information from the SNTP servers. Your firewall must be configured to allow incoming and outgoing UDP and TCP transmissions on port 123 of this address. 7. Check the box for Relay also on port 37 to add support for the older Time Protocol, which is generally not required. Using Time Protocol requires that your firewall be configured to allow incoming and outgoing UDP and TCP transmissions on port 37 of the bind address. 8. Click Update. Configuring FTP Access Configuring Helix Broadcaster for FTP access allows you to access the Helix Server file system from a separate machine using a command line or a graphical tool such as WinSCP ( To enable FTP access: 1. Click the Apps Setup tab. 2. Click the FTP Access category in the menu. 17

24 CHAPTER 2: System Setup FTP Setup Page 3. Check the Enable FTP Server option. 4. For FTP Username and FTP Password, enter the user name and password required to authenticate FTP access. This can be the same user name and password used to access Helix Broadcaster. For better security, choose a different user name and password. 5. In the FTP Bind IP, choose the Ethernet address (WAN or LAN) that allows FTP access. 6. The standard FTP port value is 21. If you choose a different port, FTP clients must specify the chosen port when logging onto Helix Broadcaster. 7. Click Update. 8. Click the System Setup tab. 9. Under Services Setup, choose Service Control. 10. Scroll down to the ftpd service listing. FTP Service Startup 11. Click Start. 12. Helix Broadcaster will now accept validated FTP log-ins on the designated address and FTP port. 18

25 Chapter 3: INPUTS CHAPTER 3 This chapter describes how acquire input from a camera or microphone connected to the Helix Broadcaster hardware, from another network source over an ethernet connection, or from a file on a file system accessible to Helix Broadcaster. Receiving a Network Stream The following sections explain how to receive input from your local network or from the Internet. Typical sources are other streaming servers, an MPEG-TS encoder, or a satellite link. Once you have set up Helix Broadcaster to receive the input, define the output as described in Chapter 4. Setting Up Server Input Properties Note: To encode from a camera or microphone connected to Helix Broadcaster, refer to Encoding with an SDI/HDMI Device on page 22. Helix Broadcaster can encode multiple inputs simultaneously. You define each input stream in a NET Setup category (such as NET #1 Setup) under the Encoder Setup tab. Under a NET Setup category, click Input Setup to define the stream characteristics. Sample Network Input Warning! When you have finished defining the input, click the Update button to save your settings. If you navigate away from the page before updating the information, Helix Broadcaster discards the page data. 19

26 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Start Mode The Start Mode option determines when the encoding process begins and ends: Manual If you select Manual, encoding begins when you start the process as described in Using the Service Control Palette on page 49. Optionally, you can specify when the process ends by entering a number of seconds in Execution Time field. An entry of 3600, for example, stops the encoding process one hour after it starts. Always On With the Always On setting, the encoding process begins when you define the output and start the stream manually. After that, it restarts automatically if it is stopped manually or if Helix Broadcaster is rebooted. Tip: To shut down an always-on broadcast, change the start mode to Manual, click Update, and shut down the process using the control palette (see page 49). Scheduled If you choose Scheduled, you can enter up to three repeating start and stop times for the encoding. Specify the time in the format hh:mm:ss. The following illustration shows an encoding process set to run from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m on weekdays and from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekends: Loop Using the Loop setting, you can restart the input at regular intervals. After you select this option, set the number of seconds between each restart in the Execution Time field. For example, a value of restarts the input every 12 hours. NET Name For Net Name, define a name that identifies the input. This name is for reference only in the Helix Broadcaster interface. It does not affect the output stream name. Input Protocol The Input Protocol drop-down defines the type of input stream or file that is acquired. The UDP and RTP methods are push methods in which the remote server delivers the stream to the designated Helix Broadcaster IP address and port. The HTTP, RTSP, and RTMP methods are 20

27 CHAPTER 3: Inputs pull methods in which Helix Broadcaster requests the stream from the remote server using the designated URI. Protocol udp rtp rtp with parity FEC http rtsp/udp rtsp/tcp rtsp/http rtmp mms Input Protocols Purpose User Datagram Protocol. This option is for a UDP stream that does not use a control protocol such as RTSP. Use it for input from an MPEG-2 TS encoder or a satellite link. Real-Time Transport Protocol. Real-Time Transport Protocol with forward error correction as defined in IETF RFC HyperText Transport Protocol. This option is for receiving media from a web server or any other server that does not support RTSP or RTMP. You can use this option to load an SDP file used to acquire a stream, for example. Real-Time Streaming Protocol with User Datagram Protocol. This option is recommended for receiving live input from an RTSP-capable server such as Helix Server. It can also be used for RTSP cameras. By using UDP, the source can deliver media packets more efficiently than with TCP. However, lost packets are not resent and may cause lapses in the media stream. Real-Time Streaming Protocol with Transmission Control Protocol. Using the TCP transport with RTSP results in greater network overhead, but lost packets can often be redelivered by the network layer. This option provides better error resilience for RTSP sources transmitting over the Internet. It is not recommended for use with live streams delivered by a Helix Server, however. Real-Time Streaming Protocol over HTTP. This is used primarily to work around firewalls that restrict RTSP communications as long as the RTSP source supports HTTP. Because RTSP/HTTP is less efficient for transporting media than RTSP/UDP or RTSP/TCP, it is not recommended if either of those options is available. Variations of the Real-Time Messaging Protocol used by Flash Media Servers: rtmp standard protocol (recommended) rtmpt RTMP cloaked as HTTP to work around firewalls rtmpe encrypted RTMP rtmps secure RTMP rtmpte encrypted and cloaked RTMP rtmpts secure and cloaked RTMP Microsoft Media Services, a streaming protocol used by Windows Media Server. Input Type (RTP and UDP Streams) Input Interface For a UDP or RTP stream, select Unicast or Multicast as the Input Type depending on the IP address where the stream is directed. If you choose Multicast, enter the multicast address in the range from to For any type of input stream, use the Input Interface drop-down to choose which Helix Broadcaster IP address receives the stream. The addresses are set on the System Setup tab under the Network Setup category as described in the section Configuring FTP Access on page 17. If the remote server initiates the stream (push mode), it must be configured to send the stream to this address. 21

28 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Input Port (RTP and UDP) Note: Do not use the local setting for network input. For a UDP or RTP stream, set the Helix Broadcaster port that receives the remote server stream in the Input Port field. If the stream is multicasted, select the port on the multicast address where the stream is sent. If the remote server initiates the stream (push mode), it must be configured to send the stream to this port. Remote URI (HTTP, RTSP, and RTMP) In the Remote URI field, set the URL where Helix Broadcaster acquires the steam. The URI format is the following, in which a user name and password can be included in the URL if required by the remote server: protocol://username:password@address/path/stream_or_file_name For example: rtsp://helixbcd:tr9ls3uip@ :554/test.sdp rtmp:// :1935/live/myvideo Input Buffer Size The input buffer size sets the number of milliseconds of input data that is buffered before it is encoded. The default value is 800 milliseconds. A lower value such as 200 speeds the end-to-end delivery process. A higher value such as 1200 adds more protection against lapses in data delivery by buffering more of the incoming stream before it is encoded. Tip: For receiving an RTSP stream from another Helix Server, use the rtsp/udp input protocol and a buffering value of 1000 ms or greater. Warning! Do not set the buffer value below 200. Encoding with an SDI/HDMI Device The following sections explain how to receive input from a camera or microphone connected to the Helix Broadcaster SDI or HDMI port. Once you have set up the input from the device, define the encoded output characteristics as described in Chapter 4. SDI and HDMI Ports 22

29 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Setting Up the SDI/HDMI Input Under the Encoder Setup tab, click one of the SDI/HDMI Setup categories. Click Input Setup to define the characteristics of the stream coming into Helix Broadcaster from the SDI/HDMI input device. Sample SDI/HDMI Input Warning! When you have finished defining the input, click the Update button to save your settings. If you navigate away from the page before updating the information, Helix Broadcaster discards the page data. Start Mode The Start Mode option determines when the encoding process begins and ends: Manual If you select Manual, encoding begins when you start the process as described in the section Using the Service Control Palette on page 49. Optionally, you can specify a time when the process ends by entering a number of seconds in the Execution Time field. An entry of 3600, for example, stops the encoding process one hour after it starts. Always On With the Always On setting, the encoding process begins when you define the output and start the stream manually. After that, it restarts automatically if it is stopped manually or if Helix Broadcaster is rebooted. Tip: To shut down an always-on broadcast, change the start mode to Manual, click Update, and shut down the process using the control palette (see page 49). 23

30 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Scheduled If you choose Scheduled, you can enter up to three repeating start and stop times for the encoding. Specify the time in the format hh:mm:ss. The following illustration shows an encoding process set to run from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m on weekdays and from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekends: Loop Using the Loop setting, you can restart the input at regular intervals. After you select this option, set the number of seconds between each restart in the Execution Time field. For example, a value of restarts the continuous input every 12 hours. SDI Name For SDI Name, define a name that identifies the input. This name is for reference only in the Helix Broadcaster interface. It does not affect the output stream name. Aspect Ratio For Aspect Ratio, choose the aspect ratio of the video captured by the SDI/HDMI device. Choices are: 4:3 standard video 16:9 widescreen, typically 1280x720 or 1920x1080 Video Mode Audio Configuration Under Video Mode, choose the frame size and frame rate of the incoming video. The dropdown lists the common output formats for NTSC, PAL, and HD video. For Audio Configuration, select one of the following: Embedded digital audio embedded in a video track by a camera AES/EBU digital audio output from a microphone Analog analog audio format from a microphone Audio Rate With digital audio, the sampling rate indicates the number of samples taken every second when the audio is digitized. Digital input audio has a specific sampling rate, typically within the range of 8,000 to 48,000 Hz, although it may be higher. In the Audio Rate drop-down, select the sampling rate used in the device s audio output. Note: This drop-down has no effect on analog audio. 24

31 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Audio Channels HD-SDI Input Bits Input Buffer Size For More Information: You can change the sampling rate in the encoded output as described in the section Audio Rate on page 48. For Audio Channels, select the number of audio channels that the SDI/HDMI device records. The typical value is 2, indicating stereo sound, although SDI and HDMI inputs may support multiple channels. Tip: You can lower the number of channels (from 5-channel to stereo, for example) when defining the Helix Broadcaster output. See Audio Channels on page 48. In the HD-SDI Input Bits drop-down, select the color depth (amount of color information per pixel) that the camera captures: 8 bits This is the most common color depth, capturing 8 bits of data for each color of each pixel, resulting in over 16 million colors. 10 bits High-definition cameras may capture 10 bits of color data, resulting in over a billion possible colors. The input buffer size sets the number of milliseconds of input data that is buffered before it is encoded. The default value is 800 milliseconds. For low-latency encoding and delivery, set a lower value such as 200. Warning! Do not set the buffer value below 200. For More Information: For details about low-latency encoding, refer to Output Format on page 31. Using a File Input Helix Broadcaster can encode input from an existing file such as an uncompressed AVI or an MPEG-4 clip. Using the output settings described in Chapter 4, you can stream the file contents a server, transcoding the audio and video as necessary. You can also save the output as an MPEG-2 transport file (.ts) or MPEG-4 file (.mp4). Setting Up File Input Properties For More Information: For information about file output formats, refer to Saving Output to a File on page 40. You define each input file in a FILE Setup category (such as FILE #1 Setup) under the Encoder Setup tab. Under a FILE Setup category, click Input Setup to define the input file characteristics. 25

32 CHAPTER 3: Inputs Sample File Input Warning! When you have finished defining the input, click the Update button to save your settings. If you navigate away from the page before updating the information, Helix Broadcaster discards the page data. Start Mode The Start Mode option determines when the encoding process begins and ends: Manual If you select Manual, encoding begins when you start the process as described in the section Using the Service Control Palette on page 49. Optionally, you can specify when the process ends by entering a number of seconds in Execution Time field. An entry of 60, for example, stops the encoding process one minute after it starts. Note: If you encode a file input to a file output, the Execution Time does not specify how much of the input file s timeline will be recorded. For example, a value of 10 for the execution time means the encoder runs for ten seconds after it opens the input file. In that time, it may be able to encode 60 seconds of the input file s timeline. Always On With the Always On setting, the encoding process begins when you define the output and start the stream manually. After that, it restarts automatically if it is stopped manually or if Helix Broadcaster is rebooted. With this mode, you may want to loop the file (see page 28). Tip: To shut down an always-on file encode, change the start mode to Manual, click Update, and shut down the process using the control palette (see page 49). Scheduled If you choose Scheduled, you can enter up to three repeating start and stop times for the encoding. Specify the time in the format hh:mm:ss. The following illustration shows an 26

33 CHAPTER 3: Inputs encoding process set to run from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m on weekdays and from 10 to 11 a.m. on weekends: Note: If you are encoding a file or playlist in a single pass without looping the input, setting a stop time is optional. Loop Using the Loop setting, you can restart the file input at regular intervals. After you select this option, set the number of seconds between each restart in the Execution Time field. For example, a value of restarts the input every 12 hours. File Description Filename/Playlist Playlist Format For File Description, define a name that identifies the file input. This name is for reference only in the Helix Broadcaster interface. It does not affect the output stream name. Under Filename/Playlist, enter the path and name of the single file or a playlist of multiple files. The default directory is the root level of the Helix Broadcaster file system, which is the directory where you log in using FTP. If you place the file in a different Helix Broadcaster directory or on a network share, include a relative Linux path to the directory. For example, the path to a clip in the Helix Server Content directory would look like this: helix-server/content/credits.avi For More Information: For FTP access to work, the FTP service must be running as described in Configuring FTP Access on page 17. You can set up a Samba share under System Setup > Storage Setup in the Helix Broadcaster interface. A playlist is a simple text file that is saved with the file extension.m3u8. It lists the path and file name of each file to play on a separate line. File paths are relative to the playlist location specified for Filename/Playlist. In the following playlist, the three files reside in a user-created meeting directory one level below the playlist on the file system: meeting/intro.mp4 meeting/presentation.mp4 meeting/wrapup.mp4 Tip: To enable media players to play all of the files, each file must use the same screen size as well as the same video and audio encoding properties. If the input files have different properties, define the output encoding properties as explained in Chapter 4 rather than passing through the inputs unchanged. 27