Recently, Ustream has changed the way they do advertisements. We were blessed enough to be able to use them for the amount of time we did, but this new changed prompted us to look for a more reliable and professional streaming provider. When considering a new provider we had several criteria in mind:

• Affordability
• Flash Streaming
• iPhone Streaming
• Simplicity
• Reliability
• Quality of service

After considering several options, it was an easy decision to agree on Mediaserve as our new streaming provider. They offered several options that many other streaming providers do not offer, and they do it at an extremely affordable price. Their biggest advantage is that their streaming service is built on Wowza Media Server. This allows us to run a flash stream, and an iPhone stream simultaneously, as wowza automatically encodes into iPhone format in real time. Wowza also has the ability to encode using Microsoft Silverlight technology, but it is not something we are currently implementing at the moment.

At the time of registration, we were required to register a domain with Mediaserve, to use as our streaming hostname. We decided to go with the .net version of our current domain name for simplicity’s sake. The registration process was very simple and straightforward. Within a couple hours of registration they had everything setup for us, and had emailed us very detailed step by step instructions to get everything setup and running.

Everything is done through Adobe’s Flash Media Live Encoder (FMLE). Once you download it and install, you simply need to follow the instructions emailed to you to get it properly configured. With Mediaserve’s setup, streaming is as fast as clicking start in FMLE. No more pesky browser windows to open like in Ustream’s setup.  In order to get the iPhone streaming working properly, you need to purchase a third-party plugin to encode the sound in AAC format. We purchased ours from Mainconcept for a one-time fee of $249.

To setup the embedded stream window on your website, you need to download Flowplayer from Mediaserve’s download page. The free version of flowplayer has a small watermark in the top right hand corner and does not have any functionality in terms of customizing how the player window looks. Since we were changing everything around, we decided to purchase a commercial license for a one-time fee of $95. This allows you to remove the watermark, add one of your own, and completely customize how the player window looks and feels.

The iPhone streaming is done through your Ipod’s/iPhone’s built in video player. The only thing needed is to setup a piece of embedded code using the instructions Mediaserve provides in order to get it working properly.

I have to say, Mediaserve’s support was amazing through the whole setup process. They respond in an extremely timely manner, even on weekends, and their responses were always very polite and helpful. They made the setup process a breeze, and answered any questions I threw their way.

Now I know the last thing you all want to know is the price. They offer two payment options. You can choose to pay a monthly fee of $39.95, or if you pay annually, the monthly fee is reduced to $30.95 a month. We decided to go the annual route since it was a savings of over $100 annually. This price includes 30gb of storage space, and 300gb of monthly bandwidth. This price also comes standard with 100 simultaneous connections. You do have the option to upgrade the number of connections on a per-need basis, but the only time we feel that we would need to do that would be during Holy Week when our number of viewers more than doubles. Other than that 100 is more than sufficient for our needs (for now anyway!) All in all, for the amount of features they include, and their price, and level of service, I would highly recommend checking out what they have to offer. We’ve gotten nothing but compliments since we made the switch.

• blip.tv – 1GB file size limit
• Viddler – 500mb file size limit
• Vimeo – 1GB file size limit

There are also several sites that specialize in servicing the church market such as GodTube, LightCastMedia and TruthCasting.

Who do you use for your video hosting?

• MeBeam Video Chat – Simple, Flash based site that supports up to 16 users.  No software to install.
• ooVoo – Up to 3 simultaneous users for free, 6 with the $10/month super option.  Capability to record conference in Flash.  Runs on Windows or Mac.
• SightSpeed – Up to 4 users for $9.95/month on a personal account or $20/seat/month on a business account.  Video call recording supported on business account.

Our initial testing showed ooVoo with the best video quality and interface (no hard data, just our opinion), plus video recording and six users for $10/month it is a pretty sweet deal.  We put ooVoo into production a week ago and began using it for a clergy seminar.  Results came back overwhelmingly positive from all those who attended.  The only issue is that 6 simultaneous users may not be enough, so we’ll have to make the jump to MeBeam or just go one way (for the larger meetings) with Ustream.TV.

You can check it out during any one of our Holy Pascha services this week.

Further reading: Bob Cringley – The $7 TV Network: Neokast brings multicasting to the masses.

Update: We were having issues at 732 Kpbs so we are trying out a 548 Kbps 640×480 24 fps stream tonight.

Neokast connected directly to my existing Windows Media publishing point and listed me on their site (still in beta). I tested out the stream this morning and it was up and running. Neokast then proceeded to send me the code that allows me to embed their player directly on our site. Embedding the code was pretty straight forward, and the player integrated cleanly. You can also double click on the player to go full screen.

I am running a limited access test this weekend before opening it up to the public. If you would like to be in on the test just comment below.

Neokast currently requires Windows XP and administrator rights to install the plugin. The plugin does install all the dependencies but it can be a little tricky for the novice to navigate. I had my mom install the plugin, it took about 20 minutes with me guiding her on the phone. Neokast said they will get me detailed instructions and FAQs soon.

If all goes well this weekend with the test, we will setup an in house Windows Media server that will service our internal clients and will also provide a higher quality stream for Neokast to pick up and share. Don’t worry, we will also keep our existing setup for those who can’t install the plugin.

Currently we are using Windows Media Services for live streaming, I’ve written a few posts on our setup:
Tech we Use: Part 2 – Streaming and Recording
Live Windows Media Streaming Mini-Howto
Second Streaming Server

For hosting Windows Media Services we are using a dedicated Windows server at Serverbeach, but there are several providers that specialize in streaming that friends have recommended:
ChurchQuest – Live streaming starting at $8.95 a month, recommended by David Morcos.
Christian Video Channel – These are the guys that Jason is currently using for their undercover live feed.
VitalStream – Karim Guirguis, a buddy of mine over at the American Bankruptcy Institute uses them extensively.

Light Cast Media is currently serving up video on demand (using Flash) and has a simulated live service in beta. A true live service is in the works.

Neokast is a brand new service that is currently in beta. Cringley says that they use “peer-to-peer technology to effectively emulate a multicast experience.” Advantages are high quality, little bandwidth requirements, unlimited users and almost no cost (If you aren’t charging your viewers, the service is free). There are a couple disadvantages though, there is a required client download and they only support Internet Explorer/Windows as of right now (Mac and Linux versions are in the works).

I’ve tried the Neokast client, they offer multiple quality streams, the video at 800k looks really good, and buffering only took a few seconds. They still haven’t enabled beta users to publish “videokasts” yet, I am looking forward to trying it out.

More on Neokast:
Neokast Blog
The $7 TV Network: Neokast brings multicasting to the masses.
Neokast, Emerging from the Shell

Microsoft has been creating quite a stir over the past few days with their announcement of upgrades to their Silverlight product, which will support live video streaming. Once again, this looks like it will require a download, and it doesn’t look like there will be support for Linux users any time soon. I haven’t had a chance to play with the beta yet. I am not sure if there are Silverlight live streaming service providers out there yet.