Updated to reflect the current state of ffserver (as I understand it).

Originally committed as revision 1266 to svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk
author: Philip Gladstone <philipjsg@users.sourceforge.net> 2002-11-21 03:52:01 +0000
committer: Philip Gladstone <philipjsg@users.sourceforge.net> 2002-11-21 03:52:01 +0000
commit: ae98a91509f364660ef309b6853f464da4eeca6f (patch)
tree: bf479f34f2301dd169f2f22a52bbab69f4390a4d /doc
parent: 26b4bb70c20be6aa45211d8bde521662e232582e (diff)
download: ffmpeg-ae98a91509f364660ef309b6853f464da4eeca6f.tar.gz
2 files changed, 96 insertions, 82 deletions
diff --git a/doc/ffserver-doc.html b/doc/ffserver-doc.html
index 8e5c9f7d95..62a30b39a9 100644
--- a/doc/ffserver-doc.html
+++ b/doc/ffserver-doc.html
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <HTML>
 <HEAD>
-<!-- Created by texi2html 1.56k from ffserver-doc.texi on 19 November 2002 -->
+<!-- This HTML file has been created by texi2html 1.51
+     from ffserver-doc.texi on 19 November 2002 -->
 
 <TITLE>FFserver Documentation</TITLE>
 </HEAD>
@@ -10,35 +11,37 @@
 <P><HR><P>
 <H1>Table of Contents</H1>
 <UL>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC1" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC1">1. Introduction</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC2" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC2">2. QuickStart</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC1" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC1">1  Introduction</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC2" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC2">2  QuickStart</A>
 <UL>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC3" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC3">2.1 What can this do?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC4" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC4">2.2 What do I need?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC5" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC5">2.3 How do I make it work?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC6" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC6">2.4 What happens next?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC7" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC7">2.5 Troubleshooting</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC3" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC3">2.1  What can this do?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC4" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC4">2.2  What do I need?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC5" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC5">2.3  How do I make it work?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC6" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC6">2.4  What happens next?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC7" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC7">2.5  Troubleshooting</A>
 <UL>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC8" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC8">2.5.1 I don't hear any audio, but video is fine</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC9" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC9">2.5.2 The audio and video loose sync after a while.</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC10" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC10">2.5.3 After a long while, the video update rate goes way down in WMP.</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC11" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC11">2.5.4 WMP 6.4 behaves differently to WMP 7.</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC8" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC8">2.5.1  I don't hear any audio, but video is fine</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC9" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC9">2.5.2  The audio and video loose sync after a while.</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC10" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC10">2.5.3  After a long while, the video update rate goes way down in WMP.</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC11" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC11">2.5.4  WMP 6.4 behaves differently to WMP 7.</A>
 </UL>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC12" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC12">2.6 What else can it do?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC13" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC13">2.7 Tips</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC14" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC14">2.8 Why does the ?buffer / Preroll stop working after a time?</A>
-<LI><A NAME="TOC15" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC15">2.9 Does the <CODE>?date=</CODE> stuff work.</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC12" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC12">2.6  What else can it do?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC13" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC13">2.7  Tips</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC14" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC14">2.8  Why does the ?buffer / Preroll stop working after a time?</A>
+<LI><A NAME="TOC15" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#SEC15">2.9  Does the <CODE>?date=</CODE> stuff work.</A>
 </UL>
 </UL>
 <P><HR><P>
 
 <P>
 FFserver Documentation
+<P>
 
+</P>
 
 
 
-<H1><A NAME="SEC1" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC1">1. Introduction</A></H1>
+<H1><A NAME="SEC1" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC1">1  Introduction</A></H1>
 
 <P>
 FFserver is a streaming server for both audio and video. It supports
@@ -46,70 +49,76 @@ several live feeds, streaming from files and time shifting on live feeds
 (you can seek to positions in the past on each live feed, provided you
 specify a big enough feed storage in ffserver.conf).
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 This documentation covers only the streaming aspects of ffserver /
 ffmpeg. All questions about parameters for ffmpeg, codec questions,
 etc. are not covered here. Read <TT>`ffmpeg-doc.[texi|html]'</TT> for more
 information.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H1><A NAME="SEC2" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC2">2. QuickStart</A></H1>
+<H1><A NAME="SEC2" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC2">2  QuickStart</A></H1>
 
 <P>
 [Contributed by Philip Gladstone, philip-ffserver at gladstonefamily dot net]
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC3" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC3">2.1 What can this do?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC3" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC3">2.1  What can this do?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 When properly configured and running, you can capture video and audio in real
 time from a suitable capture card, and stream it out over the Internet to
 either Windows Media Player or RealAudio player (with some restrictions).
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 It can also stream from files, though that is currently broken. Very often, a
 web server can be used to serve up the files just as well.
 
+</P>
+<P>
+It can stream prerecorded video from .ffm files, though it is somewhat tricky
+to make it work correctly.
 
+</P>
 
 
-<H2><A NAME="SEC4" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC4">2.2 What do I need?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC4" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC4">2.2  What do I need?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 I use Linux on a 900MHz Duron with a cheapo Bt848 based TV capture card. I'm
 using stock linux 2.4.17 with the stock drivers. [Actually that isn't true,
 I needed some special drivers from my motherboard based sound card.]
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 I understand that FreeBSD systems work just fine as well.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC5" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC5">2.3 How do I make it work?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC5" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC5">2.3  How do I make it work?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 First, build the kit. It *really* helps to have installed LAME first. Then when
 you run the ffserver ./configure, make sure that you have the --enable-mp3lame
 flag turned on.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 LAME is important as it allows streaming of audio to Windows Media Player. Don't
 ask why the other audio types do not work.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
-As a simple test, just run the following two command lines:
-
+As a simple test, just run the following two command lines (assuming that you
+have a V4L video capture card):
 
+</P>
 
 <PRE>
 ./ffserver -f doc/ffserver.conf &#38;
@@ -120,7 +129,7 @@ As a simple test, just run the following two command lines:
 At this point you should be able to go to your windows machine and fire up
 Windows Media Player (WMP). Go to Open URL and enter 
 
-
+</P>
 
 <PRE>
     http://&#60;linuxbox&#62;:8090/test.asf
@@ -129,29 +138,29 @@ Windows Media Player (WMP). Go to Open URL and enter
 <P>
 You should see (after a short delay) video and hear audio. 
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 WARNING: trying to stream test1.mpg doesn't work with WMP as it tries to
-transfer the entire file before starting to play.
-
+transfer the entire file before starting to play. The same is true of avi files.
 
+</P>
 
 
-<H2><A NAME="SEC6" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC6">2.4 What happens next?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC6" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC6">2.4  What happens next?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 You should edit the ffserver.conf file to suit your needs (in terms of 
 frame rates etc). Then install ffserver and ffmpeg, write a script to start
 them up, and off you go.
 
+</P>
 
 
+<H2><A NAME="SEC7" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC7">2.5  Troubleshooting</A></H2>
 
-<H2><A NAME="SEC7" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC7">2.5 Troubleshooting</A></H2>
 
 
-
-<H3><A NAME="SEC8" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC8">2.5.1 I don't hear any audio, but video is fine</A></H3>
+<H3><A NAME="SEC8" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC8">2.5.1  I don't hear any audio, but video is fine</A></H3>
 
 <P>
 Maybe you didn't install LAME, or get your ./configure statement right. Check
@@ -163,26 +172,26 @@ that only captures in stereo and also requires that one channel be flipped.
 If you are one of these people, then export 'AUDIO_FLIP_LEFT=1' before 
 starting ffmpeg.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H3><A NAME="SEC9" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC9">2.5.2 The audio and video loose sync after a while.</A></H3>
+<H3><A NAME="SEC9" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC9">2.5.2  The audio and video loose sync after a while.</A></H3>
 
 <P>
 Yes, they do.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H3><A NAME="SEC10" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC10">2.5.3 After a long while, the video update rate goes way down in WMP.</A></H3>
+<H3><A NAME="SEC10" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC10">2.5.3  After a long while, the video update rate goes way down in WMP.</A></H3>
 
 <P>
 Yes, it does. Who knows why?
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H3><A NAME="SEC11" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC11">2.5.4 WMP 6.4 behaves differently to WMP 7.</A></H3>
+<H3><A NAME="SEC11" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC11">2.5.4  WMP 6.4 behaves differently to WMP 7.</A></H3>
 
 <P>
 Yes, it does. Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. These
@@ -191,25 +200,26 @@ different object ids that you can use, one of them -- the old one -- cannot
 play very well, and the new one works well (both on the same system). However, 
 I suspect that the new one is not available unless you have installed WMP 7].
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC12" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC12">2.6 What else can it do?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC12" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC12">2.6  What else can it do?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
-There seems to be a bunch of code that allows you to replay previous
-video. I've never tried it, so it probably doesn't work properly. YMMV.
-In fact, in order to get some level of stability, ffserver now deletes
-all the previously sent video whenever it restarts.
-
+You can replay video from .ffm files that was recorded earlier.
+However, there are a number of caveats which include the fact that the 
+ffserver parameters must match the original parameters used to record the
+file. If not, then ffserver deletes the file before recording into it. (Now I write
+this, this seems broken).
 
+</P>
 <P>
 You can fiddle with many of the codec choices and encoding parameters, and
 there are a bunch more parameters that you cannot control. Post a message
 to the mailing list if there are some 'must have' parameters. Look in the
 ffserver.conf for a list of the currently available controls.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 It will automatically generate the .ASX or .RAM files that are often used
 in browsers. These files are actually redirections to the underlying .ASF
@@ -219,10 +229,10 @@ are very small and can be transferred quickly. [The stream itself is
 often 'infinite' and thus the browser tries to download it and never 
 finishes.]
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC13" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC13">2.7 Tips</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC13" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC13">2.7  Tips</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 * When you connect to a live stream, most players (WMP, RA etc) want to
@@ -235,7 +245,7 @@ stream should start 5 seconds in the past -- and so the first 5 seconds
 of the stream is sent as fast as the network will allow. It will then
 slow down to real time. This noticeably improves the startup experience.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 You can also add a 'Preroll 15' statement into the ffserver.conf that will
 add the 15 second prebuffering on all requests that do not otherwise
@@ -243,15 +253,15 @@ specify a time. In addition, ffserver will skip frames until a key_frame
 is found. This further reduces the startup delay by not transferring data
 that will be discarded.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 * You may want to adjust the MaxBandwidth in the ffserver.conf to limit
 the amount of bandwidth consumed by live streams.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC14" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC14">2.8 Why does the ?buffer / Preroll stop working after a time?</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC14" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC14">2.8  Why does the ?buffer / Preroll stop working after a time?</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 It turns out that (on my machine at least) the number of frames successfully
@@ -260,28 +270,27 @@ means that the timestamp in the encoded data stream gets behind real time.
 This means that if you say 'preroll 10', then when the stream gets 10
 or more seconds behind, there is no preroll left.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
-Fixing this requires a require in the internals in how timestampts are 
+Fixing this requires a change in the internals in how timestamps are 
 handled.
 
+</P>
 
 
-
-<H2><A NAME="SEC15" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC15">2.9 Does the <CODE>?date=</CODE> stuff work.</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="SEC15" HREF="ffserver-doc.html#TOC15">2.9  Does the <CODE>?date=</CODE> stuff work.</A></H2>
 
 <P>
 Yes (subject to the caution above). Also note that whenever you start
-ffserver, it deletes the ffm file, thus wiping out what you had recorded
-before. This behaviour is a temporary fix to various crashes. The aim is
-to fix it so that the old data is saved if possible.
-
+ffserver, it deletes the ffm file (if any parameters hacve changed), thus wiping out what you had recorded
+before. 
 
+</P>
 <P>
 The format of the <CODE>?date=xxxxxx</CODE> is fairly flexible. You should use one
 of the following formats (the 'T' is literal):
 
-
+</P>
 
 <PRE>
 * YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS     (localtime)
@@ -293,14 +302,15 @@ You can omit the YYYY-MM-DD, and then it refers to the current day. However
 note that <SAMP>`?date=16:00:00'</SAMP>  refers to 4PM on the current day -- this may be
 in the future and so unlikely to useful.
 
-
+</P>
 <P>
 You use this by adding the ?date= to the end of the URL for the stream.
 For example:   <SAMP>`http://localhost:8080/test.asf?date=2002-07-26T23:05:00'</SAMP>.
 
-
+</P>
 <P><HR><P>
-This document was generated on 19 November 2002 using
-<A HREF="http://wwwinfo.cern.ch/dis/texi2html/">texi2html</A>&nbsp;1.56k.
+This document was generated on 19 November 2002 using the
+<A HREF="http://wwwcn.cern.ch/dci/texi2html/">texi2html</A>
+translator version 1.51.</P>
 </BODY>
 </HTML>
diff --git a/doc/ffserver-doc.texi b/doc/ffserver-doc.texi
index 051038ed87..ff37d3b1c4 100644
--- a/doc/ffserver-doc.texi
+++ b/doc/ffserver-doc.texi
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ either Windows Media Player or RealAudio player (with some restrictions).
 It can also stream from files, though that is currently broken. Very often, a
 web server can be used to serve up the files just as well.
 
+It can stream prerecorded video from .ffm files, though it is somewhat tricky
+to make it work correctly.
+
 @section What do I need?
 
 I use Linux on a 900MHz Duron with a cheapo Bt848 based TV capture card. I'm
@@ -50,7 +53,8 @@ flag turned on.
 LAME is important as it allows streaming of audio to Windows Media Player. Don't
 ask why the other audio types do not work.
 
-As a simple test, just run the following two command lines:
+As a simple test, just run the following two command lines (assuming that you
+have a V4L video capture card):
 
 @example
 ./ffserver -f doc/ffserver.conf &
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ Windows Media Player (WMP). Go to Open URL and enter
 You should see (after a short delay) video and hear audio. 
 
 WARNING: trying to stream test1.mpg doesn't work with WMP as it tries to
-transfer the entire file before starting to play.
+transfer the entire file before starting to play. The same is true of avi files.
 
 @section What happens next?
 
@@ -106,10 +110,11 @@ I suspect that the new one is not available unless you have installed WMP 7].
 
 @section What else can it do?
 
-There seems to be a bunch of code that allows you to replay previous
-video. I've never tried it, so it probably doesn't work properly. YMMV.
-In fact, in order to get some level of stability, ffserver now deletes
-all the previously sent video whenever it restarts.
+You can replay video from .ffm files that was recorded earlier.
+However, there are a number of caveats which include the fact that the 
+ffserver parameters must match the original parameters used to record the
+file. If not, then ffserver deletes the file before recording into it. (Now I write
+this, this seems broken).
 
 You can fiddle with many of the codec choices and encoding parameters, and
 there are a bunch more parameters that you cannot control. Post a message
@@ -153,15 +158,14 @@ means that the timestamp in the encoded data stream gets behind real time.
 This means that if you say 'preroll 10', then when the stream gets 10
 or more seconds behind, there is no preroll left.
 
-Fixing this requires a require in the internals in how timestampts are 
+Fixing this requires a change in the internals in how timestamps are 
 handled.
 
 @section Does the @code{?date=} stuff work.
 
 Yes (subject to the caution above). Also note that whenever you start
-ffserver, it deletes the ffm file, thus wiping out what you had recorded
-before. This behaviour is a temporary fix to various crashes. The aim is
-to fix it so that the old data is saved if possible.
+ffserver, it deletes the ffm file (if any parameters have changed), thus wiping out what you had recorded
+before. 
 
 The format of the @code{?date=xxxxxx} is fairly flexible. You should use one
 of the following formats (the 'T' is literal):
author	Philip Gladstone <philipjsg@users.sourceforge.net>	2002-11-21 03:52:01 +0000
committer	Philip Gladstone <philipjsg@users.sourceforge.net>	2002-11-21 03:52:01 +0000
commit	ae98a91509f364660ef309b6853f464da4eeca6f (patch)
tree	bf479f34f2301dd169f2f22a52bbab69f4390a4d /doc
parent	26b4bb70c20be6aa45211d8bde521662e232582e (diff)
download	ffmpeg-ae98a91509f364660ef309b6853f464da4eeca6f.tar.gz