|
First of all, let's define what 'streaming' actually is. Webopedia defines
streaming as 'a technique for transferring data such that it can be processed
as a steady
and continuous stream. With streaming, the client
browser or plug-in can start displaying the data before the entire file has
been transmitted.'
In other words, you can watch a movie or listen to a song before the complete
file has downloaded. Whilst you are watching or listening to the beginning
of the song / movie the remaining data is being transferred (or downloaded)
in the background.
It's fairly straightforward to create a streaming MP3. There are 5 steps in
the process.
- Create your MP3
- Create 2 directories
- Create a playlist
- Create your Web page, complete with relevant link
- Upload files to your server
1 - Create the MP3
First of all let me say that I am no expert in the intricacies of encoding
sound or video. I find that actually creating the MP3 is the hardest part of
the streaming process. Saying that, there is nothing like trial and error,
and lots of testing!
I use a freeware Open Source program called CDEX to
encode my MP3's. CDEX allows you to encode using a variety of settings. I have
read various recommended settings ranging from 16kbps, 11025hz, mono to 32kbps,
44100hz and stereo. The secret is to ensure that the file will download smoothly
on your target customers' machine. Obviously the bigger the file the longer
the download time and the greater the chance of users experiencing 'buffer-delays'.
Based on my own experiments I recommend using mono every time - stereo doubles
file sizes without really improving the sound quality (at least to my untrained
ears). Experiment with the other settings - somewhere between 16kbps and 24kbps,
11025hz and 22050hz should do the trick.
2 - Create 2 directories
I recommend that you create 2 directories in your
Web site. In my site the directories (or folders) are created at the root level
and are called 'playlist' and 'audio'. Of course you can name them something
else
and
they don't have to be at your site root.
3 - Create a playlist
The playlist is basically a simple text file (use Notepad or BBEdit) which
includes the full path to each MP3 file you wish to stream. For example,
I have a selection of my daughter Alex's music streaming from this site. Each file reference MUST
be on a separate line. The playlist file for my daughter's songs is as follows.
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/seeking.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/perfect_plan.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/called.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/eagles.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/intimacy.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/more.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/sorry.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/sparrow.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/yours.mp3
http://www.mickwood.com/audio/waiting_praying.mp3
The trick is to save the playlist file in your playlist folder with the extension
.m3u. My daughter is called Alexandra so my playlist is saved as alex.m3u
The m3u extension tells your MP3 player to buffer the first part of
the song, start playing the song when the buffer is reached, and then continue
to download the rest of the song in the background until the whole song has
been downloaded. The amount of the buffer is dependent on the size of the file
and
the users' connection speed.
4 - Create your Web page, complete with relevant link
You can create a new page or use an existing Web page to test if everything
is OK. You must remember to link to the playlist file, NOT the actual MP3's.
Your
link
should look something like this.
<a href="http://www.mickwood.com/playlist/alex.m3u">Listen
to Alex's new songs</a>
5 - Upload files to your server
You need to upload the m3u file to the playlist folder, your MP3's
to the audio folder and your Web page to anywhere in your site.
It doesn't actually matter where the Web page is in your site because the link
and the
playlist contain absolute URL's rather than relative links. If you prefer to
use relative URL's you should double-check that the links are accurate.
Now open up your Web browser and test your link. Your MP3 should stream nicely.
Potential Problems
If your MP3's don't stream correctly you should carefully check all your
links. Remember that links are case-sensitive. Is every song in your playlist
on a
separate line? If you are sure that everything is coded correctly and you still
cannot get your MP3's to stream then you probably have a 'mime-type' problem.
Mime-types indicate the sort of content which may be delivered from your
Web server. Many Web hosts provide their clients with a Personal Control Panel
which includes the facility to add mime-types. It's probably a good idea to
speak with your Web host anyway and ask them to add the following mime-types.
Mime-Types
| Mime-Type |
File Extension |
| audio/MP3 |
.mp3 |
| audio/m3u |
.mpu |
| audio/x-mpeg |
.mp3 |
| audio/x-mpegurl |
.m3u |
| audio/x-mpegurl |
.mp3url |
If you are still having problems I suggest you post full details
on the Dreamweaver
Newsgroup. Happy streaming!
PS. Why don't you have a listen to Alex's
songs - she wrote 9 of the
songs herself before she was aged 16.
|
