Setting up a Media Player

Setting up a HLS or MPEG-DASH-compatible media player requires pointing it to a valid playback URL. A playback URL may be constructed from the base CDN URLs provided on the Dynamic Cloud Packaging - VOD page.

Constructing a playback URL involves the following steps:

1. Copy a base CDN URL that corresponds to the desired origin typeCDN storage or customer origin from the Dynamic Cloud Packaging - VOD page. How?From the main menu, navigate to HTTP Large | HTTP Streaming | Dynamic Cloud Packaging. Click VoD from the side navigation bar.

2. Customer Origin Only: Append a forward slash and the name of the desired customer origin configuration to the base playback URL.
3. Append the relative path to the directory where the desired on-demand content can be found.

4. Append the filename of the desired asset(s).

   A media player can point to one or more assets. The syntax for specifying a filename varies according to whether a single or multiple assets are defined in the URL.

   Single asset syntax:

   FilenameRepresents the filename of the desired H.264 asset..mp4

   Multiple assets syntax:

   BaseFilenameRepresents the base filename of the desired media.,BitRate1A bit rate must be specified for each file that may be streamed via this playback URL.,BitRate2,BitRateN,.mp4

   Learn more.

5. Append either a HLS or MPEG-DASH file extension.

   HLS playback:

   .m3u8

   MPEG-DASH playback:

   .mpd

6. Verify that the playback URL looks similar to the following URL:

   Sample playback URL:

   http://wpc.0001.{Base Domain}/040001/videos/fly,110,400,650,.mp4.m3u8

Alternatively, a friendlier player URL may be generated by creating an edge CNAME configuration.
Learn more.

Single Asset

A single H.264 asset may be streamed from CDN storage or a customer origin server.

The bit rate at which this asset was encoded determines playback quality.

Syntax:

Multiple Assets

Specifying multiple H.264 assets within a playback URL allows the media player to vary the stream's bit rate quality to provide an optimal viewing experience. Specifically, the media player will analyze a user's environment at frequent intervals and dynamically choose the asset that provides the highest bit rate quality that the client can support without causing buffering or stuttering.

This capability requires the following:

• An H.264 asset for each desired bit rate stream. All assets referenced within a single playback URL must be stored in the same directory.
• The filename for each H.264 asset should indicate its corresponding bit rate quality in Kbps (e.g., 100, 200, or 400). The bit rate quality is the only difference allowed in the naming convention.
• Each bit rate stream should be indicated in the player URL. A media player's initial request will be for the first bit rate specified in the player URL.

Syntax

Follow these conventions when specifying multiple assets within a single playback URL:

The terms "prefix" and "suffix" refer to the portions of the filename that appear before and after, respectively, the bit rate level.

• All filenames must have a common prefix.

  Example:

  video100.mp4, video200.mp4, and video300.mp4

• The end of the prefix should be indicated with a comma. This should be followed by the bit rate level for each desired stream as a comma-delimited list in the filename. Append a comma after the final bit rate level.

  Example:

  video,100,200,300,.mp4
• Each specified bit rate stream should only include the bit rate quality in Kbps. Including any other data or using different units will generate a malformed playlist.

• A suffix identifies the portion of the filename that extends beyond the bit rate level.

  The suffix for the following sample filenames is "kbps."

  video100kbps.mp4, video200kbps.mp4, and video300kbps.mp4

  Append the suffix after the last comma.

  Example:

  video,100,200,300,kbps.mp4

More Information

• Tutorial: Dynamic Cloud Packaging: How to Stream On-Demand Content
• CDN Storage
• Customer Origin Group

Edgecast CDN