The ESA HD Media Player has an automated bandwidth detection system that works with all web servers (http:progressive) and Flash Media Server 3/4(rtmp:streaming). To enable the bandwidth detection you need to specify the path for the bandwidth test in the Skin Wizard (”Bandwidth Test” text field), or in the MediaPlayer’s Component Inspector (”bandwidthSource” parameter), or in the XML (”bandwidthTest” attribute; please note: xml settings override Skin Wizard and Component Inspector settings).

For Progressive Bandwidth Detection:
If your media files are hosted on a web server the path for the bandwidth test should refer to a JPG image that is hosted on your web server (see example path below). The test image should be at least 100 kb in size, and if your reported bandwidth is “infinity” you should increase the size of your JPG test image until you get a reasonable result (i.e. “bandwidth = infinity” is a sign that your test image is too small given your server and internet connection speeds). This test is performed once when the player first loads on the page.

http://www.yourwebserver.com/bandwidth.jpg

For Streaming Bandwidth Detection:
If your media files are hosted on a Flash Media Server 3/4 the path for the bandwidth test should refer to your streaming server and application (see examle path below). This approach utilizes the native FMS 3.x bandwidth checker, so if it does not work you should check to make sure that the bandwidth checker has been enabled on your server, and if you don’t have access to your server you can use the progressive bandwidth detection described above. This test is performed once when the player first loads on the page, and the player will continue to monitor your bandwidth as long as you are playing a file that is hosted on your FMS 3/4. You can use any of the available rtmp protocols and ports to conduct the test.

rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/

The ESA HD Media Player supports any Flash Media Server 3/4 (FMS, FMIS, Influxis, Akamai, VitalStream, etc.), Red5, and Wowza. If you are loading media files that are hosted on one of these server types you must use the following syntax to reference your files.

FLV:
rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/stream.flv

MP3:
rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/mp3:track.mp3

H264/AAC – MP4, MOV, M4A, M4V, F4V, 3GP, 3G2:
rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/mp4:stream.mp4

Live Streams:
Live rtmp streams can be loaded into the player just like pre-recorded videos, but you may want to reduce the buffer time to 1 second using the “mediaBuffer” parameter in the MediaPlayer’s Component Inspector.

Regarding Protocols and Ports:
You can use any of the available rtmp protocols (rtmp, rtmpe, rtmps, rtmpt, rtmpte) and ports (1935, 443, 80).

Regarding Instances:
If you have “instances” in your rtmp path you should also check the “Instance” variable in the Skin Wizard, or the “mediaSourceInstance” parameter in the MediaPlayer’s Component Inspector, or if you’re using the XML playlist, you can use the “instance” attribute in the <item> container at the top of the xml (xml settings override Skin Wizard and Component Inspector settings). This setting helps the player parse your rtmp path so it can connect to your server and play your stream. If the first instance in your rtmp path is part of the application, use the “application” setting; if the first instance is part of the stream name, use the “stream” setting. Below are examples of rtmp paths with instances (i.e. if your path contains more than one folder, you are using instances):

rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/instance/stream.flv
rtmp://www.yourfms.com/application/instance1/instance2/stream.flv