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flowing through a hose. You control the ‘faucet’, because you get to choose the streaming Profile setting in
TriCaster’s Configuration panels. However, you don’t own the ‘hose’ – or, at least, not the entire hose.
Once the stream leaves your immediate environment, even if you can supply good throughput locally,
bandwidth may be constricted elsewhere along the transmission path. The level of Internet traffic can impose
limits, but another major factor is the sort of connections your viewing audience may have.
Consider an example scenario:
Even though you know that most of your audience is going to connect to your program using (relatively
slow) wireless devices, you use a very high outgoing bitrate – thinking that this will surely be enough to fill
the need. The fact is, though, a high bitrate actually ensures their experience will be poor!
The client player tries to play the stream at the bitrate you specified, but (in this example) the wireless
bottleneck impedes flow. It is as if you connected a fire hose on your end, giving them a suitable high
capacity nozzle for their end – but in the last stage of flow, the stream must pass through a small garden
hose. Sadly, the stream will be quite insufficient, and output from the ‘nozzle’ (the client player) will falter
badly.
For reliable performance, try to ensure the potential upload bandwidth from your system to the net is around
twice the bitrate you choose. You can broadcast at a rate closer to your actual ceiling, but reliable
performance cherishes headroom.
Also consider the expected download abilities of your viewers. Ideally, a safety margin 1.5 times the stream’s
bitrate is desirable. This may mean you need to consider using a lower resolution, or lower framerate for
your stream – but doing so when required will generally deliver a smooth result, and is the wise course.
(Nothing inclines viewers to turn away quicker than a stuttering, start and stop stream. See “Speed Tests” in
Section 17.8.1 for some useful resources.)
17.6.2 WINDOWS MEDIA
®
STREAMING
Let’s talk briefly about the two Windows Media
®
streaming methods, known as Pull and Push. Choosing the
best method for your needs is important. Let’s review each, and consider what is best for your needs.
PULL BY END USERS
Simply put, the Windows Media Encoder
®
in TriCaster allows your (networked) audience to connect directly
to it, and it distributes the stream to them.
Connecting in this manner requires you to have a connection with sufficient bandwidth to deliver a stream
to each individual user. For this reason, the simple Pull streaming method rarely works well for more than
1 or 2 viewers.
Advantages:
o When TriCaster is not behind a firewall or does not have a public IP address, this is a very
simple way to let a few viewers watch your program stream.
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