Webcast Server - Open Source Software
Webcast services generally run on a client server architecture. A webcast server is necessary to provide webcast services to visitors of the website on which the service is hosted. The webcast server works in tandem with the Web server in order to ensure that every person who clicks on the appropriate links gets to receive the webcast of his choice. There are a number of webcast servers available today. You have a choice between a proprietary and an open source webcast server. Here are some of the most popular webcast servers for you to choose from.
Unreal Media Server is a proprietary webcast server. It is available for the Windows platform. This webcast server allows streaming of content using DivX, Xvid, VP6 as well as other AVI formats, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, WMV, WMA, QuickTime, ASF, and MP3 formats. This provides the webcast server with a near universal compatibility as far as media formats that it can convert are concerned, as all the popular codecs are covered. There is a special playlist option through the use of which the content from a directory can be streamed in a looped manner. In order to enable live webcasting, this server allows the streaming of content from digital cameras, microphones, TV tuner cards etc.
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Another proprietary webcast server is the SHOUTcast server of Nullsoft. SHOUTcast has been implemented in Nullsoft's ubiquitous Winamp media player. The main restriction of SHOUTcast, however, is that it does not support as wide a range of formats as is done by some other webcast servers. The focus of SHOUTcast is more on audio streaming using the MP3 format or HE-AAC (High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding). Unlike Unreal, however, this webcast server is cross-platform and is available for all major operating systems inclusive of PalmOS.
The Helix DNA server is another webcast server, which can be used to transmit streaming media content. This webcast server is open-source software released under the RealNetworks Community Source License and the RealNetworks Public Source License. It is developed by RealNetworks. Thus it supports streaming of RealAudio, RealVideo, and MP3 formats. This webcast server is also able to use the Real Time Streaming Protocol in addition to HTTP. IceCast is also open-source software, which falls in the category of a webcast server. It is available under the GNU General Public License. Icecast is maintained by the Xiph.org Foundation. Icecast has the ability to handle the open-source Vorbis audio codec as well as the Theora video codec, both of which are open source. In addition to this, Icecast can also use the same protocol, as used by SHOUTcast, to allow the streaming of media content in the MP3, AAC, and NSV formats. Icecast has claims of it being the open-source alternative to the SHOUTcast server.
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