Pseudo-Streaming with PHPmotion

Introduction

In this tutorial, I will show you how to use xmoov-php to integrate Pseudo-Streaming in PHPmotion and the JW FLV player. Before I begin the tutorial however, it might be beneficial to explain exactly what pseudo streaming is and how it differs from other methods of providing video content. Here is a detailed explanation of what Pseudo-Streaming is.

Currently PHPmotion uses a video delivery method known as Progressive Download. This type of delivery requires the entire video to be downloaded before you can reach the end. When a video is played, a portion of the video is downloaded into the buffer before it begins. If you attempt to skip to a part of the video that has not yet been downloaded into the buffer, the playhead simply skips to the end of the buffer and usually stops playing until the buffer has had a chance to catch up.

Another method is True Streaming which requires the use of a streaming server software like Adobe's Flash Media Server. This method allows you to skip anywhere on the video timeline without having to wait on a buffer. This method works great, however it can be difficult to set up and expensive.

Then comes Pseudo-Streaming. Technically this method is still Progressive Download but with the added benefit of being able to skip anywhere on the video timeline without having to wait for the entire video to load. This is the method we will be discussing today.

Below is an example of a video being delivered via Pseudo-Streaming. Click the play button then click anywhere on the timeline to skip forward to a part of the video that has not yet buffered. You will notice that the video will start to buffer for a few seconds then play again from the point where you clicked.

How this works is, when you click on a point on the timeline, the streamer script looks for an access point in the metadata contained within the flv file. The streamer script then tells the player to restart the progressive download from that point. The same thing happens if you then skip back, or forward again, and so on.

Pseudo Streaming requires that all FLV files be injected with metadata. The metadata is how the streamer script knows at what point in the video to move too when a point on the timeline is clicked. Luckely, PHPmotion automatically injects the metadata when converting using FLVtool2 so all we have to do is make the streamer file and change a few lines in the embed code.