Automatically generate live and video-on-demand (VOD) multi-bitrate streams for delivery to Apple iOS devices using Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software. This method supports single streams and adaptive bitrate SMIL-based streams. These instructions generate a 192 kbps or lower audio-only stream that complies with Apple App Store rules for 3G delivery.
Contents
Generating a multi-bitrate audio stream for Apple devices Using SMIL files for multi-bitrate streams with audio-only items
Improving bitrate switching between audio streams More resources
Generating a multi-bitrate audio stream for Apple devices
Modify Cupertino Streaming Packetizer properties (live applications) and HTTP Streamers Cupertino Settings properties (live and VOD applications).
Wowza Streaming Engine Manager configuration
Live applications
- In Wowza Streaming Engine Manager, click the Applications tab and then click the name of your live application in the contents pane.
- On the application page Properties tab, click Cupertino Streaming Packetizer in the Quick Links bar.
Note: Access to the Properties tab is limited to administrators with advanced permissions. For more information, see Manage credentials. - Click Edit in the Cupertino Streaming Packetizer properties area, select the Enabled check box next to cupertinoCreateAudioOnlyRendition, and then set it to True. This property creates an audio-only stream.
- Click Save, and then restart the application to apply the changes.
Live and VOD applications
- In Wowza Streaming Engine Manager, click the Applications tab and then click the name of your application in the contents pane.
- On the application page Properties tab, click HTTP Streamers Cupertino Settings in the Quick Links bar.
Note: Access to the Properties tab is limited to administrators with advanced permissions. For more information, see Manage credentials. - Click Edit in the HTTP Streamers Cupertino Settings properties area, select the Enabled check box next to cupertinoAutoCreateMultibitratePlaylist, and then set it to True.
- Repeat the previous step to enable the remaining properties and configure them using the following values:
NameValuecupertinoUseCalculatedVideoBitrate true cupertinoUseCalculatedAudioBitrate true cupertinoDefaultVideoBitrate 250000 cupertinoMaxCalculatedVideoBitrate 0 cupertinoDefaultAudioBitrate 64000 cupertinoMaxCalculatedAudioBitrate 64000 cupertinoBitrateAdjustmentFactor 110 - Click Save, and then restart the application to apply the changes.
Note: When using a live stream repeater (origin/edge) configuration with this setup, be sure to set the above properties on both the origin and edge.
XML configuration
Live applications
- Use a text editor to open the [install-dir]/conf/[application-name]/Application.xml file for your live application and add the following property to the <LiveStreamPacketizer>/<Properties> container. Be sure to add the property to the correct <Properties> container in Application.xml, as there are several in the file.
<Property> <Name>cupertinoCreateAudioOnlyRendition</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> - Restart Wowza Streaming Engine to apply the changes.
Live and VOD applications
- Use a text editor to open the [install-dir]/conf/[application-name]/Application.xml file for your application and add the following properties to the <HTTPStreamer>/<Properties> container. Be sure to add the properties to the correct <Properties> container in Application.xml ,as there are several in the file.
<Property> <Name>cupertinoAutoCreateMultibitratePlaylist</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoUseCalculatedVideoBitrate</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoUseCalculatedAudioBitrate</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoDefaultVideoBitrate</Name> <Value>250000</Value> <Type>Integer</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoMaxCalculatedVideoBitrate</Name> <Value>0</Value> <Type>Integer</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoDefaultAudioBitrate</Name> <Value>64000</Value> <Type>Integer</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoMaxCalculatedAudioBitrate</Name> <Value>64000</Value> <Type>Integer</Type> </Property> <Property> <Name>cupertinoBitrateAdjustmentFactor</Name> <Value>110</Value> <Type>Integer</Type> </Property> - Restart Wowza Streaming Engine to apply the changes.
Note: When using a live stream repeater (origin/edge) configuration with this setup, be sure to set the LiveStreamPacketizers value on the edge to cupertinostreamingrepeater and set the above properties on both the origin and edge.
Using SMIL files for multi-bitrate streams with audio-only items
If you want to use Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) files to describe a multi-bitrate stream and use the audio from one of the live or VOD streams as one of the playlist items, then you can add the <param name="audioOnly" value="TRUE" valuetype="data"/> statement to the <video> element in the SMIL file to select only the audio track. For example, if you have two live streams called hi-livestream and low-livestream and you want to create a three-stream, multi-bitrate playlist with the third rendition being the audio from low-livestream, the SMIL file should look like this:
<smil>
<head></head>
<body>
<switch>
<video src="hi-livestream" system-bitrate="500000"/>
<video src="lo-livestream" system-bitrate="250000"/>
<video src="lo-livestream" system-bitrate="64000">
<param name="audioOnly" value="TRUE" valuetype="data"/>
</video>
</switch>
</body>
</smil>
Similarly, for two file renditions in a multi-bitrate VOD presentation:
<smil>
<head></head>
<body>
<switch>
<video src="hi-sample.mp4" system-bitrate="500000"/>
<video src="lo-sample.mp4" system-bitrate="250000"/>
<video src="lo-sample.mp4" system-bitrate="64000">
<param name="audioOnly" value="TRUE" valuetype="data"/>
</video>
</switch>
</body>
</smil>
To test this, play the audio-only stream directly:
http://[wowza-ip-address]:1935/[app-name]/[stream-name]/playlist.m3u8?wowzaaudioonly
Improving bitrate switching between audio streams
Bitrate switching between audio-only streams that are packetized as elementary audio streams and streams that are packetized as transport streams has changed since the release of iOS 6. To take advantage of improved bitrate switching and audio-only streams in Wowza Streaming Engine, configure the cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS property.
Wowza Streaming Engine Manager configuration
Live applications
- In Wowza Streaming Engine Manager, click the Applications tab and then click the name of your live application in the contents pane.
- On the application page Properties tab, click Cupertino Streaming Packetizer in the Quick Links bar.
Note: Access to the Properties tab is limited to administrators with advanced permissions. For more information, see Manage credentials. - Click Edit in the Cupertino Streaming Packetizer properties area, select the Enabled check box next to cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS, and then set it to True.
- Click Save, and then restart the application to apply the changes.
Live and VOD applications
- In Wowza Streaming Engine Manager, click the Applications tab and then click the name of your application in the contents pane.
- On the application page Properties tab, click HTTP Streamers Cupertino Settings in the Quick Links bar.
Note: Access to the Properties tab is limited to administrators with advanced permissions. For more information, see Manage credentials. - Click Edit in the HTTP Streamers Cupertino Settings area, select the Enabled check box next to cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTSVOD, and then set it to True.
- Click Save, and then restart the application to apply the changes.
XML configuration
Live applications
- Use a text editor to open the [install-dir]/conf/[application-name]/Application.xml file for your live application and add the following property to the <LiveStreamPacketizer>/<Properties> container. Be sure to add the property to the correct <Properties> container in Application.xml, as there are several in the file.
<Property> <Name>cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> - Restart Wowza Streaming Engine to apply the changes.
Live and VOD applications
- Use a text editor to open the [install-dir]/conf/[application-name]/Application.xml file for your application and add the following property to the <HTTPStreamer>/<Properties> container. Be sure to add the property to the correct <Properties> container in Application.xml as there are several such containers in the file.
<Property> <Name>cupertinoPacketizeAllStreamsAsTS</Name> <Value>true</Value> <Type>Boolean</Type> </Property> - Restart Wowza Streaming Engine to apply the changes.
