Real Media FAQ

INDEX

What is the difference between a General & Dedicated account?

There are two types of accounts General/Open & Dedicated.

  1. General/Open Accounts  - Total number of streams  =  total number of open accounts.   These accounts will be in a shared environment.  Streams will be issued on a first come first serve basis.
  2. Dedicated Accounts - Total number of streams = total amount ordered by client.   These accounts will be dedicated to your site.  The number of streams purchased will always be available to your visitors only.

Where do I store my real media files?

You will need to store your Real Media files in your Real Media FTP directory.  It is best to leave them in the root directory of your Real Media FTP account!!   Although you can put them in subdirectories of your Real Media FTP directory, this can cause confusion.  You will need to FTP to the following address and supply your Realmedia Username and password.

FTP HOST: realmedia.webstorage.com

USERNAME: rm_username

PASSWORD: <what you put on your Real Audio registration form>

What is a .ram file?

A .ram file contains the location of your Real Media Files on the Realmedia Server.   All .ram files should have only one line to them.  That line should look like this.

PNM://realmedia.webstorage.com/accountname/filename

For Example, if I wanted to play a file named 288.ra from our test account it would look like this:

PNM://realmedia.webstorage.com/test/288.ra

How do I access my real media files from an HTML document?

To access your real media files from an HTML document you will need to hyperlink to a .ram file containing the path to the file you wish to play.

EXAMPLE ONLY

I want to play the 288.ra file.  In order to do this I will have to create a 288.ram file containing the appropraite PNM string.  Linking to the 288.ram file would look like this

<A HREF="288.ram">Click Here to play</A>

Clicking on click here to play will open up the Real Player and play the selected file.

Why am I getting error messages, I know the file locations are correct?

Try clearing out the cache for your browser.  Sometimes the browser looks to your cache even if the file on the server has been updated.

Now that we have a G2 server the problem may be that you are trying to stream a G2 encoded file through the old 5.0 method using a PNM statement when you should be using an RTSP statement.

What is an .rpm file?

An .rpm file is the same thing as a .ram file except that it uses the internal plugin for the browser instead of spawning an external player like the .ram file would.

How do I live encode Real Audio 5.0 streams?

In order to live encode Real Audio 5.0 streams you will need to have a dedicated account with us, Real Publisher 5.0 and contact help@webstorage.com to receive a password.  The PNM statement in your .ram file to connect to the stream   will be formatted like this:

PNM://realmedia.webstorage.com/live/accountname.rm

Accountname.rm should be replaced with your actual account name.  The reason we request you do live encoding this way is to avoid overwriting someone elses live stream.

How do I live encode Real Audio G2 streams?

In order to live encode G2 streams you will need to have a dedicated account and G2 Producer or G2 Producer Plus.  Then you will need to contact help@webstorage.com to request a username and password.  The .ram file should contain a line that follows this format.

RTSP://realmedia.webstorage.com/encoder/accountname.rm

Accountname.rm should be replaced with your actual account name.  The reason we request you do live encoding this way is to avoid overwriting someone elses live stream.

How do I access my new G2 stream?

To stream G2 content your files will need to be encoded with G2 Producer or Producer Plus.  Then these files will need to be FTP'd to your real media account here at IQS.  Once you have FTP'd your files to your account you will need to create a .ram file that point to your real media account.  The .ram file should contain the following line.

RTSP://realmedia.webstorage.com/account/filename.rm


What about firewalls?

If your RealPlayer is behind a firewall, and you are having trouble playing media on some sites, the firewall may not be configured to allow RealPlayer traffic.

First, you might want to find out whether a firewall is the problem. If you determine that there is a firewall on your organization's network or your ISP, the ideal solution is for the firewall administrator to allow RealPlayer traffic on the firewall.

If you know that there is a firewall in place that has not yet been configured to allow RealPlayer traffic, RealPlayer can receive streamed media without compromising the security of the firewall. Before implementing the steps in this section, be sure to check with your firewall administrator regarding your organization's policies on Internet access.

The Auto-Configure method automatically detects which transport methods are available to your RealPlayer and selects the highest quality method. If you are not sure which method to choose, click Auto Configure. Otherwise, ask your firewall administrator which option you should choose. You will need to know the port numbers for the UDP and TCP choices.

Auto Configuration

If your configuration changes, or if you lose the ability to play content, run Auto-Configure:

  1. In RealPlayer, click Preferences from the Options menu.
  2. Click the Transport tab.
  3. Click the Automatically Select Best Transport option.
  4. Click the Auto-Configure button. The Automatic Transport Configuration window appears.
  5. Run the Auto-Configure by clicking the OK button.

Receiving Clips Through a Single UDP Port

RealPlayer automatically selects the most efficient transport for your network without any intervention. You should only change this setting if you are experiencing problems receiving RealAudio and RealVideo clips or you have been notified by your network administrator that you should change this setting.

The UDP option offers better sound quality than TCP. RealPlayer also offers the ability to limit those inside a firewall to receive UDP on only one port, which makes router configuration easier.

To configure RealPlayer G2 to receive UDP through a single port:

  1. In RealPlayer, click Preferences from the View menu (Windows) or the Edit menu (Macintosh).
  2. Click the Transport tab.
  3. Click Use Specific UDP Port and type the number of the UDP port where you want to receive the UDP streams. Ask your network manager or firewall administrator which port number to use.

  4. Click OK to save your changes.

Receiving Clips Through TCP Only

RealPlayer automatically selects the most efficient transport for your network without any intervention. You should only change this setting if you are experiencing problems receiving RealAudio and RealVideo clips or you have been notified by your network administrator that you should change this setting.

To configure RealPlayer G2 to use only TCP to stream audio:

  1. In RealPlayer, click Preferences from the Options menu.
  2. Click the Transport tab.
  3. Click Use specified transports.
  4. Click Change Settings to access the Specify Transports window where you can specify the modes with which you can receive data. When you are finished with the Specify Transports window, click the OK button.

  5. Click OK.
  6. Click OK on the Preferences windows to save your changes.

Receiving Content Through HTTP Only

RealPlayer automatically selects the most efficient transport for your network without any intervention. You should only change this setting if you are experiencing problems receiving RealAudio and RealVideo clips or you have been notified by your network administrator that you should change this setting.

The HTTP Only option allows almost all Players behind a firewall to access RealAudio and RealVideo content. Quality may not be as good as the other options, however.

To configure RealPlayer G2 to receive content through HTTP Only:

  1. In RealPlayer, click Preferences from the Options menu.
  2. In the Preferences window, click the Transport tab.
  3. Click Use Specified Transport.
  4. Click Specify Transports. The Specify Transports window appears:

  5. Click the Use HTTP Only option.
  6. Click the OK button on the Preferences window to save your changes.

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