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57<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
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59</tr></table>
60<h1 class="chapter"> 1. Introduction </h1>
61
62<p>FFserver is a streaming server for both audio and video. It supports
63several live feeds, streaming from files and time shifting on live feeds
64(you can seek to positions in the past on each live feed, provided you
65specify a big enough feed storage in ffserver.conf).
66</p>
67<p>This documentation covers only the streaming aspects of ffserver /
68ffmpeg. All questions about parameters for ffmpeg, codec questions,
69etc. are not covered here. Read <tt>`ffmpeg-doc.html'</tt> for more
70information.
71</p>
72<hr size="6">
73<a name="SEC2"></a>
74<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
75<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
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78<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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80<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
81<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
82<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
83<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
84<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
85<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
86<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
87<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
88<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
89</tr></table>
90<h1 class="chapter"> 2. QuickStart </h1>
91
92<p>[Contributed by Philip Gladstone, philip-ffserver at gladstonefamily dot net]
93</p>
94<hr size="6">
95<a name="SEC3"></a>
96<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
97<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
98<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC4" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
99<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
100<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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102<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
103<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
104<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
105<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
106<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
107<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
108<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
109<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
110<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
111</tr></table>
112<h2 class="section"> 2.1 What can this do? </h2>
113
114<p>When properly configured and running, you can capture video and audio in real
115time from a suitable capture card, and stream it out over the Internet to
116either Windows Media Player or RealAudio player (with some restrictions).
117</p>
118<p>It can also stream from files, though that is currently broken. Very often, a
119web server can be used to serve up the files just as well.
120</p>
121<p>It can stream prerecorded video from .ffm files, though it is somewhat tricky
122to make it work correctly.
123</p>
124<hr size="6">
125<a name="SEC4"></a>
126<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
127<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC3" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
128<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC5" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
129<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
130<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
131<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
132<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
133<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
134<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
135<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
136<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
137<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
138<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
139<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
140<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
141</tr></table>
142<h2 class="section"> 2.2 What do I need? </h2>
143
144<p>I use Linux on a 900MHz Duron with a cheapo Bt848 based TV capture card. I'm
145using stock Linux 2.4.17 with the stock drivers. [Actually that isn't true,
146I needed some special drivers for my motherboard-based sound card.]
147</p>
148<p>I understand that FreeBSD systems work just fine as well.
149</p>
150<hr size="6">
151<a name="SEC5"></a>
152<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
153<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC4" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
154<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC6" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
155<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
156<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
157<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
158<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
159<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
160<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
161<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
162<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
163<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
164<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
165<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
166<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
167</tr></table>
168<h2 class="section"> 2.3 How do I make it work? </h2>
169
170<p>First, build the kit. It *really* helps to have installed LAME first. Then when
171you run the ffserver ./configure, make sure that you have the -enable-mp3lame
172flag turned on.
173</p>
174<p>LAME is important as it allows for streaming audio to Windows Media Player.
175Don't ask why the other audio types do not work.
176</p>
177<p>As a simple test, just run the following two command lines (assuming that you
178have a V4L video capture card):
179</p>
180<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">./ffserver -f doc/ffserver.conf &amp;
181./ffmpeg http://localhost:8090/feed1.ffm
182</pre></td></tr></table>
183<p>At this point you should be able to go to your Windows machine and fire up
184Windows Media Player (WMP). Go to Open URL and enter
185</p>
186<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example"> http://&lt;linuxbox&gt;:8090/test.asf
187</pre></td></tr></table>
188<p>You should (after a short delay) see video and hear audio.
189</p>
190<p>WARNING: trying to stream test1.mpg doesn't work with WMP as it tries to
191transfer the entire file before starting to play.
192The same is true of AVI files.
193</p>
194<hr size="6">
195<a name="SEC6"></a>
196<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
197<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC5" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
198<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
199<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
200<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
201<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
202<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
203<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
204<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
205<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
206<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
207<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
208<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
209<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
210<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
211</tr></table>
212<h2 class="section"> 2.4 What happens next? </h2>
213
214<p>You should edit the ffserver.conf file to suit your needs (in terms of
215frame rates etc). Then install ffserver and ffmpeg, write a script to start
216them up, and off you go.
217</p>
218<hr size="6">
219<a name="SEC7"></a>
220<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
221<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC6" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
222<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC8" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
223<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
224<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
225<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
226<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
227<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
228<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
229<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
230<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
231<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
232<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
233<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
234<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
235</tr></table>
236<h2 class="section"> 2.5 Troubleshooting </h2>
237
238<hr size="6">
239<a name="SEC8"></a>
240<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
241<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
242<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC9" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
243<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
244<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
245<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
246<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
247<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
248<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
249<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
250<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
251<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
252<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
253<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
254<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
255</tr></table>
256<h3 class="subsection"> 2.5.1 I don't hear any audio, but video is fine. </h3>
257
258<p>Maybe you didn't install LAME, or got your ./configure statement wrong. Check
259the ffmpeg output to see if a line referring to MP3 is present. If not, then
260your configuration was incorrect. If it is, then maybe your wiring is not
261set up correctly. Maybe the sound card is not getting data from the right
262input source. Maybe you have a really awful audio interface (like I do)
263that only captures in stereo and also requires that one channel be flipped.
264If you are one of these people, then export 'AUDIO_FLIP_LEFT=1' before
265starting ffmpeg.
266</p>
267<hr size="6">
268<a name="SEC9"></a>
269<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
270<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC8" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
271<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC10" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
272<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
273<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
274<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
275<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
276<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
277<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
278<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
279<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
280<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
281<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
282<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
283<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
284</tr></table>
285<h3 class="subsection"> 2.5.2 The audio and video loose sync after a while. </h3>
286
287<p>Yes, they do.
288</p>
289<hr size="6">
290<a name="SEC10"></a>
291<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
292<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC9" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
293<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC11" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
294<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
295<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
296<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
297<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
298<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
299<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
300<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
301<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
302<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
303<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
304<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
305<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
306</tr></table>
307<h3 class="subsection"> 2.5.3 After a long while, the video update rate goes way down in WMP. </h3>
308
309<p>Yes, it does. Who knows why?
310</p>
311<hr size="6">
312<a name="SEC11"></a>
313<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
314<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC10" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
315<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC12" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
316<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
317<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
318<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC7" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
319<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
320<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
321<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
322<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
323<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
324<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
325<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
326<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
327<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
328</tr></table>
329<h3 class="subsection"> 2.5.4 WMP 6.4 behaves differently to WMP 7. </h3>
330
331<p>Yes, it does. Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. These
332differences extend to embedding WMP into a web page. [There are two
333object IDs that you can use: The old one, which does not play well, and
334the new one, which does (both tested on the same system). However,
335I suspect that the new one is not available unless you have installed WMP 7].
336</p>
337<hr size="6">
338<a name="SEC12"></a>
339<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
340<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC11" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
341<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC13" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
342<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
343<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
344<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
345<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
346<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
347<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
348<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
349<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
350<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
351<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
352<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
353<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
354</tr></table>
355<h2 class="section"> 2.6 What else can it do? </h2>
356
357<p>You can replay video from .ffm files that was recorded earlier.
358However, there are a number of caveats, including the fact that the
359ffserver parameters must match the original parameters used to record the
360file. If they do not, then ffserver deletes the file before recording into it.
361(Now that I write this, it seems broken).
362</p>
363<p>You can fiddle with many of the codec choices and encoding parameters, and
364there are a bunch more parameters that you cannot control. Post a message
365to the mailing list if there are some 'must have' parameters. Look in
366ffserver.conf for a list of the currently available controls.
367</p>
368<p>It will automatically generate the ASX or RAM files that are often used
369in browsers. These files are actually redirections to the underlying ASF
370or RM file. The reason for this is that the browser often fetches the
371entire file before starting up the external viewer. The redirection files
372are very small and can be transferred quickly. [The stream itself is
373often 'infinite' and thus the browser tries to download it and never
374finishes.]
375</p>
376<hr size="6">
377<a name="SEC13"></a>
378<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
379<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC12" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
380<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC14" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
381<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
382<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
383<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
384<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
385<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
386<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
387<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
388<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
389<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
390<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
391<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
392<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
393</tr></table>
394<h2 class="section"> 2.7 Tips </h2>
395
396<p>* When you connect to a live stream, most players (WMP, RA, etc) want to
397buffer a certain number of seconds of material so that they can display the
398signal continuously. However, ffserver (by default) starts sending data
399in realtime. This means that there is a pause of a few seconds while the
400buffering is being done by the player. The good news is that this can be
401cured by adding a '?buffer=5' to the end of the URL. This means that the
402stream should start 5 seconds in the past - and so the first 5 seconds
403of the stream are sent as fast as the network will allow. It will then
404slow down to real time. This noticeably improves the startup experience.
405</p>
406<p>You can also add a 'Preroll 15' statement into the ffserver.conf that will
407add the 15 second prebuffering on all requests that do not otherwise
408specify a time. In addition, ffserver will skip frames until a key_frame
409is found. This further reduces the startup delay by not transferring data
410that will be discarded.
411</p>
412<p>* You may want to adjust the MaxBandwidth in the ffserver.conf to limit
413the amount of bandwidth consumed by live streams.
414</p>
415<hr size="6">
416<a name="SEC14"></a>
417<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
418<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC13" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
419<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC15" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
420<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
421<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
422<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
423<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
424<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
425<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
426<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
427<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
428<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
429<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
430<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
431<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
432</tr></table>
433<h2 class="section"> 2.8 Why does the ?buffer / Preroll stop working after a time? </h2>
434
435<p>It turns out that (on my machine at least) the number of frames successfully
436grabbed is marginally less than the number that ought to be grabbed. This
437means that the timestamp in the encoded data stream gets behind realtime.
438This means that if you say 'Preroll 10', then when the stream gets 10
439or more seconds behind, there is no Preroll left.
440</p>
441<p>Fixing this requires a change in the internals of how timestamps are
442handled.
443</p>
444<hr size="6">
445<a name="SEC15"></a>
446<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
447<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC14" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
448<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
449<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
450<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
451<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
452<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
453<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
454<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
455<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
456<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
457<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
458<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
459<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
460<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
461</tr></table>
462<h2 class="section"> 2.9 Does the <code>?date=</code> stuff work. </h2>
463
464<p>Yes (subject to the limitation outlined above). Also note that whenever you
465start ffserver, it deletes the ffm file (if any parameters have changed),
466thus wiping out what you had recorded before.
467</p>
468<p>The format of the <code>?date=xxxxxx</code> is fairly flexible. You should use one
469of the following formats (the 'T' is literal):
470</p>
471<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">* YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS (localtime)
472* YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ (UTC)
473</pre></td></tr></table>
474<p>You can omit the YYYY-MM-DD, and then it refers to the current day. However
475note that <samp>`?date=16:00:00'</samp> refers to 16:00 on the current day - this
476may be in the future and so is unlikely to be useful.
477</p>
478<p>You use this by adding the ?date= to the end of the URL for the stream.
479For example: <samp>`http://localhost:8080/test.asf?date=2002-07-26T23:05:00'</samp>.
480</p>
481<hr size="6">
482<a name="SEC16"></a>
483<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
484<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC15" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
485<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC17" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
486<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
487<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC2" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
488<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
489<td valign="middle" align="left">[ &gt;&gt; ]</td>
490<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
491<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
492<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
493<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
494<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
495<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
496<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
497<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
498</tr></table>
499<h1 class="chapter"> 3. Invocation </h1>
500<hr size="6">
501<a name="SEC17"></a>
502<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
503<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
504<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC18" title="Next section in reading order"> &gt; </a>]</td>
505<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
506<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
507<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
508<td valign="middle" align="left">[ &gt;&gt; ]</td>
509<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
510<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
511<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
512<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
513<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
514<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
515<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
516<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
517</tr></table>
518<h2 class="section"> 3.1 Syntax </h2>
519<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">ffserver [options]
520</pre></td></tr></table>
521<hr size="6">
522<a name="SEC18"></a>
523<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
524<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC17" title="Previous section in reading order"> &lt; </a>]</td>
525<td valign="middle" align="left">[ &gt; ]</td>
526<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
527<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
528<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC16" title="Up section"> Up </a>]</td>
529<td valign="middle" align="left">[ &gt;&gt; ]</td>
530<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
531<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
532<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
533<td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
534<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
535<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
536<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
537<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
538</tr></table>
539<h2 class="section"> 3.2 Options </h2>
540<dl compact="compact">
541<dt> <samp>`-L'</samp></dt>
542<dd><p>Print the license.
543</p></dd>
544<dt> <samp>`-h'</samp></dt>
545<dd><p>Print the help.
546</p></dd>
547<dt> <samp>`-f configfile'</samp></dt>
548<dd><p>Use <tt>`configfile'</tt> instead of <tt>`/etc/ffserver.conf'</tt>.
549</p></dd>
550</dl>
551
552
553<hr size="6">
554<a name="SEC_About"></a>
555<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
556<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC1" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
557<td valign="middle" align="left">[Contents]</td>
558<td valign="middle" align="left">[Index]</td>
559<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
560</tr></table>
561<h1>About This Document</h1>
562<p>
563 This document was generated on <i>June, 30 2006</i> using <a href="http://texi2html.cvshome.org/"><i>texi2html 1.76</i></a>.
564</p>
565<p>
566 The buttons in the navigation panels have the following meaning:
567</p>
568<table border="1">
569 <tr>
570 <th> Button </th>
571 <th> Name </th>
572 <th> Go to </th>
573 <th> From 1.2.3 go to</th>
574 </tr>
575 <tr>
576 <td align="center"> [ &lt; ] </td>
577 <td align="center">Back</td>
578 <td>previous section in reading order</td>
579 <td>1.2.2</td>
580 </tr>
581 <tr>
582 <td align="center"> [ &gt; ] </td>
583 <td align="center">Forward</td>
584 <td>next section in reading order</td>
585 <td>1.2.4</td>
586 </tr>
587 <tr>
588 <td align="center"> [ &lt;&lt; ] </td>
589 <td align="center">FastBack</td>
590 <td>beginning of this chapter or previous chapter</td>
591 <td>1</td>
592 </tr>
593 <tr>
594 <td align="center"> [ Up ] </td>
595 <td align="center">Up</td>
596 <td>up section</td>
597 <td>1.2</td>
598 </tr>
599 <tr>
600 <td align="center"> [ &gt;&gt; ] </td>
601 <td align="center">FastForward</td>
602 <td>next chapter</td>
603 <td>2</td>
604 </tr>
605 <tr>
606 <td align="center"> [Top] </td>
607 <td align="center">Top</td>
608 <td>cover (top) of document</td>
609 <td> &nbsp; </td>
610 </tr>
611 <tr>
612 <td align="center"> [Contents] </td>
613 <td align="center">Contents</td>
614 <td>table of contents</td>
615 <td> &nbsp; </td>
616 </tr>
617 <tr>
618 <td align="center"> [Index] </td>
619 <td align="center">Index</td>
620 <td>index</td>
621 <td> &nbsp; </td>
622 </tr>
623 <tr>
624 <td align="center"> [ ? ] </td>
625 <td align="center">About</td>
626 <td>about (help)</td>
627 <td> &nbsp; </td>
628 </tr>
629</table>
630
631<p>
632 where the <strong> Example </strong> assumes that the current position is at <strong> Subsubsection One-Two-Three </strong> of a document of the following structure:
633</p>
634
635<ul>
636 <li> 1. Section One
637 <ul>
638 <li>1.1 Subsection One-One
639 <ul>
640 <li>...</li>
641 </ul>
642 </li>
643 <li>1.2 Subsection One-Two
644 <ul>
645 <li>1.2.1 Subsubsection One-Two-One</li>
646 <li>1.2.2 Subsubsection One-Two-Two</li>
647 <li>1.2.3 Subsubsection One-Two-Three &nbsp; &nbsp;
648 <strong>&lt;== Current Position </strong></li>
649 <li>1.2.4 Subsubsection One-Two-Four</li>
650 </ul>
651 </li>
652 <li>1.3 Subsection One-Three
653 <ul>
654 <li>...</li>
655 </ul>
656 </li>
657 <li>1.4 Subsection One-Four</li>
658 </ul>
659 </li>
660</ul>
661
662<hr size="1">
663<p>
664 <font size="-1">
665 This document was generated on <i>June, 30 2006</i> using <a href="http://texi2html.cvshome.org/"><i>texi2html 1.76</i></a>.
666 </font>
667 <br>
668
669</p>
670</body>
671</html>
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