Knowledge base

This guide explains how to broadcast an online meeting via kMeet in a separate stream accessible through a unique URL using Infomaniak's Video Streaming.

Preamble

• Broadcasting a conference-type meeting in a Video Streaming stream rather than within the kMeet app offers several advantages:
  • Public large-scale broadcasting without limiting access to an audience restricted to invited participants.
  • Attracting a wider audience, such as conferences, webinars, or live events, where hundreds or thousands of viewers can follow the event without joining a private call.
  • It allows you to reach an unlimited number of viewers.
  • No need to manage access for each participant, the stream can be viewed via a simple link.
  • Only a web browser is required to access the streaming feed.
  • Passive access: viewers are not forced to participate actively or interact; they can simply watch the event without registering or logging in, which is better suited for large events.
  • No voice interruptions or microphone-related disturbances; this keeps the stream smoother and focused on the speaker.
  • Higher streaming resolution when kMeet might be limited by bandwidth constraints and lower video quality to avoid network overload.

Create the Video Streaming sharing link

Requirements

• Streaming a kMeet video feed within a Video Streaming feed is possible with the kSuite Pro or Enterprise offer only.
• You must be a moderator of the kMeet to create a live streaming link, but it is not necessary to have an Infomaniak Video Streaming offer.

Then:

1. Start kMeet via kmeet.infomaniak.com or from one of the apps for desktop or mobile devices.
2. Once in the meeting, click on the action menu ○○○ in the kMeet toolbar.
3. Choose Start live streaming:
   
4. Click the Start button:
   
5. Wait for the Video Streaming feed to be created:
   
6. Once the stream link is displayed in the same place, click on the icon on the right to copy the URL for the live stream; paste the URL into a message to participants or anyone who needs to attend the live stream.
7. A symbol on kMeet and an audio signal will indicate the start of the live stream via Video Streaming:
   

The stream will run continuously for up to 24 hours, and will no longer be accessible once the kMeet meeting is stopped.

This guide explains how live broadcast a list of videos of the VOD service with the product Streaming video.

Preamble

• This feature makes it possible to use the VOD service to create a playlist of videos and then use the Streaming video service to broadcast it live, e.g. as part of a music channel, teleshopping, documentaries, etc.
• It is possible to drag ads between each video, manually or by using VAST tags.
• The playlist will be played in an infinite loop until the user stops it.

Streaming a VOD playlist

Prerequisites

• To have a VOD service (at least the free VOD space with the Streaming video service).
• Owning a Streaming video service in the same Organization and managed by the same account.

To make up the playlist, import a few videos:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on the button Select (in the partRapid import).

Once the videos are imported:

1. Click on Media in the left side menu.
2. Click on Playlists / WebTV in the left side menu.
3. Click on the button for add a new playlist.
4. Name the playlist and determine if it should be automatic (related to a file) or manual.
5. Choose the specific folder or videos to use to build the playlist.
6. Click on the button Create a Direct:
   
7. Choose the service stream of Streaming video which will have to broadcast the playlist and adjust your preferences:
   

Some examples of use

The broadcast of a playlist can be used as fallback solution as soon as a live shuts down (voluntaryly or unintentionally) and in this case take the relay to the antenna. As soon as the live encoder pushes back a stream, he takes his hand on the playlist. This makes it possible to broadcast alternative content if there is a problem on the direct or if the user only broadcasts live live in the evening, e.g., it can automate the broadcast of playlist content the rest of the day.

It is also possible to program the broadcast of a playlist from the video streaming planning tool. Thus one can choose unique or different playlist broadcast range in advance, or in a recurring way. The encoder broadcasting live will be disconnected automatically throughout the broadcast of the playlist; once the time range is over, the encoder will reconnect and its content will be broadcast.

This guide explains how to prohibit access to Streaming video Infomaniak with a single key (hash).

Preamble

• This method offers the best level of protection and allows e.g. to restrict your broadcasts to a member space requiring authentication.
• As the way to generate this code is site-specific, it will be necessary to implement the required PHP functions and adapt your player's integration code accordingly.

Restrict access to single key broadcasts (hash)

To this end:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Parametersin the left side menu.
4. Click on Restrictionsin the left side menu.
5. Click on the tab Restriction by single hash:
   

Operation of restrictions

This method requires to retrieve information related to the configuration of your stream and the user that connects.

It is first necessary to define a password (a key) at the level of the Manager Infomaniak. Once this key is added, connected spectators and those trying to view your feed will be blocked instantly.

Here is the principle to allow access to your stream:

• Design of an authentication system by you (e.g. a member area).
• Take the password configured above on the Manager.
• Recover IP from Internet users via $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"] e.g.
• Take the flow identifier to be targeted.
• Recover the date as well as the current time (without minutes and seconds).

These elements will then be hashed by the code provided in the Manager in order to generate a unique and unique token for each user who will be transmitted to the stream at the time of loading. The streaming platform will then check the validity of the hash to allow or reject the connection.

Important remarks

• In order to ensure safe access to the flow, the validity of each token is limited in time.
• It is important to disable the cache on pages that allow access to the stream; indeed, if the generation of the token is cached, other users will try to authenticate themselves with someone else's hash, which will cause their rejection even if they have the permission to consume the stream.

This guide explains how to make a 360° live with the video streaming service of Infomaniak.

Prerequisites

• Have a 360 camera compatible with one of the following formats:
  • equirectangular 360 monoscopic (2D)
  • equirectangular 360 stereoscopic (3D) side by side (left/right separation)
  • equirectangular 360 stereoscopic (3D) top/bottom (top/bottom separation)
• Your encoder or camera must also be able to send a flow via a RTMP connection (learn more).
• Finally, note that a 360° video stream requires a source with a high bitrate and a flow control set in mode CBR The bitrate will depend on the type of content and the consumption of data which will also be greater than with a standard stream.
   

Create a 360° player

The broadcasting of a 360° live requires a 360° player. This option is free and quickly activates:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Integrationthen on Players in the left side menu for create or edit an existing player.
4. Check the box Player 360 and configure the projection (360 format):
   
5. Click on the button Save.
6. All content broadcast by this player (whether in 360 format or not) will now be interpreted as 360°.

This guide explains how to record or archive all of your broadcasts Streaming video, which can be useful for creating TV replays or re-viewing videos recorded by surveillance cameras e.g.

Manage automatic recording of live broadcasts

To enable this option:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product concerned.
3. Enable Direct Recording by the toggle switch (toggle switch)from the flow dashboard:
   

Once this feature is enabled, the stream will be automatically and perpetually saved from the moment it is sent to (or pulled by) the Infomaniak platform.

Stay alert to your FTP space that could quickly be saturated. In case of need, you also have the possibility to manually plan records from the planning tool.

Operation of automatic recording

Once this option is enabled, an mp4 file will be automatically generated after each broadcast, which will be transferred to the FTP or VOD space configured by you.

Important clarifications:

• A broadcast is defined as the moment between connection and disconnection to the video encoder.
• Record quality: in the case of a multi-bitrate stream, the maximum source quality will be retained.
• Limiting file size: In case of continuous streaming, you have the option to set the maximum duration of each mp4 file; this option allows you to avoid generating too heavy files and to guarantee the recording of your archives to the FTP or VOD space of your choice (and once the time is reached, the recording is automatically stopped and then sent by FTP and a new record is launched).

Customization of record names

To allow you to easily identify and classify your archives, the records name is dynamically customizable using specified parameters between braces.

Example:

template_{stream_id}_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd_hh:mm:ss}_{fragment_id|from:1|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension}

• stream_id = represents the flow identifier in the form of a string.
• date|formatISO 8601 = date of registration.
• time|format: ISO 8601 = time of registration.
• datetime|formatISO 8601 = date and time of registration.
• fragment_id|from:number|prefix:string|suffix:string: = fragment number in case a record is cut with the possibility of prefixing and/or suffixing it.
  • Each fragment will be incremented, "from" to indicate which will be the first reference fragment.
• extension = final file extension.

These parameters and their options are optional and their order is completely free. They can be used as many times as desired. If you provide the same option several times, only the last one will be taken into account. Any unrecognized option will simply be ignored.

Example 1

Situation: you have two daily programming, the first starts at 10:00 and the second at 8:05. Configuring file naming in this way template_{date|format:hh:mm:ss} you will get the following file names:

For the day of December 5, 2019:

• The first recording at 10:00 am will be called: template-10:00:00.mp4
• The second recording at 8:05 p.m. will be called: template-20:05:00.mp4

For the day of December 6, 2019:

• The first recording at 10:00 am will be called: template-10:00:00.mp4
  The recording of the day before the same name will be crushed and replaced by it.
• The second recording at 8:05 p.m. will be called: template-20:05:00.mp4
  The recording of the day before the same name will be crushed and replaced by it.
• etc.

This logic can be particularly useful for having a loop recording system, for example for a video surveillance. The user will recover the video only if needed and this avoids archiving a potentially infinite number of videos at the risk of saturating the FTP space.

Example 2

Situation: This time you have a perpetual recording, 24/7, with a time limit of 360 minutes. Configuring file naming in this way template_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd}_{fragment_id|from:1|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension} you will get the following file names:

• The first file of the day at 00:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05.mp4
• The second file of the day at 6:00 am will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(1).mp4
• The third file of the day at 12:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(2).mp4
• The fourth file of the day at 6:00 p.m. will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(3).mp4

Configuring file naming in this way template_{date|format:YYYY-MM-dd}_{fragment_id|from:0|prefix:fragment_(|suffix:)}.{extension} you will get the following names:

• The first file of the day at 00:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(0).mp4
• The second file of the day at 6:00 am will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(1).mp4
• The third file of the day at 12:00 will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(2).mp4
• The fourth file of the day at 6:00 p.m. will be called: template_2019-02-05_fragment(3).mp4

This guide explains how to activate and use the Timeshift function (also called DVR) on your live video broadcasts. This feature allows your spectators to go back if they have not had the opportunity to attend your direct from the beginning.

Enable Timeshift (DVR) function

In order to access the Video Streaming service:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Configure under Timeshift from the dashboard:
   
4. Enable Timeshift.
5. Set the length of time your spectators will be able to go back (max. 240 min.).
6. Click on the button Enable:
   

Customize Timeshift function

It is possible to activate this option via the planning tool on a specific schedule and thus limit this possibility to certain programmes. The parameters defined in the planning tool will overwrite the default state defined from the dashboard.

To understand this, imagine a TV that broadcasts a 10h and 12h football game.

1. The TV only wants to activate Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators who join the live at 11:59 a.m. will be able to see the beginning of the game again at 10 a.m., but they will not be able to see the shows that preceded the game before 10 a.m. For memory, the maximum duration. of the Timeshift is 240 min. ( 4 a.m.).
 

2. The TV only wants to activate a 20 minute Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators who join the live at 11.30 a.m. will be able to see the previous 20 minutes, but they will not be able to see the beginning of the game again; only the last 20 slippery minutes will be accessible throughout the game.
 

3. TV wants to disable Timeshift during the game

With this configuration, spectators will not be able to see parts of the game again. They will only be able to see the shows before the match if the Timeshift function has been enabled by default from the feed dashboard

In summary, there are therefore 2 cases of use.

1. Enable Timeshift continuously, except for special events.
2. Disable Timeshift continuously, except for special events.

The default status is managed from the flow dashboard and exceptions from the planning tool.

Learn more about how it works

If you have set a Timeshift of one hour and you have just activated it, the return time will gradually increase to the chosen time from the time of activation.

If geographical restrictions are defined with a specific time range, they will in all cases be respected. In the event that a 4h Timeshift TV would book its sports program to visitors Swiss From 10am to 12pm, a spectator Italian which would connect to the stream at 1 p.m. could only review the emissions from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

This guide explains how to prohibit access to Streaming video Infomaniak outside your own site only.

Restricting access to broadcasting to a domain

To this end:

1. Click here in order to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak (Need help?).
2. Click directly on the nameallocated to the product concerned.
3. Click on Parametersin the left side menu.
4. Click on Restrictionsin the left side menu.
5. Click on the tab Restriction by domain:
   
6. Define the sites which must be specifically authorized to load the flow.
7. Click on the button Save.

This guide explains how to customise a player with the image of your choice if you have added restrictions to your themes or in the following cases:

• Scheduled interruption of the broadcast (possibility to display a countdown before resuming the broadcast)
• Geographical restrictions 
• Other restrictions (blocking via IP, domain(s), token, etc.)

Customising the thumbnails of a player

1. open the Manager (manager.infomaniak.com)
2. go to Video streaming
3. click on the stream concerned
4. click on Integration then on Players in the menu to the left
5. click on the player to be customised
6. go to the Thumbnails tab
7. customise the thumbnails of your choice

This guide explains how to manage potential overages of consumption for Infomaniak's video streaming.

Acting Before Exceeding

In case of exceeding the package, an overage invoice will be generated, which may result in an additional cost. It is therefore important to choose the right option to apply in case of overconsumption.

In order to access the video streaming service:

1. log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
2. click on the ‍ icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
3. select Video Streaming (under Streaming)
4. click on Manage
5. click on Manage Overages
   

The 3 possibilities in case of exceeding are:

• A. Interrupt the live stream
• B. Set a limit (in GB or TO) before interrupting live streams
• C. Continue broadcasting 

This guide explains the possible origins of any latency you may observe between the source of a video and its live streaming via the Infomaniak video streaming service.

Availability in Case of...

... rendering on the Manager

Once your encoder is connected to Infomaniak master servers, the stream may undergo several transformations, especially in the case of transcoding or adding a watermark. In these cases, the video must be re-encoded in one or more formats, which requires processing time that inevitably affects the final rendering.

... single-bitrate stream without processing

In this case, the stream is available within just a few seconds.

... transcoded stream or with watermark

This processing takes about 25 seconds for the transformed stream to be visible in the different qualities.

... delay between the source and the rendering to viewers

To avoid micro-cuts during streaming, the video player buffers several seconds of the video. Thus, you may easily notice a delay of 30 to 60 seconds between the original source and the stream rendered to viewers.

To minimize this delay, the only way is to have a single-bitrate stream, without transcoding, without watermark, with a not too high bitrate, and to reduce the buffer as much as possible in the player configuration. Depending on your needs, it is necessary to make a compromise between the immediacy of streaming and the features you want to use to enhance your viewers' experience and customize the branding of your live broadcasts.