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Tutorial #3: Network Video Streaming

Up until now we’ve been streaming video from one application to another on the same computer.  Now we shall see how we can send video from one application on one computer to another application on a different computer.

Requirements

You will need two computers, which can both be running Windows and/or OSX.  It doesn’t matter which combination you use.

The two computers must be networked together using WiFi or Wired Ethernet.

You will need to install fugVidStreamTester on both computers (see Tutorial #1)

IMPORTANT: Firewall and/or Security Warnings

If at any point during this tutorial a message pops up asking you whether to allow fugVidStreamTester to access your network and/or act as a server, you must allow it otherwise your computer’s firewall will block the video stream and the following will not work.

Network Addressing

Each computer in a network must have a unique address.  We will be using IP4 (Internet Protocol version 4) addresses that look like 127.0.0.1 and 192.168.0.1 – four numbers between zero and 255 that are joined together with full-stops (and no spaces).

A computer may be part of several networks simultaneously, that means it may have several IP4 addresses.

There are some special addresses that have specific meanings, the most important of which (for our purposes) is the local address of 127.0.0.1 that always means “this computer”.

Running

1. Run fugVidStreamTester on the computer that you want to receive the video.  We will call this the destination.

2. Change the Protocol on the right hand side of the window to “Remote (TCP)”.  The destination will now be listening out for an incoming video stream.

3. Run fugVidStreamTester on the computer that you want to send the video.  We will call this the source.

4. Set the following configuration:

  • Protocol: Remote (TCP)
  • Channel: 0
  • Address: Leave blank for the moment
  • Width: 320
  • Height: 240
  • Compression Type: JPEG
  • Compression Level: 50

Note: We are purposely setting the source to send small, low quality video to begin with, as this is easier to test with.  We will increase the image size and quality as we progress.

5. To complete the configuration we need to set the destination’s address.  On both computers, in the fugVidStreamTester application, you will see a box on the right hand side that lists all the IP4 addresses that are assigned to each computer.

You will see both have the local address of 127.0.0.1, and they should also have one or more other addresses that we can potentially use.

Choose one of the IP4 addresses from the destination computer (not the local 127.0.0.1 address) and type it into the Address field on the source machine.  It has to be exactly the same else the information will not make it through.

6. On the source machine, click on Send.  If everything works you should see the source video now appearing on the destination computer.

7. If it doesn’t work then click Send again to stop, and try a different IP4 address from the destination machine.