Discussion, feedback and suggestion about streaming video feature

I mentioned this to a Linden during my brief visit into the preview and was advised to post about it in the Feature Suggestion section. When I saw this section here, I figured that it was more appropriate since it does pertain to the features in Version 1.6. This post is about a specific feature: Streaming Video.

I know that it has been suggested before regarding the land settings for the streaming audio, but could we please have a land setting feature that allows us to make the URL invisible to others. There are many sites that offer paid services for allowing the streaming of music and videos, and if a player pays for said service, it would be unfair that others could simply copy the URL without paying, in a way scamming the service company. Also, I have found many videos online and would like to ask the owners for permission to stream their videos on my land, but if the URL will be visible to others, I would not want to do this, as it would end up causing problems to the owners of the videos since they would have given the permission to me and not the people that copy the URL.

Just wondering what others think about this and if they would like this feature implemented as well.

Yeah... seems kinda obvious. Not sure why they didn't do it?

Also, we must have llSetParcelMediaURL!

I think it is a good idea to be able to hide the URL. While it wouldn't stop someone from snooping the packets themselves to find the address, it would prevent 90+% of such duplication of stream.

And with the added cost of maintaining a video server and the bandwidth it requires, I would NOT want to stream video WITHOUT the ability to hide the URL. I'd be too scared of the bandwidth overage charges at the end of the month.

Really, this is a MUST-do change...

I endorse this suggestion/feature!

I would also like the streaming media volume slider to actually work in a way that makes some sense. Currently I can turn the volume down, and the audio is quiet while the stream is playing, however if the stream is changed or restarted, the volume goes all the way back up, even though the slider remains where I set it. If I go back into preferences and touch the slider, the volume snaps back down to the desired level. While we're fixing this bug, it would also be nice if the music and streaming media volume settings would persist across logins. Currently if I adjust the streaming music slider, log out and back in, it goes back to the default setting, and requires me to adjust it again. I imagine the streaming media (video) volume will most likely work the same way. I think it should remember where we set them, and remain that way until we change them.

Another suggestion that I would like to see implemented regarding streaming video, is localized sound. I would prefer that the sound from streaming video be localized to the object(s) playing the stream. Some of us have large parcels of land, and it doesn't make much sense to me that if I have a video stream set up in one corner of my land, and I am working in another corner, that the audio sounds like it's all around me. I realize this may be a lot of work, but if we're going through the trouble of bringing video into SL, let's do it right. I am sure some of you will say "Well if you don't want to hear the stream, why play it while you're working in another area?" To this, my response is, that on group land, with more than one group member using the land, if a fellow group member is watching a video, everyone on the land now hears the stream, unless they disable streaming media in preferences, which honestly would get tiring turning on and off all the time.

Just some thoughts,
McW

*Insert HUGE /stamp here*

Yes, hidden URL should be a requirement, I suspect that LL (like myself and most others) did not see the full implications here. Without hiding the URL it could become the most unused feature in SL besides joints.

I posted here about the audio, look a page or two back (no answer last I checked). It's downright annoying, and another reason video will become an unused but useful feature.

As for localized sound, a possible workaround short-term: Can't you subdivide out the area that holds the streaming video? There is already a button to keep the media sounds to parcel, so this looks like the simpler fix for now. But yes, localizing it would be a nice tweak.

If you hide the URL I can just type "netstat" to find the source IP.

Like others have posted, there are still other ways to copy the URL, but at least by making it invisible it will be less accessible given that not many people know about this way to find the source IP. Are there any ways to be able to hide the URL even by this means? Maybe LL can find a way to do so if other people share their suggestions.

Yet another thought on streaming video:

With the ability to change video streams from scripts now, it would be nice if the stream would auto align when changed from a script. If a person wanted to set up a video jukebox or the like, it would be a lot easier if the stream aligned itself when changed. Sure we can play each stream one at a time and manually record the texture scaling, offsets, rotations, then change the settings from stored values when the stream is changed, but this doesn't allow for dynamic video sources. Just an idea.

McW

I agree. This feature is a must. Atleast hiding the URL will not make it so accessible to whomever visits the parcel.

Without this feature, i would be forced to constantly change filenames on my video host to keep people from scamming me.

Another reason it's a good idea to be able to hide the URL is for paid (within SL) events, like the ticketed duo concert Flaming Moe and I gave a few weeks ago. We used a "random" port number on the stream to make it less guessable, and not our usual port, but, of course, anyone at the show could simply IM the stream URL to the world. It wasn't a big issue for us (we were happy to have off-site listeners, since the event sold out), but in some cases where you want a performance to be really exclusive, a hidden parcel URL would cut down on unwanted listeners.

True, but that is of no use to you if you do not know the file (stream) name.

FC.

Agree. Please make it so we can hide the url. kthnxbye

If you have your own server, you could create a security model such that you send a hash as a part of the request.

The hash could be targeted against something like the date (rounded off to the nearest hour).

That way if someone wanted to borrow your stream, they'd have to go and grab it every hour. This would solve against the netstat problem as well.

however, I think simply making it non readable is the best idea.

All anyone would have to do is setup a proxy server and configure quicktime to pass all requests through it. Then you get the full url.

See this thread for ground work on individual streams per user. (an unregistered user could be fed an xml file instead of the stream, stop and start the steam which should refresh it. I'll write up some scripts to do this.

Yah, but the user would have to return to the parcel every hour to get the new URL. I can't imagine that would be worth it.