Do I Really Need 'Windows Media Server' ???

[mark4man]

man...

...[it's been so long since I launced my music site, I forgot why I thought it was neccessary, but]...

my Hosting service (Hostway) offered Windows Media Server at the time. I wanted visitors to have the ability to quickly stream .wma's, so I went for the cost.

now...I'm unemployed; & money is real tight...so, I was thinking of dropping Hostway...going over to GoDaddy; & switching my means of musical delivery to .mp3's.

So:

1) How much slower is mp3 streaming from a conventional server than .wma from a dedicated server ???

2) Is there a way to speed it (mp3) up (save decreasing file size) ???

3) Will .wma's stream without the dedicated server; & if so...how is that implemented ???

I really need to save money in this economy...but I don't want my listeners to suffer. Is that possible ???

Thanks,


mark4man



UPDATE:

I remember now...fear of piracy (someone convinced me that it's impossible for an end user to save a streamed .wma on their PC). So by utilizing WMS, visitors to my site could hear an entire song...but not swipe it.

So...a follow up question:

If I find the html code to EMBED .wma's in a page...is that: A) just as fast (in terms of streaming...i.e., not having to use Windows Media Server) ??? B) just as secure ???

how about embedding .mp3's as a solution...but the end user has to have the particular player installed on their system, correct ???

Thanks again,

mf

 

[VomitHatSteve]

There's always a way for them to jack your songs if you stream them. If nothing else, your listeners could just record them with Audacity or something.

If you're not a big enough act that you can afford to license a solution from your music proceeds, I wouldn't bother, honestly. Are you really that worried about people downloading your songs? Most of us would just be happy that people are listening to them!

 

[mark4man]

thanks...

well...now that I've thought about it; & taken another look at my existing site, I kind of like the aesthetics I designed in to the musical compositions page. It has a nice background, w/ larger-than-usual text links to .wma's (which are actually links to .wax files which point to the .wma's on the server).

But I like the look of a simple text link to a music file...which brings me back to one of my original questions:

what exactly makes an mp3 file stream?

if I replace those .wma's w/ mp3's...located on my server in a normal fashion...& the end-user simply clicks on the link...the mp3's will open the end-users DEFAULT mp3 player, correct? & however large the file is determines the amount of time it takes to stream & queue to a point where it can begin playing?

I.e., I don't need any special coding to stream mp3, do I ?

Thanks again; & sorry for all the trouble (I just want to get this right)...


mf


(BTW - I realize this method would throw security to the wolves, but I can always do song snippets or movements faded together, etc.). Plus...as you said...who cares?...it may be a plus.

 

[mattr]

how about embedding .mp3's as a solution...but the end user has to have the particular player installed on their system, correct ???

MP3 has far greater cross-platform compatibility than streaming Windows Media rubbish

Just directly link to the MP3s like most people do.

Different OSs and browsers treat MP3s in different ways...
e.g. If I point my browser to the URL of an MP3 at the moment then it will fire up the Quicktime plugin and start playing it in the browser as it streams. If I booted into one of my other 4 OSs then I might experience different behavior, e.g. I'm given the choice to download the MP3 then it opens in a media player once the download has finished.

Different OSs and browsers treat MP3s in different ways...
e.g. If I point my browser to the URL of an MP3 at the moment then it will fire up the Quicktime plugin and start playing it in the browser as it streams. If I booted into one of my other 4 OSs then I might experience different behavior, e.g. I'm given the choice to download the MP3 then it opens in a media player once the download has finished.

If you really want some kind of buffering audio player, then this flash MP3 player is used quite often. Its designed to be used with Wordpress, but you can use it standalong and customise it to your needs quite easily...
http://wpaudioplayer.com/standalone
http://www.1pixelout.net/code/audio-player-wordpress-plugin/

Don't worry about security - if people really want to rip your music then they will find a way, so you really should just be happy that people are listening to your music. Any form of copy protection / DRM is flawed by design, mainly because at one point or another the signal has to shed its protection and make its way into the analog domain. Other than being totally useless, it just restricts and annoys the end user such that it probably puts some off visiting your site again

 

[lcjones]

No, you don't need a streaming server to stream audio. There are plenty of flash based players you can put into your web site (page) and stream your mp3 files.

To stream mp3's on the cheap, use the "m3u" list protocol that points to your mp3 files.
( as an example, see http://thejangleband.com and no, that's not a plug for my band but a plug for streaming mp3's)



Chap

 

[mark4man]

guys...

thanks again.

[forgot to come back & check on my post...sorry.]

Decided to go w/ .wma's (streamed in a typical manner) as opposed to mp3 (I listened to both encoded at 320kbps; & liked .wma better).

anyway...when I tried it...much to my astonishment...they buffered & streamed just as fast as they did from my former dedicated windows media server. (I'm now w/ GoDaddy; & the media files are located in their own folder in the root directory...nice & simple).

But...

...they seem to hic-cup at the very beginning of playback...the music starts a second or so into the peice...not at the very beginning (cutting off a tiny bit of music as a result).

So I'm thinking that it may be the way I have my meta file structured (the asx text file that points to the media file)...& the fact that things may be different now that the tunes are being streamed in a typical way (& not from a dedicated server).

I found two basic types on the web:

<asx version = "3.0">
  <entry>
    <ref href = "mms://myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma" />
    <ref href = "http://myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma" />
  </entry>
</asx>

<ASX version="3.0">
   <TITLE>MySong</TITLE>
   <ENTRY>
      <REF HREF="mms://www.myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma"/>
   </ENTRY>
</ASX>

So:

Q1) Which one is the authentic deal ???

Q2) Why are the mms & http refs combined in the second section (& is that why www. has been added to the combined tag) ???

Q3) Am I right in assuming that my meta file is causing the music to jump-start ??

Q4) As a digital musician w/ only a meager knowledge of html coding...what in the h*** do I do now ???

Thanks a million,


mark4man


BTW - Icjones...cool band, great music (you old hippie, you). Me?, I was the last guy to leave Woodstock...Hendrix told us he was only jammin', but I stayed awhile anyway.

also...what kind of embedded player is that, Chap ???...I like it. It allows you to play the entire song? (which was a concern of mine before).

 

[mjr]

guys...

thanks again.

[forgot to come back & check on my post...sorry.]

Decided to go w/ .wma's (streamed in a typical manner) as opposed to mp3 (I listened to both encoded at 320kbps; & liked .wma better).

anyway...when I tried it...much to my astonishment...they buffered & streamed just as fast as they did from my former dedicated windows media server. (I'm now w/ GoDaddy; & the media files are located in their own folder in the root directory...nice & simple).

But...

...they seem to hic-cup at the very beginning of playback...the music starts a second or so into the peice...not at the very beginning (cutting off a tiny bit of music as a result).

So I'm thinking that it may be the way I have my meta file structured (the asx text file that points to the media file)...& the fact that things may be different now that the tunes are being streamed in a typical way (& not from a dedicated server).

I found two basic types on the web:

<asx version = "3.0">
  <entry>
    <ref href = "mms://myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma" />
    <ref href = "http://myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma" />
  </entry>
</asx>

<ASX version="3.0">
   <TITLE>MySong</TITLE>
   <ENTRY>
      <REF HREF="mms://www.myserver.com/mediafolder/mysong.wma"/>
   </ENTRY>
</ASX>

So:

Q1) Which one is the authentic deal ???

Q2) Why are the mms & http refs combined in the second section (& is that why www. has been added to the combined tag) ???

Q3) Am I right in assuming that my meta file is causing the music to jump-start ??

Q4) As a digital musician w/ only a meager knowledge of html coding...what in the h*** do I do now ???

Thanks a million,


mark4man


BTW - Icjones...cool band, great music (you old hippie, you). Me?, I was the last guy to leave Woodstock...Hendrix told us he was only jammin', but I stayed awhile anyway.

also...what kind of embedded player is that, Chap ???...I like it. It allows you to play the entire song? (which was a concern of mine before).

One other thing you might want to consider is a streaming MP3. Google .m3u, and you'll see what I mean.