How to set up an audio/video streaming server on VPS

If you have VPS and want to stream audio files or video files, either .mp4 or .flv, you’ll need to set up a streaming server. An audio or video streaming server delivers media files to anyone who wants to view them on the Internet. Streaming is different from the process known as “progressive download” because with streaming, a person viewing your site can jump to any part of a file immediately, without having to wait for the entire file to download. (With streaming, there’s no buffering, and we all know how buffering can get on a lot of people’s nerves.) Streaming servers also keep your files safe and secure, and they don’t consume too much bandwidth either.

If you want to set up an audio or video streaming server on your VPS, all you have to do is purchase and install the server software. There are many brands of this software available, but top choices include Adobe Flash Media, Apple DSS, and Wowza. It can be expensive to buy this software outright (a thousand dollars is not uncommon), but if you’re running a small business, chances are you’ll find that you can get your money’s worth in terms of attracting new customers through exciting media content. . And with a VPS streaming server, you can control all aspects of this content, which is not the case, for example, with a shared hosting plan.

Let’s use Adobe FMS as an example. To install this software on your VPS, you simply download what is called a “development license”, a document that will give you step-by-step instructions through the entire setup process. So setup is quick and easy. And once you’ve set up your audio/video streaming server, all you have to do is take the audio or video files you already have and save them to the application folder. By the way, you will need to encrypt all your media files. Browsers tend to want to download media files and not stream those files, unless you’ve created what’s known as “metafiles” for them.

Another option for a streaming server is to rent a VPS account from someone who has already set up said server on that account. This person will have paid the full amount for that streaming server, which means that this VPS account is bound to be more expensive than a VPS account would normally be.