Skip to main content

Video on Demand (VoD)

VoD​

This is when you point MistServer to a storage for media. Local storage is always preferred since it's guaranteed to be fast, however remote storages such as remote mounts or S3-compatible storage are also supported. In any cases the first time MistServer loads in the media file it will be analysed and a DTSH file will be put next to it (if MistServer has rights to write in that folder). This servers to speed up seeking within the source and show metadata without having to touch the original file. This could mean the very first time loading a VoD asset the load time is slower. The DTSH file is not required and can be deleted, however it does speed up the load time & seeking within a file if kept available.

Linux / MacOS / Docker paths​

Linux and MacOS use normal file paths as returned by the system, e.g:

/User/example/example.mp4

Windows paths​

MistServer Windows builds rely on Cygwin, this means that the most compatible method to write downfiel paths within Windwos builds uses cygdrive/#/ syntax, e.g:

/cygdrive/c/User/example/videos/example.mp4

File input​

All you need to do for file file input is point MistServer towards the file and you're done. There is an option for a browse button to make locating the media source easier.

S3 storage​

S3 storage is supported as an input, however MistServer cannot write to S3 storage without an [external writer][externalwriter]. In order to access S3 compatible storage make sure your source starts with: s3+http:// or s3+https:// followed by the authorization information, address, bucket and file, e.g:

s3+https://account:password@example:9876/bucket/path/to/file.mp4

Folder input​

Instead of pointing MistServer to a single file you can point it towards a folder. This folder is then monitored and all files within are made available. In this case the full file name and extension will be the wildcard part of the folder stream name.

example of folder support

While the interface will not immediately show all the files within the folder, you can activate this by pressing the unfold "+" button. This is done to avoid loading in too many sources at once as this could slow down the interface.

tip
  • Polling the folder is a slow operation and not necessary if you know file names
  • If you find yourself relying on folder support, consider using the STREAM_SOURCE trigger instead