How can I code a server/client video and audio streaming application?

Question

I have to create a client/server system to stream video and audio. It would be very simple. Like youtube style. The server should attend clients providing a list of medias first and waiting the choice of each client to start streaming the media. Until create a socket and showing a simple list I'm on it ;) But I don't know which class could I use to stream. The example is basically youtube style. How can I start streaming, How can client pause reproduction, how can? I know how to stream text but what about video? Do you know any tutorial page? It's very different from this simple server client example?

import java.io.*; 
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
public class ThreadedEchoServer {
 public static void main(String[] args) {
 try {
 int i = 1;
 ServerSocket s = new ServerSocket(8189);
 while(true) {
 Runnable r = new ThreadedEchoHandler(incoming, i);
 Thread t = new Thread(r);
 t.start();
 i++;
 }
 } catch (IOException e) {
 e.printStackTrace();
 }
 }
}
class ThreadedEchoHandler implements Runnable {
 private Socket incoming;
 private int counter;
 public ThreadedEchoHandler(Socket i, int c) {
 incoming = i;
 counter = c;
 }
 public void run() {
 try {
 try {
 InputStream inStream = incoming.getInputStream();
 OutputStream outStream = incoming.getOutputStream();
 Scanner in = new Scanner(inStream);
 PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(outStream);
 out.println("BYE to exit");
 boolean done = false;
 while (!done && in.hasNextLine()) {
 String line = in.nextLine()) {
 out.println("Echo: " + line);
 if (line.trim().equals("BYE"))
 done = true;
 out.println("BYE to exit");
 }
 } finally {
 incoming.close();
 }
 } catch (IOException e) {
 e.printStackTrace();
 }
}

Hope you could clarify my ideas. Kind regards.

• Anon.: What's your experience with Java networking? Have you coded up, say, a simple web server in Java yet?

Answer 1

For streaming and talking to your clients, you need to define a protocol: Search the web for RTP and RTSP. It should give you a pretty good idea of what you need to implement these protocols or even create your own one.

As for implementing, take a look at the red5 project: http://red5.org/

Take a look at Xuggler as well: http://www.xuggle.com/xuggler/ This project will help you saving lots of lines of code. Note that its development has gone stale.

Cheers.

Answer 2

Check out the Java Media Framework (it has tutorials): http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/desktop/media/jmf/

Does this even work?

 while(true) {
 Runnable r = new ThreadedEchoHandler(incoming, i);
 Thread t = new Thread(r);
 t.start();
 i++;
 }

I think your code would produce a bunch of threads with incoming socket connections... what you probably want to do is this:

 while(true) {
 Runnable r = new ThreadedEchoHandler(incoming.accept(), i);
 Thread t = new Thread(r);
 t.start();
 i++;
 }

The ThreadedEchoHandler should take a Socket instead of a ServerSocket. Accept blocks until a client connects, otherwise you'll be spawning an infinite number of threads without a connection... I don't think you have anything that will stop you from doing that at the moment.

Answer 3

Guys thank you very much for your answers and for editing title. I'm new here, new on java, new on networking. Why I'm making my skill on streaming? It's a study case. I'm looking at many tutorial about networking and I saw RTP but I didn't read about 'cause I thought (for reading on forums) it was just for real time streming meant as webcam streaming...but it's that I'm just so confused LOL

Lirik of course what you said, I forgot some lines of coding

while(true) {
 Socket incoming = s.accept();
 Runnable r = new ThreadedEchoHandler(incoming, i);
 ...

or as you said

while(true) {
 Runnable r = new ThreadedEchoHandler(s.accept(), i); 
 ...

Taking a look at what you said guys. Kind regards!