Unreal Media Server 10

Unreal Media Server v10.0 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Added support for RTMP Flash live encoders such as FMLE, Wirecast, xSplit etc.
Added support for automatic start and recovery of Apple HLS, MPEG2-TS and MS Smooth streaming.
Updated RTSP receiver component: better support for some older IP cameras.
Improved performance of UMS protocol streaming via RTP(UDP).

Unreal Media Server v9.5 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Added support for Apple Http live streaming (HLS).
Added support for Microsoft Smooth streaming.
Other RTMP clients than Flash player can now pull rtmp streams from server, such as xSplit, vMix, Wowza etc.
Fixes in RTSP receiver component: support for audio-only streams, ability to select streams.

Unreal Media Server v9.0 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Ability to receive live RTSP streams from IP Cameras and other RTSP sources.
Ability to receive live MPEG2-TS streams from broadcasting equipment.
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
New file engine allows streaming ANY possible file container format; no 3-rd party splitters needed any more.
RTMPT protocol support.
RTMP/RTMPT streaming for files.
Unicast and multicast streaming via MPEG2-TS protocol, for files and live broadcasts.

Unreal Live Server:
Live Server is completely free with no limitations:
Ability to encode with custom codecs and to record based on motion detection is included in the free version.
Live Server automatically reconnects live sources to Media Server on startup.
Removed size restriction for Flash-compatible encoding.
Improved support for USB cameras with hardware H264-encoding.
Ability to select Baseline and Main profiles in H264 codec.
Improved AAC Audio Encoding.
Improved mp4 recording.

Streaming Media Player, ActiveX control and cross-browser plugin:
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
Player automatically connects via HTTP if TCP/UDP connection attempt failed.


Unreal Media Server v9.5 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Added support for Apple Http live streaming (HLS).
Added support for Microsoft Smooth streaming.
Other RTMP clients than Flash player can now pull rtmp streams from server, such as xSplit, vMix, Wowza etc.
Fixes in RTSP receiver component: support for audio-only streams, ability to select streams.

Unreal Media Server v9.0 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Ability to receive live RTSP streams from IP Cameras and other RTSP sources.
Ability to receive live MPEG2-TS streams from broadcasting equipment.
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
New file engine allows streaming ANY possible file container format; no 3-rd party splitters needed any more.
RTMPT protocol support.
RTMP/RTMPT streaming for files.
Unicast and multicast streaming via MPEG2-TS protocol, for files and live broadcasts.

Unreal Live Server:
Live Server is completely free with no limitations:
Ability to encode with custom codecs and to record based on motion detection is included in the free version.
Live Server automatically reconnects live sources to Media Server on startup.
Removed size restriction for Flash-compatible encoding.
Improved support for USB cameras with hardware H264-encoding.
Ability to select Baseline and Main profiles in H264 codec.
Improved AAC Audio Encoding.
Improved mp4 recording.

Streaming Media Player, ActiveX control and cross-browser plugin:
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
Player automatically connects via HTTP if TCP/UDP connection attempt failed.


Unreal Media Server v9.0 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
Ability to receive live RTSP streams from IP Cameras and other RTSP sources.
Ability to receive live MPEG2-TS streams from broadcasting equipment.
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
New file engine allows streaming ANY possible file container format; no 3-rd party splitters needed any more.
RTMPT protocol support.
RTMP/RTMPT streaming for files.
Unicast and multicast streaming via MPEG2-TS protocol, for files and live broadcasts.

Unreal Live Server:
Live Server is completely free with no limitations:
Ability to encode with custom codecs and to record based on motion detection is included in the free version.
Live Server automatically reconnects live sources to Media Server on startup.
Removed size restriction for Flash-compatible encoding.
Improved support for USB cameras with hardware H264-encoding.
Ability to select Baseline and Main profiles in H264 codec.
Improved AAC Audio Encoding.
Improved mp4 recording.

Streaming Media Player, ActiveX control and cross-browser plugin:
Native support for UMS protocol via HTTP transport; UHttpProxy is now used for HTTPS transport only.
Player automatically connects via HTTP if TCP/UDP connection attempt failed.


Unreal Media Server v8.0 Release Notes.

Unreal Media Server:
RTP(UDP) Unicast protocol support.
Unicode support for Aliases, Virtual Folders, Usernames, Passwords, Metadata etc. - you can specify them in any language.
Fixed Multicast and MMS streaming of some mp4 and wmv files.

Unreal Live Server:
RTP(UDP) Unicast protocol support.
Unicode support.
Recording of h.264/AAC content into MP4 files.
Fixed AAC Audio Encoding out-of-synch problem.

Streaming Media Player, ActiveX control and cross-browser plugin:
RTP(UDP) Unicast protocol support.
Unicode support.
Ability to play in FullScreen mode from the beginning.
Ability to prohibit FullScreen.
Fixed problem of black video window when returning from FullScreen mode on Windows7/Vista.


Unreal Media Server v7.5 Release Notes.

Media Server:
Ability to disable/enable live broadcasts and virtual folders.
Support for VLC player via MMS protocol.
Improved audio-video synchronization for Flash player.
Support for AAC encoding for Flash player.
More video resolutions for Flash player.
Improved Session-based authentication: now with IP Address validation.

Live Server:
AAC Audio Encoding.
Ability to disable/enable live sources.
Deinterlacing now takes place before resizing.


Unreal Media Server v 7.0:

On March 22, 2010 the new version 7.0 of Media and Live servers has been released, adding VC1 and H.264 encoding, and ability to stream to Flash player through support of RTMP protocol.


Unreal Media Server v 6.0:
Streaming over MMS protocol is now possible with Session-based authentication.
Ability to listen on specific IP address.
Connection limits can now be set per every virtual folder or live broadcast.
Option to notify Archival Server to record a live broadcast when it's active.

Unreal Live Server v 6.0:
Auto-Cleanup for recorded files.
Video Deinterlace filter.
Video Crop/Resize filter.
Ability to specify Key Frame time interval for WMV compression.

Client Activex control v 5.0:
The ActiveX control was rebuilt with VS 2008, to resolve DEP issue caused by ATL 7, which prevented developers
hosting the ActiveX control in c# applications in VS 2008.


On September 24, 2007 the new 5.5 version of Media Server was released. Support for MMS delivery protocol was added to Media Server, allowing interoperability with variety of MMS-capable players on any OS. Live Server and Streaming Media Player (ActiveX control) remain version 5.0.


Unreal Media Server 5.0 Release notes.

1. Live video “Snapshot” function in the player; Live Config may allow or prohibit it per live source.
2. “Local preview” option in Live Server – the player can directly connect to Live Server only if player and live server run on the same computer.
3. Media Server Config shows all connections from live servers, including idle ones.
4. HTTPS protocol.
5. ActiveX control default appearance is without the flowbar.
6. Properties window in the ActiveX control show codecs information.
7. “Recently played resources” dialog box added to Streaming Media Player.
8. Two streaming delivery modes for live sources: Near Real Time and Buffered.
9. Full Screen mode can be toggled with left mouse doubleclick.
10. Optional display of playback status text on the video window.
11. Limit concurrent connections per each authenticated user and per all anonymous users.
12. Delegate live broadcasts - server-to-server live streaming capability.
13. Improved TV-tuners audio support.
14. Windows Media codecs support for live audio / video sources.
15. Support for hardware appliances - streaming hardware compressed content without software transcoding.

January 16 2007.
Unreal Streaming Technologies.


On November 7, 2005 the new 4.0 version was released. Here is the list of most important new features and improvements added in the new version:

# Support for "behind NAT firewall" Live Servers: ability for Live Server to initiate a connection to Media Server.
# Audio/Video recording built-in to the Live Server, based on scheduler or motion/beat detection, independently of streaming.
# Media Server configuration program allows monitoring, kicking users and setting timeouts for live broadcasts.
# Player allows playlist retrieval and browsing.
# Custom Size, Logo, Error handling for ActiveX control.
# Performance improvements for all parts of the system.


On January 12, 2005 we have released a service pack for version 3.0.
Several problems related to multicast and video-only live sources were corrected, and some components were updated.

Unreal Media Server is a software streaming server for Windows operating systems, offering rich choice of live and on demand streaming functionality.

The server supports live media sources and recorded media files.

File formats include all the types supported by Microsoft DirectX, namely:
AVI, MPEG-1 (VCD), MPEG-2 (SVCD, DVD), MPEG-4, MPA, WMV, WMA, ASF, MP3, QuickTime (version 2 and lower). Other file formats and compression types are supported with additional installation of corresponding codecs, such as DivX, XVid, VP6, MP4, AC3, H.264.

Unreal Media Server does not transcode or decode files when streaming; the files are streamed "as is"; the player is able to playback these files if appropriate codecs are installed on player's computer.

Playlist functionality allows automatically playing all the files of server's virtual folder in a loop mode. Files can be unicasted in "on-demand" mode or multicasted in "live" mode.

Supported live media sources include: USB/Firewire digital cameras, IP network cameras, microphones, TV-tuner cards, analog video sources (analog camera or TV) connected to Graphics card, Video Capture card or hardware encoder appliance that supports DirectShow interface. There can be multiple live sources on a single computer. Hardware-encoded content can be streamed "as is" without software transcoding.

Codecs used for live video compression: VC1 (WMV9), H.264 and Microsoft MPEG-4 V2. Codecs used for live audio compression: Fraunhofer MPEG Layer-3 (MP3), GSM 6.10 and WMA.

Two streaming delivery modes are supported: Near-Real-Time and Buffered. Conferencing applications requiring low latency can take advantage of 0.2 - 2 seconds latency provided by Near-Real-Time mode, where buffer sizes are minimal and aggressive leaking-flushing bucket algorithms are enforced. When low latency is not required, Buffered mode can be used, allowing servers to buffer media in order to compensate on network jitter and congestions.

Live content can be recorded based on scheduler or motion detection, independently of streaming.

Unreal Media Server supports variety of streaming protocols allowing playing with Flash player, Silverlight, Windows Media Player and Unreal Streaming Media Player on Windows, MAC, Linux and Mobile devices.

RTMP protocol can be used for streaming to Flash player; MMS-H protocol serves for streaming to Silverlight, Windows Media Player and other MMS-capable players. Our own proprietary, codec-independent streaming protocol is used for streaming to Unreal Streaming Media Player. Our protocol can be realized via TCP-unicast streams, RTP Multicast streams and HTTP(S) unicast streams via IIS web server.

Unreal Streaming Media Player run on Windows PCs and on Handheld Devices running Windows Mobile 5 or higher operating system. Player can be embedded into web page as an ActiveX control for IE browser or as a plugin for Firefox, Netscape, Mozilla, Safari, Opera and Chrome.

Incoming content is not stored on client computer's hard disk and user is not allowed to save media locally, thus author's rights are fully protected.
User authentication and access restrictions enable trusted access to media resources. User logging provides means to track user activity.

SDK allows automation and customization of Server behavior.