Irene MacBain Final Report

BSc (Hons) Computer Networking

The Integration of a Live Video Stream with an Internet Radio

Broadcast

Irene MacBain

B00168173

24th April 2015

Supervisor: David Rodgers

Irene MacBain The Integration of a Live Video Stream With Internet Radio Broadcast

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Declaration

This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

of Computer Networking (Honours) in the University of the West of Scotland.

I declare that this dissertation embodies the results of my own work and that it has

been composed by myself. Following normal academic conventions, I have made

due acknowledgement to the work of others.

Name: IRENE MACBAIN

Signature:

Date: 24th April 2015


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Form to accompany Dissertation

To be completed in full

Surname MACBAIN

First Name IRENE Initials I.

Borrower ID Number B00168173

Course Code COMPNAM

Course Description BSc (Hons) Computer Networking

Project Supervisor David Rodgers

Dissertation Title The Integration of a Live Video Stream with an Internet Radio Broadcast

Session 2014/2015

Please ensure that a copy of this form is bound with your dissertation

before submission


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COMPUTING HONOURS PROJECT SPECIFICATION FORM Project Title: The Integration of Video Broadcast with Radio Broadcast Student: Irene MacBain Banner ID: B00168173 Supervisor: David Rodgers Moderator: Henry Wang Outline of Project: The demand for live video and radio broadcasts over the internet is increasing with the improved methods of connection via the use of optical fibre and better copper cable. The question addressed here, then, is whether or not it is possible to integrate the audio from video broadcasts into internet radio? Accessing video and radio streams has also become common place through mobile apps, though traditional broadcasters may not be aware of the benefits of broadcasting in this manner. Do these broadcasters understand what is required to integrate live internet video streams with radio streams through the internet and do they have the materials required to achieve this? Caleb Internet Radio Station (Caleb Radio) in conjunction with CCF have approached the Author to carry out a project which integrates the live video broadcast of CCF with the Caleb Radio stream. The project will consider the current network arrangements and recommend which kind of integration works best, i.e. whether to physically connect the live video broadcast computer to the Caleb Radio network in order to access the video feed, or whether to stream the video feed directly from the internet. The Author will conduct an investigation, researching the protocols and codecs currently implemented in both organisations, as well as those that will be required for the integration, with a view to determining any adverse effect this type of integration may have on CCF's and Caleb Radio's streaming effectiveness. The current topologies, hardware and software will also be investigated and equipment will be upgraded as required, with testing and implementation being carried out upon research completion. Part of the investigation and research will include reviewing other examples of integration here in the UK and further afield - in the US, and other European countries. This section will specifically look at best industry practices with a view to finding out what will provide the most desirable option for the integration to work. The prototype for the project itself will require building a virtual system with two separate networks. These will be connected firstly with the video broadcast computer being physically connected to the radio computer through an internal router. Secondly an external router will simulate an internet connection for the purposes of the project. This should provide a clear benchmark of whether or not the project, itself, is feasible and if so, what the overall cost of its implementation would be. Monitoring of the project will take place by way of regular meetings between myself and my Supervisor, and occasional meetings with the Pastor of CCF (who also heads up Caleb Radio).


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For A Passable Project the Author will:

Outline research done for the Literature Review and recommend the best codecs and protocols for live video streaming and audio streaming.

Investigate the current network setups of CCF and Caleb Radio, including network performance.

Discuss hardware and software requirements if any - CCF and/or Caleb Radio will make reasonable adjustments as required.

Design a virtual prototype system in Virtualbox and test successful audio extraction using Wireshark and the levels picked up by the audio streaming encoder on the Caleb Radio computer.

For A First Class Project the Author will:

Develop the physical system prototype and implement it for Caleb Radio/CCF to the Pastor's satisfaction.

Test and compare data rates in the implemented system using Wireshark and the audio streaming encoder on the Caleb Radio computer, and make adjustments as required.

Produce a critical appraisal of the project, identifying costs and overall viability for the future.

Reading List: Streaming 101: The Basics "http://www.streaminglearningcenter.com/articles/streaming-101-the-basics---codecs-bandwidth-data-rate-and-resolution.html" Streaming Video Over LAN Network "http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13691807/streaming-video-over-lan-network"

D. Austerberry (2004)The Technology of Video and Audio Streaming

H.Perros (2014) Networking Services: QoS, Signalling, Processes

S. Mack (2002) Streaming Media Bible

Resources Required: (hardware/software/other) Three computers, server software, radio streaming software, video streaming software, DSL

connection, Virtual box, Windows 7, Icecast/Wowza server, music etc. for streaming,

Marking Scheme:

Marks

Introduction 10

Literature Review 15

Research 25

Implementation / Testing 25

Project Review / Evaluation 10

Project Critique 10

Conclusion 5

Signed:

X. H. Wang

Student Supervisor Moderator Year Leader


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Acknowledgements

There are several people I should like to acknowledge who have been extremely supportive

through the last eight years of my part time studies. These include my parents Ian and Grace

MacBain, my Pastor and his wife David and Cathie Simpson and various friends who have

continually encouraged me throughout my Honours degree.

CCF Motherwell and Caleb Radio for giving me the opportunities to gain invaluable

experience in all areas of IT including building and configuring networks, troubleshooting,

researching and implementing various projects among other tasks for the duration of my

studies.

David Rodgers my supervisor for his advice and guidance in helping me keep my focus on the

main project in the midst of many more projects.

All the other lecturers who have done everything to assist me in during my studies for this

Degree.

Graham Fuge - Television Operations Manager of BBC Scotland and Derek Dunnington -

Software Development Manager of Clyde Broadcast Products for their interest in this

project.

Mary Clare Reilly and Sarah Yoffa, readers who have both challenged me in various ways to

turn this honours project from an acceptable project into a great honours project.

My faithful media team who serve continually and have assisted in making this project a

success.


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Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 6

Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 10

1.1 Background to Project .................................................................................................................10

1.2 Justification for Project................................................................................................................10

1.3 Project Scope and Objectives ......................................................................................................11

1.4 Researching The Project ..............................................................................................................11

1.5 Overview......................................................................................................................................12

Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 13

2.1 Internet Radio Streaming ............................................................................................................13

2.1.1 Streaming Audio Review ......................................................................................................17

2.2 Live Video Streaming ...................................................................................................................19

2.2.1 Live Video Streaming Review ...............................................................................................20

2.3 Streaming Media Requirements .................................................................................................21

2.3.1 Network Performance and Protocols ...................................................................................21

2.3.2 Codecs ..................................................................................................................................23

2.3.3 Data Rates and Bandwidth ...................................................................................................23

2.3.4 Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) ......................................................................................26

2.4 Streaming Services and Application Review ...............................................................................27

2.4.1 Streaming Upload Speeds ....................................................................................................29

Chapter 3 - Research ............................................................................................................................. 31

3.1 Methodology ...............................................................................................................................31

3.2 Research Method One: Qualitative .............................................................................................32

3.2.1 Focus Group Interviews ........................................................................................................32

3.2.2 Asking The Experts at Broadcast Video Expo 2015 ..............................................................35

3.2.3 Discussions With The Pastor of CCF .....................................................................................36

3.2.4 Conference - Working In The Creative Technologies ...........................................................37

3.2.5 Summary of Qualitative Research ........................................................................................38

3.3 Quantitative Research .............................................................................................................40

3.3.1 Testing On The Virtual Network ...........................................................................................41

3.3.2 Testing On The Test Network ...............................................................................................42

3.3.2 Testing the Live Broadcast ....................................................................................................43

3.3.3 Reliability Issues ...................................................................................................................45


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3.3.4 Summary of Quantitative Research .....................................................................................47

Chapter 4 Implementing The Project ................................................................................................... 48

4.1 The Integration ............................................................................................................................48

4.1.1 Combining The Networks .....................................................................................................48

4.1.2 Testing Network Connections ..............................................................................................49

4.2 Software Installations and Tests .................................................................................................51

4.2.1 Installation and Testing on The Prototype ...........................................................................51

4.2.2 Implementation and Testing in the Organisations ...............................................................56

4.3 Installation Review ......................................................................................................................57

4.3.1 Audio/Video Streaming Problems ........................................................................................57

4.4 Internet Service Providers ...........................................................................................................58

4.5 Summary of Implementation ......................................................................................................59

Chapter 5 Project Review and Evaluation............................................................................................ 60

5.1 Hardware and Network Changes ................................................................................................60

5.2 Security Requirements ................................................................................................................62

5.3 Media Team Training ...................................................................................................................62

5.4 Focus Group Feedback ................................................................................................................62

5.5 Project Review and Evaluation Summary ....................................................................................63

5.5.1 The End of The Line.... Or Is It? .................................................................................................63

Chapter 6 Project Critique .................................................................................................................... 65

Chapter 7 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 67

7.1 Future Recommendations ...........................................................................................................67

7.2 Future Projects ............................................................................................................................68

References ............................................................................................................................................ 70

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 73

Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 75


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Abstract

The focus of this investigation concerns how to extract a live audio stream from a live

video stream, in real-time, and then distribute the live audio stream over the internet

as an internet radio station broadcast. The investigation begins with a full

assessment of the current methods being used for each segment of the process,

documenting hardware, software and human resources currently required to

accomplish individual broadcasts. The project will then go on to evaluate available

methods, accepted practices and cost-effective hardware and software solutions,

ultimately selecting and implementing a solution that will both meet the needs of the

existing user base and be maintainable by the existing providers without further

requirements beyond the scope of this project.

The project requires the building of a prototype and a small test network prior to

implementation, for the purposes of testing network bandwidth and audio/video

streaming data rates. The results of these tests are straightforward with audio

typically being streamed between 128Kbps (Kilo bits per second), and 192Kbps, and

video being streamed between 200Kbps and 400Kbps for a single platform stream.

The other purposes for the prototype and test networks is to test the impact that the

stream would have on the internal networks. With network throughput speeds of

100Mbps (Mega bits per second), minimum the tests have shown there is very little

impact on the network speeds, and in turn no likelihood of internal network

congestion.

The impetus for this project comes from a content provider who needs to combine

resources in order to reduce labour requirements and hardware or software

maintenance while maintaining a competitive, high standard of content for its existing

user base. The subjects of this project will be CCF and Caleb Radio, both of which

have been operating for several years and have a solid following. The changes

proposed by this project implemented by CCF and Caleb have been effected without

any loss of service or impact to the current users of content from these two

organisations.


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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background to Project

Audio/Video (a/v) streaming is a method of providing music and video files through

the internet without fully downloading them first. Initially brought about due to long

download times over dialup connections, streaming enables users to hear/watch the

stream almost immediately. The rise of sites such as "Spotify" and "YouTube" have

promoted this method of accessing favourite music and videos, especially since the

introduction of broadband internet services in most first-world economies. Consumer

demand has driven these services to deliver the best quality possible, and their

willingness to pay a premium for a high-quality stream has resulted in a new

consumer market of content delivery.

This project will research extracting the audio feed of the live video broadcast from

CCF, and broadcasting it live over the established Caleb Radio feed, to provide a

cost-effective, secure, fully-accessible multimedia and multi-platform experience.

1.2 Justification for Project

CCF streams live video broadcasts to a global audience - with regular followers from

several countries. Modelled on the "Multi-Campus" church, CCF uses the internet to

connect groups -- such as, a church without a Pastor in Dunfermline to the CCF

congregation every week.

Caleb Radio was taken over by CCF in recent years and been transformed from a

part-time traditional community radio station, into a full-time internet radio station.

Streaming Service Provider, Securenet Systems reports for Caleb Radio document

the global audience reach (See appendix 1: Securenet Systems Reports for Caleb

Radio).

The impetus for this project includes a request by the Pastor of CCF,(see Appendix

2: Memo from David Simpson), and a desire to increase awareness of, and expand

the reach of both Caleb Radio broadcasts and CCF live video broadcasts.

Upon acceptance of the initial project outline, researching current papers on the

internet, and other published works on the subject began. Part of the primary


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research includes interviews with a number of key people who make up the project

Focus Group. This group includes the original focus group from Dunfermline, who

provided feedback and information during CCF's live video broadcast set up and

implementation.

1.3 Project Scope and Objectives

The scope of the project is to evaluate the viability of integrating live internet radio

streaming with CCF's live video streaming, to test and implement the integration by

extracting a live audio feed from the concurrent live video stream to stream it live on

Caleb Radio. The end goal is to provide access to live CCF meetings for multiple

devices with an internet connection and increase CCF's global audience.

The main project objectives are as follows:

* Review/evaluate the current setup for Caleb Radio’s internet streaming service

* Review/evaluate the current setup for CCF's live video broadcast

* Investigate current protocols and systems available for the integration

* Investigate hardware/software requirements for the a/v stream

integration

* Critically appraise costs, practicalities, security and other issues that

may be incurred for implementation

* Implement hardware/software upgrades as required

* Build a prototype on a virtual network

* Implement integration, perform tests and provide staff training

* Collect and implement feedback received from the focus group

* Hand the completed project over to CCF/Caleb staff for maintenance

1.4 Researching The Project

Before going ahead with the project practically, interviews were held with a specially-

chosen Focus Group. All members were known to have accessed the Live Video

Broadcast at some point in the preceding months. After the initial interviews were

held and a possible requirement for the project was confirmed, there was a review of

the current status of CCF and Caleb Radio's networks, (see appendix 3: Topology of

CCF Network and appendix 4: Topology of Caleb Radio's network). This included


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testing the current network speeds and internet connections. Required changes were

noted regarding software, hardware and Internet Service Provider (ISP). Streaming

protocols were then researched and stream speeds between the networks tested for

reliability. Once all aspects of the project had been investigated, free open-source

software was chosen, hardware upgrades were completed, both prototype and test

networks were built, configured and tested all within budgetary constraints. Then the

live implementation took place successfully connecting both organisations, thereby

providing the live broadcast through both Caleb Radio and CCF broadcast streams.

This final stage was completed only after testing network impact and reliability. Final

interviews of the Focus Group were then held to determine if the project was

successful.

Discussions regarding the project were held with industry experts at the well-known

Broadcast Video Expo (BVE) 2015 in London, and with the Software Development

Manager at Clyde Broadcast Products. The purpose of these discussions was to

discover what major producers of broadcast software and hardware manufacturers

thought about the project concept, thus providing an objective input on the question

of feasibility.

A grant was secured to fund the upgrades of some equipment, required for building

and testing the prototype. Final interviews with the Pastor and Focus Group

contributed to the final evaluation of the project, particularly with regard to cost,

reliability and overall success of the intended objectives - to grow the live audience

and provide live content on Caleb Radio.

1.5 Overview

This dissertation covers the following areas by chapter:

Literature Review

Research

Implementing The Project

Project Review and Evaluation

Project Critique

Summary and Conclusion


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Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Internet Radio Streaming

BBC's Webwise Team (2012), defines streaming as:

"...listening to music or watching video in ‘real time’, instead of downloading a file to

your computer and watching it later.... Some broadcasters prefer streaming because

it’s hard for most users to save the content and distribute it.... "

According to Te, J. (2011), Carl Malamud, set up and ran his own internet radio

station in 1993. His internet radio station was discussion based and focused on

computer technology, where one expert was interviewed every week.

Today there are many internet stations, many of which extend beyond the reach of

large established broadcasting organisations such as BBC Radio stations, Capital

FM, Radio Caroline, etc. An illustration of mainstream radio broadcasters can be

seen below:

Figure 2.1 - Internet Radio Stations from the UK (Source Internetradiouk.com (N.D.))

Originally internet stations were only available to devices with access to the internet -

computer, laptop, internet-enabled mobile phone - which could run a web browser.

Traditional radio was still required for portability. However since the introduction of


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the popular 802.11 protocol in 1997, Wi-Fi internet access has gone from being non-

existent or extremely slow and unreliable using 2G wireless technology on mobile

phones, to being faster and nearly as reliable as wired internet access as shown in

the table below:

Table 1.1: 802.11 Standards Developments June 1997 to 2017 (est.) (Source:

Wikipedia, 2015)

Internet radio also uses 3G, 4G and LTE technology to be streamed to mobile

phones through the use of various music player applications, (apps).

Clark (2012) states:

"With the introduction of better wireless infrastructure in the form of 3G, smartphone

technology, tablet devices, and improved battery life on laptops, internet radio has

seen a great increase in popularity."


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Figure 2.2: 3G and 4G UK Coverage 2014 (Source: Jackson, M. 2014)

Although 4G is now available, the infrastructure for 3G is far more prolific across the

U.K. than 4G. The figure above shows the comparisons between the 3G and 4G

infrastructures as of November 2014. The aim of the mobile operators is to provide

faster, more reliable mobile networks which will support faster download speeds, with

a view to enable audio/video broadcasters to stream higher quality files to

mobiles/tablets.

Robertsradio.co.uk (2013) explains that ordinary radio waves have range limitations -

the further away the listener is from the transmitter the more difficult it is to pick up

the signal. Weaker signals have more noise (interference etc.) which increases until

the signal fades completely. MDS975 (2009) explains that FM signal coverage


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depends on several factors including whether the station has any "relay transmitters."

The Black Hill transmitter provides Radio Clyde on 102.5MHz enough signal strength

to reach the Stirling area before fading. Coverage is close to 35 miles in this case.

Internet radio sends digital files over the internet to listeners who are accessing the

stream; this signal isn't susceptible to noise or range restrictions as an FM signal is,

so a Scottish person in Los Angeles can tune into the internet radio station of their

favourite Scottish radio station.

According to Igniso Ltd. (2009), setting up an internet radio station can be done very

cheaply, though there are several points to take into account.

These include:

Who is the target audience

What type of content is to be broadcast

Which Streaming Server should the stream be sent to

Will there be any royalty costs or location restrictions

Will the stream be available in low, medium and high quality

What are the geographical locations of the listeners

Other aspects to consider according to Wikipedia (2015) include:

What are the D.J. Programmer and other staff requirements for the station

Who will be responsible for IT equipment maintenance and hardware/software

upgrades

What is the broadcast strategy and duration

Will live content be broadcast - when?

What security measures are required to prevent unauthorised access?

Will the radio broadcast be available on low powered AM or FM frequencies?

Ensuring the radio station has the right hardware/software is essential for project

implementation - e.g. clydebroadcast.com offers hardware and software packages

which work seamlessly with each other.

The importance of having systems that work seamlessly together cannot be

overstated, especially where compatibility between analogue and digital products


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helps to guarantee a continuous service. Likewise choosing the correct company to

distribute the stream online to reach the broadest range of people, is also important.

Even the ISP's services matter as bandwidth and upload speed need to be high

enough to support the streaming requirements.

2.1.1 Streaming Audio Review

There are several basic components required to stream audio from the radio station

to the listener.

Mack (2002) states:

"A basic streaming media system has three components:

Player. The software that viewers use to watch or listen to streaming media

Server. The software that delivers streams to audiences

Encoder. The software that converts analog audio....into a digital format that

can be streamed"

Any internet connected device which uses compatible player software can play

streaming audio from an internet radio station. This includes smartphones, tablets,

laptops, car stereos with internet connections etc.


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Figure 2.3 Basic Internet Radio Setup

As shown in the figure above the information flows from the Encoding computer to

the streaming server - usually part of a content delivery network service (CDN) -

enabling it to support several simultaneous connections. The listeners access the

audio stream through a compatible device web browser, or compatible media player

such as "iTunes" which can stream audio directly from the internet. Listeners usually

set up an account for "iTunes" or other player software in order to access their

desired internet radio station(s).

Encoding Computer

with Storage for audio

files

CDN

Servers

Mobile Devices with

players which access

internet radio

Internet


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2.2 Live Video Streaming

Broadcast Video Expo (BVE), annually hosts several theatres which run industry specific

seminars. BVE 2015 Connected Theatre hosted the seminar "An exploration of the

challenges involved in delivering content across multiple platforms and devices", delivered by

Neil Drennan of White Fox Media. During the seminar Mr Drennan produced statistics

showing that internet growth during the last few years was mainly due to the rise of YouTube

and other, on-demand video services. Also mentioned during the seminar were suggestions

for major improvements in the internet's infrastructure designed to eventually produce a

better quality of viewing experience over the internet than that which current television

broadcasts provide.

The major differences between audio and video streaming are bandwidth requirements. Best

quality audio streaming upload bandwidth currently requires around 320Kbps, while HD

video streaming upload bandwidth currently requires at least 1500Kbps (as illustrated in the

Streaming Media Requirements section). As with audio, video streaming requires video

encoder software which transmits the stream to the main streaming server. This server then

sends the video stream to CDNs, which consist of servers placed across the globe. When

dial-up was still the main method of internet connection for many in the UK, streaming audio

and video allowed users to access files without waiting hours for the large a/v files to

download. Since 2000, the introduction uptake of broadband in the UK enabled many

mainstream television broadcasters to provide on-demand content through specially set up

websites such as "Demand Five" and "BBC's iPlayer”. Farrow, S. (2013) covers the following

points in his blog post:

Who is the target audience

What type of content is to be broadcast

Will there be any location restrictions

What are the geographical locations of the viewers

What is the broadcast strategy and duration

Will live content be broadcast - When?

Will it be cost effective for the organisation

Some more points to consider were mentioned by Knowhownonprofit (n.d.) which

were:

Staff requirements

Hardware/Software issues with viewers accessing the stream on older

equipment


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Increasing the audience.

2.2.1 Live Video Streaming Review

Live video broadcasts take the live feed from the camera into a laptop or computer

with appropriate capture hardware/software. These files are encoded using a capture

card and encoding software into video file streams, which are sent to a streaming

server/CDN. Viewers then use apps, website links or specific players to view the

video streams, including "YouTube.com", "Livestream.com", etc. Most streaming

media providers produce multiple files which are device and platform specific. This

enables viewers to see content via their iPhone, Android or other device with an

internet connection.

The streaming path usually looks similar to that shown in the figure below:

Figure 2.4 Basic Live Video Streaming Set up (Source Business Incubator

Zrenjanin (n.d.))

Due to the reliability and speed of wired connections, most streaming service

providers recommend this type of solution as opposed to the less reliable wireless

setup. However, the actual speed experienced is usually less than depicted by the


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providers, as the speed actually depends on the distance of the source network from

the destination exchange; the type of media infrastructure used by the ISP (i.e.

optical fibre, copper wire etc.); and the number of users connected to the internet

through the same router at the same time.

2.3 Streaming Media Requirements

Investigation of the basic requirements to provide streaming media over the internet

has highlighted the importance of looking at the requirements in terms of network

performance, codecs, bandwidth, data rates, hardware, software and the protocols

required to stream the content.

2.3.1 Network Performance and Protocols

The network needs to provide a reliable connection to enable the data stream to work

continuously. A high speed internet connection which supports at least a 1500Kbps

upload speed is also recommended. Modem routers are required which can support

these high speed connections. To allow the streaming internet connection

uninterrupted access, security and firewalls should be set appropriately, and all

network devices should support Quality of Service and appropriate protocols for

streaming applications.

The best type of connection between wired and wireless is stated by Roku (2013):

"Wired network connection has more consistent and reliable throughput compared to

wireless."

A "CAT6" ethernet wire directly connected from the device to the router provides a

fast reliable connection. Problems arise when too many people are accessing the

internet through the same router, at the same time as the streaming is taking place.

These connections use up the internet connection bandwidth thereby creating

congestion. The stream should be provided with a dedicated connection to the

internet which is not used by anyone else. Recent developments to wireless

technology have increased the reliability of wireless connections for the purpose of

streaming media; however, even the slightest interference can break the signal,


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leading to a frustrating experience for viewers. So a wired connection remains the

best option.

Streaming media has created a number of challenges for various protocols since the

Real Time Protocol (RTP) and Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP) were defined by

the Internet Engineering Task Force in "RFC 1889". The use of the Transmission

Control Protocol (TCP) created various issues due to the error checking, detection

and retransmission of packets which either had not arrived, or were corrupted. This

error checking facility should have ensured good quality of the streaming signal;

however it caused delays which would leave viewers frustrated. Instead of a smooth

playing video, viewers were being subjected to slight repetitions and delays in the

stream. To avoid the delays the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) was adopted, but

missing frames leading to videos full of jerky movements, which again were causing

viewer frustration. RTP and RTCP were adopted to try and offset this problem along

with various Quality of Service parameters. The Streaming Control Transport

Protocol is the most up to date streaming media protocol at the time of writing.

Wikipedia (2014) defines the Streaming Control Transport Protocol (SCTP) as:

"...a transport layer protocol...serving in a similar role to the popular protocols

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). It provides

some of the same service features of both: it is message-oriented like UDP and

ensures reliable, in-sequence transport of messages with congestion control like

TCP."

SCTP was developed to provide a reliable connection for streaming media which

provides:

Figure 2.5 Streaming Control Transmission Protocol List


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2.3.2 Codecs

Audio/Video files are streamed from the server to the end-user's machine using

"codecs" - ways in which the data can be compressed for transmission across the

internet, and decompressed at the destination.

Ozer, J. (2009) states:

"Codecs are compression technologies with two components; an encoder to

compress the file....and a decoder to decode the file..."

Codecs are not like file formats. An extension .AVI file is recognisable as a format

that can be played on Windows Media Player in the same way that a .MOV format

file can be played on QuickTime. Today there has been a move towards the

standardisation of media applications, making them compatible with most files types

and able to run on the major Operating Systems. Codecs themselves are cross

platform such as the popular H.264 codec which can be formatted as flash video,

AVI, MOV and other file formats.

When the a/v files are converted by the encoder/decoder, this process is known as

"encoding" the file. There are two different types of encoding, one is known as

"lossless," where all the original data is retained (not lost) and the recording sounds

perfect when decoded and played. The other is known as "lossy". Here, some of the

data is dropped (lost) in order to reduce file size, but the result is that these files

don't sound quite the same as the original recordings.

2.3.3 Data Rates and Bandwidth

The best way to look at data rates is to look at some of the setup for the live video

broadcast for CCF.


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Figure 2.6 Video Setup for Livestream for Producers (Source MacBain, I. (2012))

The above image shows the codec to be H.264 with an output resolution of 512px by

384px. This changes automatically when the aspect ratio is set. The 4:3 aspect ratios

are the older type of standard definition technology aspect ratio as opposed to the

16:9 aspect ratios which can be either standard or high definition widescreen

technology. In this case the frame rate refers to how many frames per second (fps)

that the software will stream from the connected live camera feed. Very often this is

anything above 25fps; however this particular image is from an older manual written

in 2012 for training purposes. At this point CCF was using an older digital

professional grade Canon XL1S camera with slower firewire connectivity to the

laptop rather than the current faster HDMI connectivity in use now.

The final piece of data information that is vital from the above image is the Target

Bitrate, which is set at 400Kbps. This is the rate at which the software will send the

data from the source computer to the streaming server, for onward transmission to

the CDN. It should be noted that 400Kbps is considered a low bitrate compared to

the time the manual was written. Livestream (2013) increased the recommended

bitrate to 1500Kbps, which can be easily achieved with a high speed broadband

connection.


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Figure 2.7 Livestream Hardware, Software and Data Recommendations (Source

Livestream (2014))

The greater the data rate, the better the quality of the streamed content. However,

lower data rates offer wider compatibility -- for instance, for mobile devices to more

easily access the stream. For this purpose it is worth considering streaming two data

rates simultaneously, both low and high. However the overall upload connection

speed should be comfortably more than the total data rate of the streaming content.

See the table below:

Table 2.1 Streaming Data Quality Requirements

The bandwidth, which refers to the upload or download speed of the connection to

the internet and is measured in bits is also affected by the data rate. When the

streamed data signal is transmitted from the originating network to the streaming

server at the streaming service provider's premises, it is replicated to the CDN before

being downloaded to the end user's device. The upload and download data rates

need to be high enough to support the streaming file for a good quality viewing


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experience. Speed and bandwidth restrictions can greatly diminish the quality if they

aren't high enough, or the internet connections are congested. Too many

connections to one server will cause congestion, adversely affect the viewing

experience and ultimately cause the server to crash.

Figure 2.8 Simple Bandwidth Calculation

One server is not enough to provide access to multiple end-users from across the

globe. However, multiple servers provide a solution when the streaming file is

replicated to them. Multiple servers used in this way are known as CDNs.

2.3.4 Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Streaming service providers with CDN's support multicast, multiplatform streaming

services, enabling many users with various devices and compatible software to

receive the streaming file.

Tanenbaum, A. and Wetherall, D. (2011) state:

"Server farms and Web proxies help to build large sites and to improve Web

performance, but they are not sufficient for truly popular Web sites ...CDNs (Content

Delivery Networks) turn the idea of traditional Web caching on its head. Instead of

having clients look for a copy of the requested page in a nearby cache, it is the

provider who places a copy of the page in a set of nodes at different locations and

directs the client to use a nearby node as the server."

If the original server is based in Europe it can send out copies of the required Web

site to other servers around the globe. If someone wants to access the content from

the USA it can be retrieved from the USA server and so on as shown below:


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Figure 2.9 Content Delivery Network Architecture (Source Rajesh, K (2011))

2.4 Streaming Services and Application Review

Many providers offer streaming services for a cost depending on estimated

bandwidth usage or simultaneous connections. Most, if not all of these services

provide some free software download, designed to provide entry level configuration

and interface access to their streaming servers and CDNs.

Further information on services available in three popular video and three popular

radio streaming service providers can be seen in the table below:

Table 2.2 Live Audio and Video Streaming Providers

Securenet Systems provides the streaming service for Caleb Radio to connect to one

of their streaming servers in Europe. The streaming server software platform used is

"Icecast" (2014), who define their software as:


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"...a streaming media server which currently supports Ogg (Vorbis and Theora),

Opus, WebM and MP3 audio streams. It can be used to create an Internet radio

station..."

Playlist software on the source computer for radio broadcast connects to the audio

stored in the computer, and is configured in order to add audio files in the playlist to

the streaming server connection software. The playlist audio files are then sent to the

streaming server. Other software requirements include audio conversion and

encoding software (which converts the audio into a format which can be easily

streamed), scheduling software (which creates scheduled playlists in advance), and

recording software.

In the case of live video streaming the software requirements are varied but include

several types of software. Firstly, capture card software is required where a specific

type of capture card has been used). Sometimes audio capture software is required

where a separate audio source is being used. Lastly, encoding software is required

to encode the audio and video feed into a format which is suitable for onward

transmission. In most cases the encoding software will also provide the interface to

configure the connection to the streaming server.

Many laptops, computers and mobile devices come with pre-installed player

software, so accessing an internet audio stream should not be too difficult. This type

of software includes iTunes, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, VLC (VideoLan)

etc.... Many smartphones and tablet computers can access streaming audio and

video apps, which are usually free and available from app stores. Once downloaded

the apps provide support for end-users to access streaming files where they would

not have access to a laptop or desktop computer. Livestream provides an embed

code which website designers can use to embed the video streams on the websites

of the organisation providing the streaming files. The embed code is provided on a

sliding scale from not available for free accounts, to full integration with social

networks and websites for high paying organisations. CCF has a low-cost service so

they can embed the link onto their website which shows a countdown, and live button

when the live stream is active. When this button is clicked on, visitors are taken to

CCF's live stream channel on the Livestream.com website. Feedback at the

beginning of December 2014 highlighted problems people were having in accessing


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the embedded video links for CCF. After investigation it was discovered that

Livestream had updated the embed codes. Once these had been updated on the

website the problems were solved.

2.4.1 Streaming Upload Speeds

The past few years have seen huge growth in the internet usage, which Drennan, N.

(2015) mainly attributes to an explosion of live and on-demand video content now

available. Sites such as YouTube, Vimeo etc. have given platforms to ordinary

people to shoot and upload their own video free of charge. Companies now produce

adverts and pay YouTube to add them to the beginning of many free videos on their

site. Several broadcasting companies have developed their own video players

enabling viewers to access shows on demand. Smart televisions have been

developed which are connected to the internet enabling viewers to access the

internet and stream directly from various media sites including YouTube, BBC iPlayer

etc.

Since the availability of on-demand and live video streams available over the internet,

consumers have changed to ISPs which can provide superfast broadband speeds

and unlimited downloads. Optical fibre has become the cable of choice used to

facilitate the increase in both download and upload speeds. The progression in

internet speeds over the past fifteen years is shown below:

ISDN - up to 56Kbps

ADSL - up to 8Mbps

ADSL 2 - up to 16Mbps

Optical Fibre - up to 100Mbps

The first three speeds indicate the maximum possible download speeds available for

a single user placed next to the telephone exchange using dial-up, ADSL and ADSL2

infrastructure. Optical fibre works differently in that one connection can be shared by

a whole neighbourhood, and it was originally available to cable T.V. users whose

television broadcasts were sent using optical fibre. However, with more consumer

demand for faster download speeds, telecoms and internet service providers have

had to replace old copper wiring with optical fibre cables in order to keep customers.

Virgin Media always offered services through cable such as cable television so was


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first to offer increased speeds. To compete with Virgin Media other ISPs in

conjunction with British Telecom have been forced to overhaul the telecom

infrastructure, replacing much of the copper cable with optical fibre cable. The

improvements have meant that customers are able to access higher quality

broadcasts using several devices on one connection. However, as more users

access the same connection, the bandwidth decreases until a point comes where too

many devices are connected and they either lose connection or the ISP begins to

charge for the extra bandwidth being used.


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Chapter 3 - Research

3.1 Methodology

The research techniques used in the project have been both qualitative and

quantitative, thereby producing a mixed research method. Qualitative research has

been the main type of research used, providing the platform for open questioning of

the focus group and industry professionals. Quantitative research has been useful for

the collation of data gained from various tests of network performance, bandwidth

and data rates of both video and audio streams. Creswell, J. (2006) discusses the

importance of qualitative research in more socially-based research methods.

Mason, J. (2006) states:

" ...a ‘qualitatively driven’ approach to mixing methods...focuses on the value of

mixed-methods approaches for researching questions about social experience and

lived realities."

The project is based around social entertainment since radio and video streaming is

considered entertainment by the general public. However, the results gained using

the quantitative method - from tests carried out on the prototype network and streams

- have also proved extremely important and necessary. The tests provided evidence

that the quality of audio over the internal network which was required could be

accomplished. Then the audio experience for Caleb listeners could be tested for

quality. These tests have also shown the effects that implementing the integration

has had on the CCF and Caleb networks.

The combination of both types of research results provide a clear indication of the

success of the project in terms of reliability, security, cost and increased awareness

of both streaming services available.


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3.2 Research Method One: Qualitative

The qualitative research which has been completed has investigated the current

feelings and perceptions about the live video broadcast of CCF. This included

identifying problems with the video broadcast, along with the identification of the

need for a live radio broadcast through Caleb.

Testing has been carried out on the original live video project focus group, as well as

two couples, all of whom watch the live video broadcast of CCF services either

weekly or when they are unable to attend the services. This new focus group is made

up of ten people - six from the original focus group (used to set up the live video

broadcast), made up of five women and one man ranging in ages from fifty to

seventy; and four consisting of two couples, one couple in their forties and one

couple in their thirties.

3.2.1 Focus Group Interviews

Interviews carried out were informal, designed to ascertain and in some ways revisit

the benefits and importance of providing the live video broadcast in the first instance.

Once the usefulness of the live video broadcast was established, the possibility of

integrating it with a live audio broadcast via Caleb was introduced. Questions were

then asked whether any of the focus group would access the broadcast through

Caleb if the live video broadcast was not available for some reason. Following is a

summary of response to the questions asked in initial interviews, completed in

December 2014.

Question One: Do you currently watch the live video broadcast from CCF,

Motherwell?

Every member of the new focus group watches CCF's live video broadcast at some

point, and the original live video group watch on a weekly basis, while the two

couples watch it when they are unable to attend church for some reason. The original

group are very enthusiastic about the live video broadcast because they say it makes

them feel like they are "part of the congregation".

Question Two: What are your impressions of the quality of the broadcast?


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The new focus group agreed the quality of the broadcast is good most of the time.

The original group added that they have seen great improvements since the live

video stream was implemented. When it began the audio and video weren't in sync

with each other which caused someone with hearing issues difficulty in

understanding what was being said. Now there are no problems in this area. Also it

crashes less than it used to making it far more reliable. Overall the picture quality,

reduction in crashes and audio syncing to video all make the viewing experience

much more enjoyable.

Question Three: Have you ever had problems accessing the live video broadcast?

Everyone in the new focus group said they have had problems trying to access the

live video stream sometimes. Usually they switch everything off and on again and

then it works. The last time there was a major problem was when the Commonwealth

Games were held in Glasgow and surrounding areas. Then the broadcast kept

disconnecting (attributed to so many people using the internet in one area at one

time). Since then it has been ok. The two couples said there are a few issues from

time to time when the video freezes, however their feedback resulted in immediate

action being taken - this was due to changing from multiplatform broadcasting to

single platform broadcasting as a direct result of answers given by the first few

people interviewed. Since then the video has stopped freezing.

Question Four: When you are watching the live video broadcast, do you watch the

screen all the way through?

The original focus group watch the live video all the way through. From the two

couples, the men are happy if they can hear what is being said and will quite often

take their eyes off the screen to do other things.

Question Five: Caleb Radio is internet-only radio online and on mobile apps allowing

listeners to tune in on their computers, laptops and Android/Apple devices. Do you

currently listen to Caleb Radio on any of these devices?

Five out of the original focus group and two out of the couples had never heard of

Caleb Radio, while one of the original focus group and two of the couples did listen to

it from time to time.


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Question Six: What would you do if you couldn't access CCF via Livestream - the live

video service?

The original focus group and two women of the two couples agreed they would prefer

to watch previous live video recordings of services they may have missed which as

on CCF's Livestream channel. The two men of the two couples would access The

live stream through Caleb Radio.

Question Seven: If Caleb Radio were to provide a live audio broadcast of CCF's

service - making it available even if the video isn't working - would you listen live on

Facebook/the website or download the app to hear it? If so why and if not, why not?

Seven of the new focus group would rather watch a live video recording than listen to

a live audio broadcast on Caleb Internet Radio. However, three of the group - the

men in their thirties and forties, and a woman in her fifties - would be prepared to

listen to the service live via Caleb Internet Radio.

Question eight: What kind of difference (if any) do you think it would make if Calvary

were to broadcast the services live on Caleb Radio and the Livestream video

platform simultaneously?

Eight of the new focus group said that there is no difference for those who watch the

live video broadcast as they would rather watch a live video archive than listen to the

service live on Caleb Radio. The three referred to in the last question would listen to

Caleb Radio - the woman stating she would do so if she was on holiday, while the

men would be happy to listen to Caleb Radio if they are out and about.

Question nine: Can you think of a reason (other than the video not working), why

anyone might prefer to listen to the service live on Caleb Radio, rather than watch the

live video on Livestream?

The new focus group agreed that most people prefer video over audio, although blind

people may prefer Caleb Radio, or those who are out and about with no access to

live video streaming might prefer the audio-only streaming option. Caleb radio also

provides a constant audio stream while Livestream only provides the live video

broadcast which ends when the live stream is stopped by CCF after each service.

Even though there are archived live broadcasts, users require to access them by


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clicking on the links. With Caleb Radio the content is constant and once the app

accesses its streaming audio, the user does not have to do anything else to hear

everything playing on the station. Clearly the live video broadcast only occurs at set

times during the week and intervention is required by users to access archived

content who have to hit the play button every time the stream finishes.

3.2.2 Asking The Experts at Broadcast Video Expo 2015

Additional questions were asked of Industry professionals at the Broadcast Video

Expo - 2015 held in London, UK. The broadcast industry has driven the 84% growth

of the internet in the last few years. Providers of on-demand content such as netflix,

nowtv, BBC's iPlayer etc. have helped drive this growth forward. Multiplatform is the

key word for broadcast services - providing several options enabling users to access

streaming video content suitable for their mobile phones, tablet devices, laptops,

computers and smart televisions.

Many broadcasters use radio platforms as well as video broadcasting to offer live

audio streams when broadcasting certain types of events. Championship football

games, sporting events such as the commonwealth games or Olympics, certain

types of live concerts etc. can all be accessed via radio and television

simultaneously. Broadcast ratings matter especially for the main broadcast

corporations such as the BBC or ITV. The more streams available to users, the

greater the ratings. The more on-demand content, the greater the ratings. So in

essence ITV, Channel Four, Demand Five and other commercial stations can attract

advertisers who will pay to have their commercials shown not just on traditional

television, but also on each stations' player software.

The broadcast industry continues to grow and several vendors at BVE were

specifically targeting companies who need to access CDNs. Most of the stands were

hosted by companies selling storage facilities in the cloud, internet enabled media

devices including various switchers capable of sending a broadcast stream direct

from camera to the internet. Companies such as Adobe and Avid were showcasing

their cloud-based software for video editing and storage. Interestingly enough there

were only two audio based solutions, one which dealt with voiceovers, while the other

dealt solely with royalty free music. Apart from a few experts who were clearly

championing the multiplatform broadcast of streaming video and also broadcasting


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on radio simultaneously, there were no companies solely involved in internet radio.

When discussing the project with six experts, their suggestions involved buying

various types of hardware. This included audio/video switchers, specific audio routers

place at either end of the internal networks, and other types of hardware which would

bring the signal from the capture card in the video computer over to the internet radio

computer. None of those interviewed could provide or recommend a software

solution such as the one being implemented in this project.

3.2.3 Discussions With The Pastor of CCF

The Pastor of CCF had concerns about project cost implications for CCF and Caleb

Radio. While necessary upgrades would be covered by Caleb Radio, it was made

clear that there really wasn't a budget available for this project to be completed. The

use of free software, including downloads from the streaming service providers for

the integration had to be considered first. Failing that, the cheapest available

software was to be used. Three types of software were investigated and findings

shared with the Pastor of CCF. The first was S-Radio from Clyde Broadcast Products

which costs upwards of £3,000; the second was Station Playlist which costs upwards

of $249; the third was VLC open source video software and BUTT (Broadcast Using

This Tool), radio broadcast software which cost nothing. This information was shared

with the Pastor during another meeting, prior to the prototype being set up. He made

it clear that the project should go down the free route where possible, so VLC, BUTT

and Icecast Server software were used to build the prototype.

During the investigation it was discovered that neither the CCF nor Caleb Radio had

network security policies in place. Both CCF and Caleb Radio's current hardware and

software assets were also investigated, (see appendix 6: CCF Current Hardware &

Software Assets and appendix 7: Caleb Radio's Current Hardware & Software

Assets). Security policies were then drafted up for both organisations which are to be

passed by the board prior to implementation. Upgrades were discussed and costs

minimised by electing to use Windows 7 software which had previously been

purchased by CCF, but not yet installed. Windows 2008 R2 Server trial version was

downloaded with a view to buying a licence if testing went well when implemented

into the network. Icecast, VLC and BUTT were downloaded free of charge from their

open source sites to be used in building the prototype. The software was then


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installed on the video and radio broadcast machines in order to implement the project

in the organisations.

The Pastor was concerned that a larger team would be needed to change the radio

from scheduled to live programming and back again. This would mean training

people who would be interested in doing that task. Some of the media team

volunteers are happy to be involved with the project. The writing of a training manual

will need to be completed further to the implementation of this project.

3.2.4 Conference - Working In The Creative Technologies

"Working in the Creative Technologies" was held on March 18th 2015 at Paisley

Campus of UWS. The day was geared to those students doing gaming, music

technology and other creative based courses. Computer Networking students were

admitting there didn't seem to be much in the conference with any relevance specific

to computer networking. Many of the IT related tasks and several specific

editing/design tasks were outsourced by some of the companies presenting on the

day. Since this project is centred around the broadcast industry, it clearly shows the

need for collaboration between these industries and computer networking. During a

presentation provided by Graham Fuge from BBC Scotland, there was a question

regarding whether BBC Scotland outsourced the IT networking technical roles, or

whether the organisation employed their own IT Network Engineers. Mr. Fuge stated

that in 2014 the answer was that - all the IT networking was outsourced to other

companies. However, in 2015 there has been a move by BBC Scotland to bring

some IT networking in-house as they begin to work with IP cameras. This answer

pointed to more of a collaboration required between Computer Networking and

Broadcasting.


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3.2.5 Summary of Qualitative Research

Based on the interviews with the focus group, industry professionals and the Pastor

of CCF, it was decided that integrating the live video broadcast with Caleb Internet

Radio would be of benefit. This would meet the identified needs to provide some

level of multiplatform offering of the services, while also providing redundancy in the

event of the live video broadcast breaking down as far as CCF is concerned. For

Caleb it would provide live radio programming in the midst of a mainly pre-

programmed schedule. Overall the live service broadcasts would reach the Caleb

Radio audience, thereby increasing the broadcast ratings for the radio station, and

possibly also for the video broadcasts in the longer term.

Throughout the qualitative research into this project it has become clear that the

creative and broadcast industries are seeing a huge surge in growth. "BVE 2015" and

"Working In The Creative Technologies" demonstrated that reliable, superfast

internet connections will be a major requirement for the future of broadcasting. There

will also continue to be a need for even greater collaboration between Computer

Networking and the Creative Industries sector.

The testing phase following implementation required the assistance of the media

team and the new Focus Group. The hardware and software elements required for

the project have been installed and configured. The media team volunteers are

helping at either end of the set up. One of the volunteers controls the live video

broadcast, while the other was drafted in to control the live radio station broadcast.

Oversight and support was provided ensuring the smooth, reliable running of the

internal networks, to allow the best quality streaming across them possible. The

Focus Group provided feedback during the implementation and testing phase.

So far everything has worked well and been positive with the only downside being

that there is no information shown on the radio broadcast to indicate that the live

service is being broadcast. This is due to the fact that the DCS (Data Capture

Software), on the internet radio machine is configured to work with Clyde Broadcast

Product's S-Radio software. The possibility of using a different DCS system to avoid

conflict will help form the basis of another project - to be completed at a later stage.


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The review of the CCF and Caleb Radio networks lead to the upgrade of a Dell

Computer with Server 2008 R2 software. The old CCF Dell Dimension 9150

computer was upgraded from 2GB to 4GB RAM, then configured to act as an internal

router connecting both networks, until a new router can be sourced and purchased.

The free open-source software VLC was then downloaded onto CCF's video

broadcast computer and Caleb Radio's internet radio computer, in order to send the

stream over the internal networks. The main purpose of sending the stream internally

is to conserve upload bandwidth on the CCF router which, during the course of this

project has dropped from 960Kbps to 760Kbps, despite telephone conversations to

the ISP's technical department. One of the ISP's technicians explained during the last

support call that they do not currently have the Infrastructure to support the

broadband speeds required to broadcast video. Livestream's recommended

requirements of 1.5Mbps. Various ISP's were then researched in order to source one

that can provide the services required for a competitive cost. Sending the stream

over the internal networks has proved to be the most reliable method as the video

broadcast network provides 1000Mbps bandwidth, and Caleb Radio's network

provides 100Mbps bandwidth. Therefore streaming the video broadcast at circa

400Kbps across these networks is easily supported. BUTT is the most up to date

open-source software (replacing Edcast which is no longer supported), to broadcast

to Securenet Systems' IceCast Server for onward broadcasting to their CDN.

One drawback to using this software is the use of the RTP (Real-time Transport

Protocol), by VLC, instead of the more up to date SCTP (Streaming Control

Transport Protocol). However, this does not affect the provision of a reliable audio

stream which for the purposes of streaming live over internet radio provides a good

audio quality of circa 192Kbps upload speed. Cost is a major factor to both

organisations so the use of free software which will allow the integration to work is

necessary, even though it doesn't use the up to date SCTP protocol.

The Software Development Manager of Clyde Broadcast Products has expressed

interest in the project and wants to see the report when it is complete. There may be

the option of him developing Clyde Broadcast's Synergy Software to incorporate this

kind of integration, however, since Caleb Radio is a donation-based organisation it is

unlikely they will be able to upgrade to Clyde's Synergy software either now or in the

immediate future.


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The current hardware and software from Clyde Broadcast Products does not support

the integration. Therefore there is a slight delay of a few seconds while a changeover

of software is completed to facilitate the live video broadcast integration.

Mr Graham Fuge from BBC Scotland has also expressed an interest in seeing this

project on its completion. Following BBC Scotland's seminar at the "Working in the

Creative Technologies" Conference, Mr. Fuge approached the Author to find out

more about what she does. During the discussion Mr. Fuge expressed a desire to

keep in touch with the Author and expressed interest in any future projects she may

have. One of the future projects the Author will be working on is in regard to setting

up IP video cameras for use within CCF's live video stream, which was an area Mr

Fuge mentioned as important for BBC Scotland to develop.

The Pastor of CCF was concerned that the audio broadcast would have an adverse

effect on the video broadcast, so tests were set up and completed to find out what

impact this may have on network bandwidth, data rates and current streaming

services. These tests and their results are shown in the next section - Quantitative

Research.

3.3 Quantitative Research

The reason for including quantitative research is to include various test results gained

through testing the two different streams, as they run through the networks before

being sent out of the CCF gateway router and the Caleb Radio router. Wireshark was

used which enables the testing of network performance regarding protocols, data

rates, bandwidth, congestion etc., and to ensure that the best available performing

protocol is used for the project implementation. The upload speeds on both networks

were tested using Speedtest.net which provides both download and upload speeds.

The streams themselves were also tested to find out the maximum, minimum and

average data rates of both the live video and live audio broadcasts.

Testing was carried out on the virtual networking system set up in virtualbox,

however laptop resources struggled to cope with sending the video over the virtual

network, therefore only the audio stream was successfully tested in this environment.

A small test network was quickly set up using the server 2008 R2 machine and two

laptops, prior to the live implementation. With the server configured as an internal


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router, tests were carried out and results gained for both video and audio stream

network speeds. Live system tests were then carried out to check data rates, upload

speeds and bandwidth and their effects on the internal networks. It is envisaged that

there should not be much impact on the internal networks due to the devices and

cabling used supporting high speeds up to 1Gbps on the CCF network and 100Mbps

on the Caleb network.

For the purposes of this project three internet radio software packages and three live

video software packages were considered. The prices of this software ranged from

open source freeware to expensive proprietary software such as Clyde Broadcast

Products' S-Radio which comes in at circa £3,000. Due to budgetary constraints the

organisations decided to go with free open source freeware software for the project,

(see appendix 5: Radio and Video Streaming Software packages).

3.3.1 Testing On The Virtual Network

The prototype was set up in VirtualBox using two Windows 2008 R2 Server

machines and two Windows 7 machines. One of the server machines was set up as

the edge router and dns server, and had Icecast downloaded on it to receive the

stream from the radio server. One of the Windows 7 machines was set up as the

radio server, which had BUTT and VLC downloaded on it. VLC was configured to

capture the video stream from the video streaming server over the internal network

which was made up of two subnets. The captured stream was then sent to the

Icecast Server using BUTT, which was configured to capture the sound card output

for the audio stream. The second server machine was set up as the internal router

which connected the two internal subnets using routing, port forwarding and dhcp

services The second Windows 7 machine had VLC downloaded on it and configured

to send the video file as a stream across the network. These machines were installed

on VirtualBox running on a laptop with a 2.5GHz dual core i5 chip, 8GB of RAM and

a 750GB hard drive. Even after the laptop had been upgraded, the streamed video

could not be played in VLC on the radio server. All that came through was the audio

stream, which was broadcast onward to the Icecast server. Since being able to

access the audio stream was the main focus of this project, the inability to play video

at the same time was not considered to be a problem.


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Testing was carried out by playing an old live mp4 video recording downloaded from

the live video broadcast computer. This enabled the actual frame rate speed of 25

fps and H.264 format to be replicated as in an actual live video file being streamed.

Even with such a compressed video file, the virtual environment was unable to

stream actual video, though the audio itself was streamed successfully over the two

subnets. There was only one data rate on the virtual network which was measured at

128Kbps. Though 128Kbps is acceptable quality audio streaming, it was thought that

a test network prototype should be set up using real computers/laptops instead of

virtual systems.

3.3.2 Testing On The Test Network

Due to the inability to test the video broadcast in the virtual network, a small network

was set up in organisation, using the Server 2008 R2 computer and two laptops with

Windows 7 Professional installed on them. Again the same mp4 file was streamed

over the network which provided test results for both video and audio streams. The

protocol used by the software was the real-time transport protocol (RTP) and real-

time streaming protocol (RTSP). Quality of service was also enabled on the internal

router which helped ensure the smooth running of the test for both audio and video

streams. The test results of the two streams is shown as maximum, minimum and

average data rates in Kbps in the chart below:

Chart 3.1 Audio and Video Streaming Data Rates

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Audio Video

Max kbps

Min kbps

Avg kbps


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The chart above illustrates the fluctuation in data rates through the network which are

not so marked in the audio stream as they are in the video stream. Tests found that

when streaming audio files in a particular format, the data rates tended to stay

around the same. Fluctuations occurred when the audio stream moved on to a

different volume and type of audio, i.e. when streaming a single voice a 128Kbps

data rate was sufficient for the stream. However, when streaming a song which

included more than one track the data rate increased to 192Kbps. Similar results

occurred with video although during tests it was discovered that when a still image is

streamed with audio the data rate dropped down to as low as 150Kbps. However,

when streaming someone speaking with a small amount of movement the data rate

went up to 450Kbps at its peak.

3.3.2 Testing the Live Broadcast

During the review of CCF and Caleb hardware and software (see appendix 6: CCF

Hardware & Software Assets and appendix 7: Caleb Radio's Hardware & Software

Assets ), it was discovered that the upload speed provided to CCF by their ISP was

not sufficient to support the 800Kbps dual platform stream (normal and mobile

quality) they were providing at the time. Immediate action was taken to remedy the

situation by cutting the stream down to a 400Kbps single platform stream (normal

quality). Feedback from various individuals following the change confirmed an

improvement in the quality of the broadcast. Testing has shown that by connecting

the two networks via an internal router, the bandwidth and data rate of the stream

being uploaded to the internet via CCF's internet router will not be affected.

The original upload speeds to CCF's internet connection were 1200Kbps when the

ISP was changed to Unicom in 2009. However, using speedtest.net to test ISP

speeds it was discovered that at the beginning of the project this had dropped to

960Kbps. This was recognised as the main reason that viewers of the live video

broadcast had been having difficulty accessing the dual-platform stream. Once

changed to the single-platform stream, things improved. However, a speed test taken

in February 2015 showed another drop in the upload speed to 760Kbps. The Pastor

of CCF has been made aware of this and the Author has investigated and

recommended various ISPs, which will offer optical fibre upload speeds up to

20Mbps. Livestream recommends upload bandwidth availability of at least 1.5Mbps.


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One popular cost-effective ISP for CCF to change to is Talk Talk who have a

business package which provides up to 70Mbps download speeds and 20Mbps

upload speeds, (See appendix 8: ISP comparisons). The chart below shows the

decline in upload speeds on the CCF network over the past six years.

Chart 3.2 Upload Bandwidth Speeds for CCF

The contract with the ISP Unicom expires in June 2015, outwith the time deadline for

this current project. However, tests on network performance showed the upload

speed was not adversely affected by the project implementation as shown below:

Chart 3.3 Streaming Data Rates Over CCF and Caleb Radio Bandwidths

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

2009 2013 2014 2015

Upload Speed (kbps)

Upload Speed (kbps)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Stream Max Stream Min Stream Avg

CCF Network Bandwidth (Mbps)

Caleb Network Bandwidth (Mbps)

Audio Stream Over Internal Network (Mbps)

Video Stream Over Internal Network


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Even the maximum data rate of the video stream (0.45Mbps) comes nowhere near

the Caleb Radio network bandwidth of 100Mbps or the CCF network bandwidth of

1Gbps. The audio stream data rates do not show up in the chart as the data rates are

so low and easily masked by the video stream. The tests prove that neither internal

network is impacted by streaming the video file directly from the CCF video computer

to the Caleb Radio computer. As a result full implementation has now been

completed with tests already done. Handover to CCF and Caleb Radio has taken

place well within the deadline.

Caleb Radio has its own separate internet router which sends the audio stream to the

Service Provider, so the audio stream does not have any impact on the live video

stream. Security of the streaming protocols has also undergone some testing to

ascertain which security measures need to be put in place to stop hackers from

gaining access to the streams. Since the streams are being pushed out to the service

providers over specific port numbers, the threat of a hacker getting into the system is

minimised. However, any open port can be targeted by hackers so the best way to

get around this is to ensure that unsolicited incoming traffic is blocked on those

particular ports.

3.3.3 Reliability Issues

One of the aims of the project is to ensure that a level of redundancy is available if

the live video stream fails for any reason. Since earlier days of broadcasting live

video, improvements in the internal network, coupled with improvements in the

service provided by Livestream.com, have significantly increased reliability. However,

this does not mean to say that the live video broadcast works perfectly. During the

Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow in 2014, there were several points where

the broadcasts were extremely unreliable and connections were lost several times

during each service. This was attributed to there being so many visitors accessing

internet services in the area during that period of time. When contacting the ISP to

find out what could be done about the problem, they explained that the same thing

had happened during the Olympic Games in London. All customers in London and

the immediate surrounding area encountered several problems establishing reliable

connections to internet services. The ISP technician of Unicom explained that the

rise in visitors accessing the internet had caused congestion on the main core of the


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internet. Every ISP had to reset the connections after the Olympics in order to fix the

problem. The technician then reset the connection for CCF after the Commonwealth

Games which resolved the problems. Since that incident there have been problems

with the dual-platform live video streaming leading to a reduction to a single-platform

live video stream. The latest reduction in upload bandwidth speed is now having an

effect on reliability of this single-platform stream, requiring the change to an ISP

which can provide superfast broadband to be completed as soon as possible.

The Caleb Radio Broadcast also has reliability issues from time to time. While there

have been problems caused by running a computer 24/7 for 365 days a year, there

have been occasions when the internet connection has dropped out. As

improvements are made to CCF's network it is expected that some of the equipment

from there can be recycled and used in Caleb's network to ensure more reliability in

the internet connection.

As the project comes to a close CCF has begun the process of changing to another

ISP. After discussions with the Pastor and a sales representative from the new

company, the upload speed promised by the new company is between 7Mbps and

16Mbps. While not quite reaching the speeds that would be provided by Talk Talk in

Appendix 8, the upload speed of this ISP will provide more than what is

recommended by Livestream.com. This will greatly improve the live video broadcast

service and enable CCF to upgrade their service from single platform to

multiplatform, providing mobile device specific streams as well as computer specific

streams.


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3.3.4 Summary of Quantitative Research

Several tests were carried out on the two different types of broadcast and three

different systems: the virtual prototype, the test networks and the live networks. The

software selected was free open source software which runs mainly on the RTP

protocol. This consisted of the following:

VLC is a free open source software package which can play various file types.

It also has the tools to create a stream from a file on the source computer,

which can be sent out over a network. It uses RTP to stream the files. VLC

also has the ability to capture a network stream, thereby allowing streaming of

audio/video files from one network to another using the ip address.

BUTT is a free audio streaming encoder which streams audio to an Icecast or

ShoutCast Server.

Icecast is a free streaming server which receives a stream from an encoder. It

uses various streaming protocols to replicate the stream to users wanting to

listen to it. Very often it will replicate the stream to a CDN to support global

streaming of live or pre-recorded content.

During testing it was discovered that despite being upgraded, the laptop resources

were still not sufficient to fully test a virtual system set up in Virtualbox. The audio

stream was limited to 128Kbps, and no video could be successfully streamed. As a

result, a small test network was set up using the two Windows 7 laptops and a Server

2008 R2 computer, upgraded to become the internal router for the CCF and Caleb

networks. Testing proved that there was very little impact on network bandwidth for

streaming over the internal networks. This meant that the live implementation could

go ahead prior to the change of ISP for the CCF network.

Although more than one type of software was researched for the project, budget

restrictions meant free software had to be used which is why the decision was made

to go for free open source software as described above.


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Chapter 4 Implementing The Project

4.1 The Integration

Integrating the live video broadcast into the internet radio station broadcast has

required in-depth investigation into the CCF and Caleb Radio networks. After

reviewing the network infrastructure of both organisations, it was clear that upgrades

were required on the Caleb network to facilitate the connection of both networks and

smooth running of the project on implementation. An older Dell computer was

upgraded and Server 2008 R2 software installed and configured to connect the

internal networks. Then free open-source software was installed and configured on

both the video and radio computers. A series of tests were then run to check that the

internal networks were not adversely impacted. These tests were also designed to

identify any potential problems that could arise in the network. It was also noted that

neither organisation had a Security Policy - now an extra project in draft form in the

process of being looked at by the Pastor of CCF. The next phase is the training of the

Media Team who are responsible for running the live video broadcast during each

service.

4.1.1 Combining The Networks

The upgraded computer was installed with Server 2008 R2 and required roles were

added. These roles were DNS, RRAS and Network Policy and Access Services,

which were installed using Server Manager. Once installed, the domain was

configured with a generic domain name "Media", using the DNS Manager in the

Administrative Tools Menu from the Start button. The IP addresses were also

configured for the computers they related to, which were attached to the server

machine via ethernet cables. Next, the Routing and Remote Access Services were

configured using the RRAS Services Manager in the Administrative Tools Menu from

the Start button. This enabled the server to provide internal network routing services

between the CCF and Caleb Radio networks. Finally, Port Forwarding was

configured on the Windows Firewall, to allow the live video stream to cross into the

Caleb Radio stream without being blocked, and for the response from the Caleb

Radio stream to be received back in the CCF network when required.


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The upgraded computer also had a separate network interface card installed which

was used to connect the CCF network to the server. This was configured with a static

CCF network IPv4 address, while the other network interface integrated into the

motherboard connected the Caleb Radio network to the server and was configured

with a static Caleb Radio network IPv4 address. All computers receive their IPv4

addresses from the internet routers via DHCP (already configured during the network

builds in 2013), so there is no need to configure specific IPv4 addresses on the

server.

The CCF Live Video Streaming Computer is connected to the network via a basic 8-

port switch, which supports 1000Mbps throughput on the network. This CCF switch is

connected to the CCF network router with a CAT6 ethernet cable which runs under

the floor. This router supports 1000Mbps throughput speeds, provides the internet

connection to CCF's ISP and is the main router controlling network traffic throughout

the organisation (see appendix 6 for CCF's network topology). The CCF network

router is connected to the internal network server with a CAT5 ethernet cable which

runs under the floor to the appropriate network interface card in the internal network

server. The Caleb Radio network router supports 1000Mbps speeds and is

connected to the network interface card, which is integrated in the motherboard in the

internal network server with a CAT5 ethernet cable. The Caleb Radio Streaming

Computer is connected directly to the Caleb Radio network router, which provides

the internet connection to Caleb Radio's ISP - see appendix 7 for Caleb Radio's

network topology.

4.1.2 Testing Network Connections

Due to the physical set up and configuration of the Internal server there was little

configuration required in the way of setting up static routes in the routing table. Both

networks are physically connected to the server which is also acting as the internal

router. As a result the CCF network is connected to the Caleb Radio network.

Checking for connection problems is vital at this stage. Good practice requires each

connection to be tested as soon as it has been configured. The idea behind this is to

discover any problems early on in order to fix them and try to limit the amount of time

troubleshooting if things don't work when everything is set up.


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Use of the command line interface is best to test network connectivity between

subnetworks in the organisation. Most frequently the command used for this purpose

is a simple "ping" command followed by the IPv4 (or IPv6) address of the target

machine. An example of this can be seen in the figure below:

Fig 4.1 - Testing Prototype Network Connections

Should there be a problem with pinging the connections, the use of the "tracert",

"trace route" command provides a step by step result for each hope in the network,

thereby locating the exact point at which the connection error is occurring. Most often

human error in setting up network connections is the problem, so this can be

minimised by using DHCP to allocate dynamic IPv4 addresses. The use of the RIPv2

routing protocol provides regular updates of the network topology to the internal

router, and can be extremely useful in finding out if one of the network devices is

down.

The example above shows full connectivity between the networks configured in the

prototype. It is not possible to show the organisational information for security

purposes. However, this prototype information shows successful connections

between the networks, which enables the project to move forward to the next stage.


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4.2 Software Installations and Tests

CCF is a UK registered charity and Caleb Radio is a donation based organisation, so

financial constraints are an issue for both. Neither organisation can justify the

expense required to purchase software in order to facilitate this project. In fact, CCF

has already paid for the upgrade of an older computer in order to run it as an internal

server. This resulted in free open-source software being chosen to implement the

project set up.

4.2.1 Installation and Testing on The Prototype

VLC met the requirements to provide the capture of the live video content from the

capture card in the video streaming computer, which could then be configured to

stream the contents of the capture card over the CCF network. The Caleb Radio

computer on the Caleb Radio network could open VLC and capture the live stream

from the CCF network by selecting the "capture stream from network" option. Several

options were presented and VLC worked with the stream which came in via the RTP

protocol on port 8080. Once the stream was captured by the Caleb Radio computer,

it was possible to extract the audio using BUTT and forward the audio stream to the

icecast server run by Securenet Systems. VLC has been downloaded onto the CCF

Live Video and Caleb Radio Streaming computers. BUTT has been downloaded on

the Caleb Radio computer and configured with the icecast server name, IPv4

address and port number to forward the audio stream to, (port forwarding was

enabled on the firewall).

Finally, the Caleb Radio Edge Router was used to install icecast, which was

configured to capture the live audio stream coming from the Caleb Radio computer.

Once the configuration file had been updated with the account login details, the

system was tested by playing a previously-recorded MP4 video of one of the live

services to measure success. The series of figures below show the configurations

taking place, and what was happening during the streaming of the live video

recording. Within the prototype itself, the video computer did not have enough

resources to send the video stream across; however, the audio did successfully

make it to the Caleb Radio computer, and successful onward audio streaming was

achieved.


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Fig 4.2 The Video File Being Streamed in VLC on the CCF Computer

Fig 4.3 VLC on the Radio Server Capturing The Stream From CCF Computer


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Fig 4.4 - Setting The Audio Device in the BUTT Encoder on the Radio Server

Fig 4.5 Starting The IceCast Server on Edge Router


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Fig 4.6 Opening IceCast Web Console on Edge Router

Fig 4.7 Checking Server Status on Edge Router


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Fig 4.8 Checking Connection Status on Edge Router

Fig 4.9 Starting The Audio Stream on Radio Server


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Fig 4.10 Audio Streaming Connection Status in IceCast

4.2.2 Implementation and Testing in the Organisations

Testing the full set up consisted of playing a recorded MP4 video of the live

broadcast streamed from the CCF Live Video Streaming computer using VLC, to

VLC on the Caleb Radio computer. Once the VLC software began to capture the

video stream from the CCF Live Video Streaming computer, the audio streamed

successfully. The video stream, however, was problematic did not stream

successfully.

On the Caleb Radio Computer BUTT was opened and configured to capture the

audio feed coming into the Caleb Radio Streaming computer. The internal meters

showed BUTT was picking up the audio feed loud and clear. As soon as the play

button was hit in BUTT, the audio feed was encoded to MP3 and streamed out of the

Caleb Radio Streaming computer to the IceCast server, (configured by Securenet

Systems the streaming services provider).

The only way to test that the whole integration project was successful was to open

the Caleb Radio app on a smartphone, tablet, or go to the "listen Live" button on the

website, and hit play. There was a delay of a couple of seconds before the audio

feed began playing through a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Android Smartphone. A quick


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check of the Live Video Streaming website on another laptop produced a slight echo,

as if the live video player was slightly in front of the Caleb Radio app. However, the

Pastor did not consider this an issue as most people would either watch CCF's live

video stream, or listen to the audio feed coming through the Caleb Radio stream.

4.3 Installation Review

During the installation and testing phase several issues were identified, most of

which now form the basis for other projects. However being able to troubleshoot is

considered essential for anyone working in any field of IT. Computer networks

themselves can pose all sorts of problems, and in the case of running the integration

project, two networks, two organisations and two computer topologies are involved

(see appendices 6 and 7: CCF and Caleb Network Topologies).

4.3.1 Audio/Video Streaming Problems

The audio extraction from the live video stream was successful in itself, however VLC

was unable to successfully play the video on the Caleb Radio computer. During

some of the tests with Wireshark it was noted that RTP over UDP were used for the

stream. RTP was developed to run over the UDP internet protocol according to

Wikipedia (2015), which states the following regarding UDP:

"This is simple and efficient; however, there is no mechanism within the protocol to

guarantee delivery. It is up to the receiving application to detect loss or corruption

and recover data using error correction techniques. If data is lost, the stream may

suffer a dropout.".

The RTP protocol running on top of UDP could be one possible cause of the video

streaming problems, however, it would be safe to assume that the audio would also

be affected. For the purposes of the project this issue has been noted worthy of

further investigation at another time. The successful extraction of the live audio

stream is all that is required at this stage for the project to be a success.

Not all projects to stream audio/video content are successful for a variety of reasons.

Taking the main point from a CNET Forum Discussion (2012) on this subject it is

possible to list five initial approaches to fixing video streaming, which also applies to

audio streaming.


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1. Check the Internet Connection is up, and if so reboot the router to get rid of

anything corrupting the connection.

2. Check the Internet Connection Speed using speedtest.net and pingtest.net to

see if there is not enough bandwidth available to support the stream.

According to Nyquist's Theory the bandwidth needs to be at least double the

signal rate. This also means making sure it is not congested by too many

devices being connected to it.

3. Make sure the device being used for streaming is of a suitable specification to

run the streaming applications.

4. Shut down unnecessary applications on the streaming device and reboot the

device if necessary

5. Make sure the streaming device recognises the device providing the stream,

i.e. suitable capture setup for video, connection to audio files to stream audio

etc.

These are only five common problems experienced by users which pertain solely to

streaming. Other potential issues might include having neglected computer

maintenance such as running scans to detect viruses and malware; defragmenting

the hard drive and running a boot up scan to clear out temporary memory (RAM).

4.4 Internet Service Providers

Early on in the project it was discovered using speedtest.net, that the upload

bandwidth being provided to CCF for the live video broadcast had dropped from

1200Kbps to 960Kbps. At that point CCF was providing a multi-platform broadcast of

normal quality and also of mobile quality. The recommended streaming data rate

required to support this type of broadcast was 800Kbps. Feedback being received

during the second half of 2014 was that viewers were not able to successfully watch

the live broadcast all the way through. As a result a single platform stream was

adopted with a recommended data rate requirement of 400Kbps. Another speed test

run in February 2015 showed a further drop in upload speed to 760Kbps. The Pastor

was informed during a meeting about the project, and agreed that once the contract

was up in June 2015, CCF would move to a different ISP with a higher upload

bandwidth.


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After the December, 2014 research was completed, several ISP's were considered

and the TalkTalk business package was recommended (see appendix 8: ISP

Comparisons).

4.5 Summary of Implementation

The integration of CCF's live video broadcast with Caleb Radio's internet radio

broadcast began with hardware upgrades and software installations in January 2015.

By the end of February all the computer hardware upgrades were completed, a grant

had been secured to upgrade a laptop for the prototype build, and the prototype build

was completed. By 5th March 2015, the required network cabling had been installed,

the upgraded computer was running Server 2008 R2, and the test network had been

successfully built and tested. By 18th March 2015, the project was ready for live

testing which took place on Sunday 22nd March 2015. Feedback received from the

live test declared the integration a success, resulting in full project implementation

with "on the job" training being provided over the next few weeks.

The prototype set up in Virtualbox worked to extract the audio from the video stream,

which was provided using a live recording in mp4 format. The prototype itself was not

perfect, but worked well enough to check that all the elements were there and were

connecting as they should. In the actual implementation similar problems were

encountered with the video stream not appearing on the Caleb Radio computer,

however this was not considered a major issue as it did not cause problems with the

audio stream.

Experience has shown that several common faults can occur when trying to stream

audio or video over networks or the internet. The most common problems relating to

this type of streaming were listed and solutions provided. However, very often

problems can be caused by far more simple issues, such as having too many

applications open on the streaming computer.

Security Policies were not in place for either organisation, so one has been drafted

up which, if acceptable, will apply to both organisations. There have been several

projects such as this that have been identified as being required, which will be

completed at an appropriate point after the project has been fully completed.


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Chapter 5 Project Review and Evaluation Throughout the project there have been several changes made to hardware,

software, networks, policies, and media team requirements. The true success of the

project cannot be measured without a proper review of these changes by the Author,

in conjunction with feedback from the new focus group. The Author has carried out

an evaluation to discover whether or not the integration has had the desired

outcome, and whether the organisations involved have been positively or negatively

impacted by its implementation. Part of this review included comparing the original

project specifications with the actual outcomes, to see how close the actual

implementation came to the original project requirements.

5.1 Hardware and Network Changes

Throughout the project, changes to the network topologies for CCF and Caleb Radio

have been kept to a minimum. This was made possible by upgrading the memory

and software in an older computer. Server 2008 R2 was bought and installed on the

computer, and then configured as an internal router. Previously this computer had

not been working, so using it to save CCF and Caleb Radio money was an

unexpected bonus. An old 4-port Netgear switch which was replaced by a new 8-port

switch, was added to the Caleb Radio network in order to connect the CCF computer

to the Caleb Radio Network. New network cables were bought and installed to

provide a reliable wired connection between the networks, recommended for

audio/video streaming. The figure below shows the new network topology linking

both CCF and Caleb Radio networks:


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Fig 5.1 - Upgraded CCF and Caleb Radio Topologies

The Pastor of CCF was delighted that the only expense incurred for the project was

the new cabling and server software. He is also extremely positive about the

possibilities of increasing the global reach with the live services. With the

infrastructure now in place and working, the Pastor of CCF is considering further

projects to improve the media offering from CCF and Caleb Radio overall, to involve

greater use of social media platforms and websites, as well as email tools to promote

the live CCF and Caleb Radio link up. Feedback from the Focus Group has

confirmed the success of the project, stating that Caleb Radio's stream of the live

service was of excellent quality.

The Pastor of CCF sent a memo mentioning his appreciation for the completion of

the project. The memo also lists other projects that he would like completed, some on

a similar scale to the CCF live video stream integration with Caleb Radio's audio

stream, while others are to complete other tasks which have been discovered in the

execution of the project implementation, (see appendix 9: Memo from David

Simpson, Pastor of CCF).


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5.2 Security Requirements

Concerns were raised during the research and literature review included that there

was no security policy in place for either organisation, and that the CCF live video

computer had no password to protect it from unauthorised access. Time constraints

meant that these concerns were added to other projects which needed to be

completed as soon as possible after this project is complete. The security policy has

been drafted and if accepted, will be implemented shortly after the final submission of

the project and management reports in April 2015. The addition of a password to the

live video broadcast computer was not considered a priority by the Pastor of CCF at

this time

5.3 Media Team Training

The media team includes the Author, who volunteers for CCF and Caleb Radio and

is responsible for everything from building and maintaining the computer networks, to

training the media team to operate the live video broadcasts, Caleb Radio

programming and more. Training the media team on the new system has already

begun, and due to time constraints, the training will be done "on the job" over several

weeks. Media team members are provided with support whether they are operating

the live video stream, or the live Caleb Radio stream. A training manual will be

written on completion of the project to enable the media team to prepare themselves

for continued successful operation of the multiplatform streams.

5.4 Focus Group Feedback

All Focus Group members now know about Caleb Radio from the first round of

interviews. They have all had the chance to listen to the live broadcast from CCF

through the Caleb Radio platform. Most Focus Group members admitted that

listening to the broadcast on Caleb Radio would be an acceptable alternative to

watching the live video broadcast. However, the general consensus of opinion was a

clear preference for watching the live video broadcast. The two men who had

previously said they would be happy to listen to the Caleb Radio stream were highly

satisfied with the audio quality from the radio.


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One of the ladies from the original video broadcast group stated that she had

encountered problems accessing the live video stream recently. When it was

explained that there could be a ongoing problem until CCF have changed their ISP

provider, she became more positive about the alternative of listening on Caleb Radio.

Overall the project was considered a success by the Focus Group.

5.5 Project Review and Evaluation Summary

CCF and Caleb Radio are happy with the overall outcome of the project

implementation. Not only does it bring another platform to access CCF's live

services, it also brings new challenges for the media team, and opens up new

opportunities to improve CCF's global reach. The upgrading of older equipment, and

use of redundant equipment enabled the project to fulfil its remit - to provide a

reliable, good quality, cost-effective solution. Already the Focus Group has an

increased awareness of both services, which means five extra people now know

about Caleb Radio. With the security policy in process, changes to CCF's ISP and

other projects in the pipeline, not only has the project reached a successful

conclusion, it has also instigated several other projects for the future. So far there

have not been any detrimental effects impacting either of the networks, since both

have a minimum of 100Mbps throughput. The integration has only been up and

running for two weeks, so issues may arise, however the Author is on site for support

during the services should it be required.

5.5.1 The End of The Line.... Or Is It?

Throughout the project, financial constraints lead to almost no choice regarding

which software to use. Hardware upgrades also had to be kept to the absolute

minimum, and bringing redundant equipment back into use provided a sense of

achievement of more than just implementing the project. Having reviewed the

options, it is possible that other small organisations with limited funds could also

benefit from this project.

At a time when many companies are struggling to make ends meet, this project could

provide them with an option, either on a one-off or more-regular basis, to reach the

world using both video and audio streaming simultaneously. The possibilities could

be endless for a limited cost. The Software Development Manager of Clyde


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Broadcast Products, and the Television Operations Manager of BBC Scotland have

both expressed interest in receiving a copy of the project. This in itself was

interesting since what was realised during the BVE 2015 visit was that during

conversations with many of the companies, there didn't seem to be anything in the

way of software available to perform the integration of the live video broadcast with

the internet radio broadcast.


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Chapter 6 Project Critique Implementing the project successfully and within the remit presented a huge

challenge. Finding research on streaming audio/video was tough due to the lack of

resource materials published on this subject. Even many whitepapers, IEEE papers

journals and other periodicals covered either video streaming, or audio streaming.

Although multiplatform multimedia solutions are widely offered, the industry itself still

seems to be focussed on hardware solutions, rather than on software integrations.

The Literature Review, therefore, covered both video and audio streaming with small

sections of networking books being given to the subject. The two books that were

eventually sourced proved, at best, to be out of date: from the beginning to middle of

the last decade. New standards and protocols for reliable streaming over the internet

are continually being researched and improved upon. Even since the beginning of

researching the live video broadcast for CCF, there have been huge improvements in

streaming performance. However, the Data and Computer Communications Module

proved a useful tool in researching internet radio, since the first coursework was

centred around radio broadcasting standards. This helped move the project ahead as

much of the research undertaken for that coursework was relevant for this project.

The two organisations are located next to each other, which originally would have

made connecting the networks using an internal router simple. However, financial

constraints lead to the requirement to refurbish and use equipment which had been

used in CCF, but had been replaced. This also caused problems with software as

there weren't many free open-source packages which could be used and configured

to work reliably. The chosen software ended up being able to support the extraction

of audio out of the video stream, however, it was limited in the protocols used which

was mainly the older RTP built on the UDP protocol.

Although a grant was secured for the purpose of upgrading the IT/Media laptop, the

application process took time and threatened to hold back the prototype build. Once

the grant came through the laptop upgrade was completed successfully. The

prototype set up was straightforward enough, until coming to the Icecast server. An

account had to be configured in the icecast.xml configuration file, without which there

was no way of connecting to it even for test purposes. Even with the upgrade the


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laptop failed to deliver a fully-working prototype, though during the project

implementation and testing, though it became clear that some of this was down to the

VLC software itself. The night before the presentation, the prototype crashed and

required re-installation and re-configuration. Since the prototype was not fully

operational, test results were inconclusive and misleading as the laptop resources

were overloaded. As a result, a small test network had to be set up in the Caleb

Radio office with the newly upgraded server.

The Focus Group interviews created another problem with the original Focus Group

from CCF's live video project not even being aware of the existence of Caleb Radio.

On checking the demographics of the Focus Group, it was discovered that there was

no representation of anyone under the age of 50 in the Focus Group. Two couples

were then drafted in to represent the 30's and 40's age groups, which extended the

time required to finalise the Focus Group results.

Neither organisation had a Security Policy. One was drafted and is being looked at

by the board, but it was decided not to add it to the project. The scope of the project

expanded during implementation as real-world issues arose. Regular meetings were

held with the supervisor throughout the duration of the project where these issues

and were discussed with regard to the impact they were having on the project

schedule. The requirement to upgrade hardware added work to the project which had

not been expected, though this was agreed as necessary to keep costs down.

Various other ongoing projects often threatened successful completion of the project

including more issues with CCF's ISP. However, the Pastor discovered another ISP

who could give CCF and Caleb Radio the upload and download speeds required. It is

hoped that this move will resolve the problems. Since then the project

implementation has taken place and been successful. The extra time which had to be

allocated to the project has been used to great effect and the project is now

complete.

The Author appreciated the new live platform just as the project was drawing to

close. Unable to attend due to migraines, she was available to remote into the Caleb

Radio computer to support the media team member who would switch from the auto-

playlist to the live service broadcast. The team member successfully carried out the

switchover, which marked the successful completion of the project.


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Chapter 7 Conclusions The project remit was to integrate the live video broadcast of CCF with Caleb Radio

by extracting the audio from CCF's video broadcast and broadcasting it via Caleb

Radio's audio stream. The main goals were to provide a reliable, cost-effective,

multiplatform and multimedia experience for both organisations' global audiences, as

well as to increase awareness to both audiences of the existence of the other

organisation. The other goals for the project include providing a level of redundancy

in the event of failure of one of the streams, and the increase in global reach for

CCF's live broadcasts.

Research was completed, both secondary and primary research leading to clear

decisions regarding the hardware and software upgrades and installations that would

be required. Financial restrictions limited software choice to free open-source

software, while the re-purposing of hardware enabled Caleb Radio to upgrade an old

computer into a Windows 2008 R2 server, and a 4-port switch used to connect the

network devices at the back of the church to the internal router.

Overall the project has been implemented successfully and deemed to be a success;

however, there are several other projects which have come up as a result, including

the urgent need to update wiring under the floor, agree and finalise security policies

for the organisations, and install new equipment from the new ISP to support the

improved broadband speeds.

The attendance at the BVE 2015 and the Creative Industries Conference were

extremely useful both from a research point of view, and contacts made. Information

retrieved from BVE 2015 especially pointed to the broadcast industry being one of a

growth industry. The project was therefore a worthwhile project to do, as it offers a

cost-effective broadcast solution for organisations, who may not otherwise be able to

afford to enter the field of broadcasting their own live events.

7.1 Future Recommendations

The recommendation for future similar projects is to deal with hardware and software

upgrades prior to commencement of the project, as well as having full network

infrastructure and documentation in place. More hours should also be allocated to


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building the prototype, to allow for any crashes that may occur and equipment used

for a virtual set up requires to be of a high enough specification, in order to run the

machines and stream the software. This will help to ensure that testing can be

achieved with conclusive results. Where possible, the prototype should be built on a

test network with equipment which has a high enough specification to run the

resource hungry streams. It's recommended that future projects be fully funded prior

to commencement to ensure that necessary equipment and software upgrades can

be purchased as needed to complete the work. For instance the Caleb Radio

computer is streaming audio all the time, 24/7, 365 days per year. This puts a huge

strain on the hardware of any computer configuration, so any computers with similar

running requirements should be expected to have a shorter lifespan. Future budgets

should take this ongoing maintenance expense into consideration.

Attendance at industry events is extremely useful to keep up to date with the latest

technology, hardware and software that is available. Since the industry moves at

such a fast rate it is important for students and professionals alike to keep abreast of

the latest developments. Since researching and implementing the live video stream

for CCF in 2009, there have been at least two major equipment upgrades. Firstly, a

camera upgrade brought with it an improved video image. Following that, the

complete replacement of both the camera and the computer, which was required

after Livestream.com upgraded their whole operation. Being able to see the latest

hardware and software being used widely in the industry has confirmed that the

Broadcast Industry will continue to change and develop. The project has been

successful and hopefully will have an impact on the industry as it is sent to Derek

Dunnington, Software Development Manager at Clyde Broadcast Products, and

Graham Fuge, Television Operations Manager at BBC Scotland. However, the

Author will review the software options continually with both CCF and Caleb Radio, in

order to ensure continual updating of hardware and software in the coming months

and years.

7.2 Future Projects

Throughout the project, several other projects were identified such as CCF's

requirement to move ISP and the drafting and implementation of Security Policies. In

most cases these other projects are close to completion, and CCF will shortly move


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to a new ISP. The Author has been approached by David Simpson, Pastor of CCF

with new projects to work on (see appendix 10: Memo From David Further To

Successful Implementation). The request for using more than one camera in the live

video stream will require the use of IP video cameras. Since this type of project

would also interest Mr Fuge from BBC Scotland, the Author will begin work on it in

May 2015.


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Appendices

Appendix 1 Caleb Radio Statistics Provided by Securenet Systems

Listener metrics for November 2013

There were 170 listener sessions in the US for the month of November 2013

There were 299 listener sessions internationally for the same month

Total listener sessions were 469 for November 2013

Over half of the listeners tuned in on their desktop computers

Listener metrics for October 2014

There were 307 listener sessions in the US for the month of October 2014

There were 223 listener sessions internationally for the same month

Total listener sessions were 530 for October 2014

Less than a third of listeners tuned in on their desktop computers, while over half tuned in on iOS

devices


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Appendix 2 David's Memo to Integrate Video Broadcast with Radio Broadcast

01698 254848 [email protected]

www.calebradio.org

CALEB RADIO

“CALVARY” 344 MUIR STREET, MOTHERWELL ML1 1BN

Caleb Radio “Calvary” 344 Muir Street

Motherwell ML1 1BN

Memorandum

Irene,

As per our discussion earlier this year I’d like you to link up the live video broadcasts that

we do for CCF, to the Caleb Radio station. I will be happy for you to use this towards your

honours project on the understanding that the project is completed as soon as possible.

You will have full access to the equipment and should we require to upgrade hardware or

software, we will do this within reason.

David


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Appendix 3 CCF Network Topology


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Appendix 4: Caleb Radio Network Topology


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Appendix 5: Audio and Video Software Streaming Packages

Software Cost

S-Radio Audio Streaming Package From £3,000

Synergy Audio Streaming Package From £7,000

Station Master Audio Playlist Encoder From $249

Edcast Audio Encoder Free

Broadcast Using This Tool Free

Wirecast Video Encoder From $495

Livestream Video Studio From Free for Basic version

VideoLan (VLC) Free


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Appendix 6: CCF Hardware and Software Assets

Product Specifications

Zoostorm Video Broadcast PC i7 quad core chip, 16GB Memory, 1TB HDD, Intensity Pro Capture Card

Audio Recording PC Dual core intel chip, 4GB Memory, 160GB HDD

Elain's Laptop i3 dual core chip, 4GB Memory, 500GB HDD

David's Laptop i5 dual core chip, 6GB Memory, 500GB HDD

Irene's Laptop i5 dual core chip, 8GB Memory, 750GB HDD

Netgear N300 Wireless Router Dual channel

Samsung Colour Laser Printer

Netgear Range Extender 4-port, N150

Wi-Fi Access Point 4-port Wireless Access Point for Back Hall


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Appendix 7: Caleb Radio's Hardware and Software Assets

Product Specifications

Chillblast Desktop Computer i5 dual core chip, 8GB Memory, 1TB HDD

Basic Thomson Router 4-port router, dual channel


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Appendix 8: ISP Comparisons

Business Broadband Deals for CCF - New prices as of March 2015

Upload speeds up to 50Mbps

Upload speeds up to 9.5Mbps







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Appendix 9: Memo From David Further to Successful Implementation

01698 254848 [email protected]

www.calebradio.org

CALEB RADIO

“CALVARY” 344 MUIR STREET, MOTHERWELL ML1 1BN

Caleb Radio “Calvary” 344 Muir Street Motherwell ML1 1BN

Memorandum

Irene,

Excellent work on the broadcast link up with Caleb. We'll phase in the Thursday and

Sunday night services as more people get to grips with it.

Some other projects for this year and beyond:

Using more than one camera to record services - broadcast quality at least that could be

used for Christian Television

Doing a short video about the church for new members

Recording notices to include at some point in the service and also during the week

Keswick in Motherwell - live broadcasting from the Civic Theatre

David

Irene MacBain Final Report

Documents

Transcript of Irene MacBain Final Report