Embedded video in web page

[Ignatius]

I've launched into a project that requires users to upload videos to a server (via PHP) on the LAN and this server will not have access to the internet. The videos are .mts and I will use ffmpeg.exe (or similar) to convert them automatically to another format such as .mov, .mp4, .flv etc. There is a requirement at this stage to prevent users from downloading the videos to their local devices (though I realise the more adventurous will probably find a way to download them!) but they should be able to play them via a web browser. I have little experience of web design so this is a steep learning curve for me.

 

As far as I know, if I convert to a .mov, the client will have to have Quicktime installed and if I convert to a .swf or .flv, they will have to have Flash player installed. Ideally, I would like to have the video play without any specific software being installed on the client device.

 

I've looked into this and think that a .flv file can be played if an FLV Player is installed on the web server. I've seen several free players via google but don't know if I'm going about this in the right way. Should I have one of these installed on the web server and, if so, may I have recommendations? Is .flv the best format to use? The web package that I'm using is xampp which has Apache (with PHP, MySQL etc.) on Windows.

 

Does anyone have much experience of this sort of thing? The organisation is strapped for cash (who isn't?) and isn't an educational establishment. Ideally, I'd like to use reputable free software although there could be some cash available if a particularly useful licenced software package were available.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Arthur]

There is a requirement at this stage to prevent users from downloading the videos to their local devices

To make it as difficult as possible to download the videos you probably need something like Adobe's Flash Media Streaming Server v4.5 (~£950). It can stream your videos (so they never get saved to disk), encrypt the streams using RTMPe and encode the videos into different formats on-the-fly.

 

Real Time Encryption for RTMP (RTMPe)

Easily encrypt your live or on-demand media so you can deliver HD video and full adaptive bitrate to any Flash Player compatible device. RTMPe is used by major global broadcasters today to protect valuable media content.

 

Player binding with SWF file verification

Protect unauthorized video players from playing your video, saving bandwidth costs and protecting your monetization efforts. Use your SWF video player or a new SWF hashing tool to create unique encryption keys for RTMP, RTMFP, and HTTP delivery.

 

Token authentication

Control access to your content using server/player tokens. Flash Media Server can process tokens against separate web services to grant or deny access.

 

Access control lists

Control access to domains and IP addresses to protect your live or on-demand video streams or communications.

 

Secure RTMP protocol

Enable secure video, audio, and data message transport to and from Flash Player compatible devices. The multiway RTMP protocol can be encrypted as well as tunneled over HTTP.

 

Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS) for Adobe Flash Player

Protect your content streamed to desktop and devices using HTTP with reduced complexity thanks to real-time encryption, cacheable key delivery, and player binding.

 

However, since there isn't anything stopping someone from using screen capture software or a mobile phone/camcorder to record the videos, you may be wasting your money.

[dhicks]

I've looked into this and think that a .flv file can be played if an FLV Player is installed on the web server.

 

Each client will still need Flash installed - the "FLV Player" component provides various controls and features (pause buttons, full screen, etc), you'll still need Flash installed to actually use it.

 

If the whole idea is that this is a non-Internet accesible device, then hopefully you have control over the client machines in the school and what software they have installed on them. You'll probably find that most of them will have Flash player installed on them, although how up-to-date that is tends to vary. You probably want HTML 5 video, though - HTML 5 provides a built-in "video" element that lets you embed video clips as you currently do images. Easy, no fuss, but again check your client machines to see how up-to-date various versions of various browsers are.

[Arthur]

You probably want HTML 5 video, though - HTML 5 provides a built-in "video" element that lets you embed video clips as you currently do images.

I would go with HTML5 video as well, if it wasn't for the following issue.

 

There is a requirement at this stage to prevent users from downloading the videos to their local devices

[Marci]

Have a look at Longtail Video Player (formerly JWPLayer). It covers all the bases...

H264 encoded MP4 playable via HTML5 with a Flash fallback is fairly common these days, and can be easily streamed using apache's mod_h264_streaming module. You can also use playlists to retrieve and stream vids from a non-public location on the server.

 

There are also ready-to-roll free / OpenSource solutions such as PHP-Motion that just need dropping on a webserver which has the pre-requisite apps installed.

 

Your biggest issue tho will be finding a solution that doesn't allow end-users to download the video via nefarious means (cache scraping for instance) - there aren't many systems out there that can't be gotten round.

Edited August 17, 2012 by Marci