Mac OS X Server 10.4 Tiger: Visual QuickPro Guide

12. QuickTime Streaming Server

Apple has always been at the forefront of authoring audio and video, so it should come as no surprise that the tool used to deliver audio and video media in Mac OS X Server is capable of similarly powerful results. Although it's part of Mac OS X Server, the QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) can also be downloaded for free and can be installed on Mac OS X Client. It is provided under a different nameDarwin Streaming Server (DSS)but make no mistake, it's based on the exact same code. DSS can also be installed on other operating systems such as Red Hat Linux 9 and Windows 2000/2003 Server.

Mac OS X Server provides a suite of three applications focused on streaming. QTSS is the core server, capable of streaming QuickTime, MPEG-4, H.264, MP3, and even 3GPP (streaming to mobile phones) to viewers across cellular networks. QuickTime Broadcast (QTB) is a live encoder application that, when coupled with QTSS, allows for the delivery of live streaming events. Last but not least is QTSS Publisher, which handles media preparation, playlist development, and the creation of Web pages that contain streaming content. QTSS Publisher makes all these common tasks easier to accomplish. QTSS, QTB, and QTSS Publisher make for a terrific triple threat of streaming to help you get started. This chapter teaches you how to set up and run QTSS for your organization.