Streaming

RTSP streaming

The implementation supports Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). An RTSP player is created using the Manager.createPlayer method with the locator starting with rtsp:// and ending with a supported video file extension:

• Correct locator: rtsp://somedomain/video.3gp

• Incorrect locator: rtsp://somedomain/video

An RTSP network access point must be set from RealPlayer or Player.prefetch throws MediaException with the error code -39. RTSP connections always use the default access point set in RealPlayer. Depending on the product and operator configuration, a default access point may be set automatically. A 3G network connection is recommended to achieve smooth streaming.

The playable content types can be queried dynamically by calling Manager.getSupportedContentTypes("rtsp").

In some cases, the dimensions of the source video cannot be obtained for RTSP streams. In these cases, the default video display size (32x32 pixels) is used, and VideoControl.getSourceWidth and VideoControl.getSourceHeight will both return the value 32. The actual video image resolution is not affected, so the video can be rescaled to the desired size using VideoControl.setDisplaySize without loss in image quality.

The supported content types for RTSP are listed in section Content types.

The RTSP player automatically uses an existing Internet connection if one is already open.

Progressive playback

The Symbian platform supports progressive playback ("progressive download" or "HTTP streaming") from S60 3rd Edition FP 1 onwards. To create a Player for progressive playback, use the Manager.createPlayer method with the http:// media locator. The file URL for the Player must include the name of the audio file together with a format suffix. If the format suffix is missing, progressive playback cannot be performed. This restriction is removed in newer Symbian^3 devices. For more information about this issue, see the Nokia Developer Knowledge Base.

Contrary to RTSP streaming, a progressive playback network connection is not dependent on RealPlayer. Instead, the default Internet connection access point is used. If a default access point has not been set, then an access point selection dialog is presented. A 3G network connection is recommended to achieve smooth streaming.

Progressive playback is supported only for the following content types:

With other types, the media data is downloaded completely before playing.

InputStream

Streaming from an InputStream is not supported. All the data available in an InputStream is consumed into a buffer before a player is created.