Open Source Solutions for Live Video Distribution?

mikvo asks: "I work for my state Department of Transportation, and we have a reasonably advanced traffic monitoring system, currently with almost 300 cameras (and expanding). However, our matrix (300x200) video switch is running out of life, and we have to replace it. The primary consultant on the project is recommending we move entirely to digital video, using VBrick encoders and decoders. It's a private network, though we know there are still security issues around that. However, the primary question is, are there viable open source alternatives for both encoding and decoding the live video streams, rather than relying on proprietary (read expensive) decoding hardware?"

"The video encoders would have to be deployed in the field (protected cabinets, but still subject to tempreature extremes), while the decoders would all be indoors. The decoders would also have to support rapid (sub-second) switching between video streams. We would require full remote management of both encoders and decoders. I know I can use something like vlc (VideoLAN client) just to read the video streams coming from a VBrick encoder (I have that working on our demo units). However, I'm not sure I'm totally comfortable with the cost of the propsed solutions, especially when it's my tax dollars (in part at least) that are paying for it.

Video distribution would have to be on-demand viewing of any encoded video stream, by any authorized party. The control center has a large (14 screen) video wall that, ideally, should be able to display any video in any of the 14 quadrants, or to show video spread over multiple quadrants.

I'm perfectly happy to do the research (and I've started doing some), but I'm looking for tips or ideas. I'm not an expert when it comes to video solutions on open source operating systems."

Comments

QuickTime

[Johnny Mnemonic]

QuickTime Streaming Server is available as an Open Source solution. From Apple's website:
"Open Source Versatility

While QuickTime Streaming Server is designed for Mac OS X Server, it's also available as an open source server called Darwin Streaming Server. Versions are available for Linux, Solaris and Windows NT/2000. And because it's an open source technology, Darwin Streaming Server can be ported to other platforms by modifying a few platform-specific source files."

That should help at least with your software needs.

Re:QuickTime

[akb]

If one uses mpeg4ip in concert with DSS one has an end to end free solution.

PCs running linux

[infonography]

While the temp extremes your talking about are real the problem is rather minor. In this case the older the hardware the better. Run the whole thing off a CDROM and a small harddrive.

More heat equals less wetness. Here PVC pipes are your bestest friends. Run the heated air from the CPU and drive area out to heat up the area above the Box.

Keep a hole in the joints of the pipes to drain stray water. just keep a $5 keyboard hooked up to it and some temp sensors and your done. I have done this sort of thing for other people.

Worked fine for a trafficCam for a local website. Sounds like you have more resources for this.

But if you have to spend more then $100 a unit your thinking right.

Re:PCs running linux

[FueledByRamen]

Forget harddrive / cdrom - they're semi-bulky, break down easily, and require special environmental concerns. Just burn a ROM with a netboot loader in it, throw it in the ethernet card, and netboot/NFS-root the whole thing. Makes configuration changes and software upgrades that much easier, too - especially if you can have a shared NFS root for the software, and just have each machine mount its own /etc, /var, and /tmp on local ramdisks, copying the barebones files from a template directory and building some on boot (eth0 config, hostname, etc...).

An etherboot-enabled NIC attached to an old P2 system (or K6/2 - those are pretty nice, and the K6/3 or a lowend P3 would have no problems. No athlons for heat concerns!), and a proper video capture card (BT848 or BT868 are nice'n'cheap, but you could go for one with onboard MPEG encoding and use a less-powerful machine) with good Linux support should do wonders.

For powering concerns, if there will be any: Don't bother with a UPS for every machine. Just use ATX motherboards that are Wake-on-LAN compliant. When the power comes on, wait for the network harware to start working again, and broadcast the WOL command. If you're still worried about power/environment concerns (odd 150000v spike from lightning, etc), use a good surge suppressor on the network, power, and video lines and keep a good supply of spare parts on hand.

ffmpeg

[sethgecko]

Apple's QT streaming server only streams the video. It creating the stream can be quite expensive. try ffmpeg

software

[Fat Cow]

Run a software mpeg encoder like ffmpeg on an SBC or a mini-itx system. You can make it solid state (leaving out the hard drive) by making it boot over the network)

Cu30 for GPL

[deathcubek]

CU30 is one choice for 30 fps live video conferencing.

Its under the GPL and MPL and has (or still is) been supported via open h323 as an external library and gnome meeting should work. (I havn't confirmed either)

Qvix Technologies has a propritary version of the same codec, only much more refined. (I used to work for them.)