e-Sanjeevani:Telemedicine Software Application For Streaming Media, server software is required to allow users to play video and audio streams simultaneously

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Streaming Media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received and displayed to the user while it is being delivered by the provider. Streaming allows media to be delivered via the Web in such a way that streamed data resides on the content provider's server and not on the user's hard drive. Media that is distributed over telecommunications networks can occur as a continuous broadcast streaming much like a radio transmission or can be as a single file of any length like audio CDs, allowing for large amounts of data to be delivered. There are two major streaming technologies (methods) emerging for streaming audio and video content on the internet. Web Server. Streaming Media Server. In Web Server approach, a standard Web server is used to supply data to the client. While deploying streaming media content with the Web server approach uncompressed audio and video is first compressed into a single "media file" for delivery over a specific network bandwidth such as a 28.8 kilobits per second (Kbps) modem. This media file is then placed on a standard Web server. Next, a Web page containing the media file's URL is created and placed on the same Web server. This Web page, when activated, launches the client-side player and downloads the media file. Web server streaming uses the Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP), the standard Web protocol used by all Web servers (such as Microsoft Internet Information Server) and Web browsers (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer) for communication between the server and the client. HTTP operates on top of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which handles all the data transfers. In Streaming Media Server approach, a specialized streaming server delivers the data to the client. In the streaming media server approach, the initial steps are similar to the Web server approach, except that the compressed media file is produced and copied to a specialized streaming media server (such as Microsoft Windows Media Services) instead of a Web server. Then a Web page with a reference to the media file is placed on a Web server. Windows Media Services and the Web server may run on the same computer. Streaming media servers uses (RTSP, MMS and Http protocol for transmitting media content over the web) the HTTP/TCP protocols used by Web servers; they can also use specialized protocols such as the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to greatly improve the streaming experience. Unlike TCP, UDP is a fast, lightweight protocol without any re-transmission or data-rate management functionality. This makes UDP an ideal protocol for transmitting real-time audio and video data, which can tolerate some lost packets. Requirements for playing streamed data files on the computer system In order to play streaming media, the user should (authenticate himself over the web as media server allows only authenticated clients to connect, along with this the client system should have windows media player {preferably a recent version} installed for providing an interface to play the media content ) download the latest streaming systems from the web. Hardware recommendations include a Pentium-class PC with MMX technology or a Macintosh PowerPC computer with a sound card and speakers. A fast connection to the Internet is necessary. The better the connectivity (T1 or faster), the clearer the quality of the media stream will be; on slower, less powerful machines, media streams are susceptible to interference from other traffic on the Internet and may result in a fragmented or distorted playback. A 28.8K modem is at the lowest end of the scale in terms of its ability to handle streaming media. Requirements for creating streamed data files Hardware A Powerful operating system running at speeds of 200 MHz or better is suggested. On the PC platform, a Pentium II or better running at no less than 200 MHz is required. No less than 96M of RAM (random-access memory), is strongly suggested, especially for video capture. It is not uncommon to have 300M of RAM on capturing stations. A very high-quality graphics card is also helpful. A video and/or audio capture card is required with the proper cabling to connect to a VCR, CD player, microphone, cassette player, or whatever the media source may be. Software There are various compression schemes and encoding software that are used to create video and audio for the Web. Generally, video and audio are captured uncompressed and then processed for the Web. Most capture cards come with their own capture software, but other more costly programs such as Adobe Premiere work with many cards and also allow for high-quality editing features. For streaming media, server software is required to allow users to play video and audio streams simultaneously. Depending on the multiple streams required, the cost can vary greatly. Advantages of Streaming The primary advantage of the Web server approach is that it requires one less software component (the streaming media server) to learn and manage. This method can be an effective first step in developing a streaming solution. The streaming media server approach, using Microsoft Windows NT Server Windows Media Services, has these advantages: More efficient use of the network bandwidth. Better audio and video quality to the user. Advanced features like detailed reporting and multi-stream multimedia content. Supports large number of users. Content copyright protection. No waiting for complete downloads Capable of conveying live events in near real time. Supports interactivity, allowing content to be experienced in a non-linear manner. Use of Streaming in the field of Telemedicine The telemedicine is the union of audio, video and information technologies that allow transporting health, medical treatment and sanitary education in space and time. With this new treatment mode is the doctor that goes (electronically) to the patient and not vice versa. The instruments used in this ambit allow, in fact, the tele-consultation, the therapy at distance, the remote analysis diagnosis, the remote education, the consultation between colleagues and sanitary institutions. C-DAC gives telemedicine solutions like videoconference systems, and videophones for the connection between the patients home and the treatment centers, systems of audio and video recording of medical operations, systems of acquisition, visualization, filing and sharing of medical images, systems for the remote monitoring and video-surveillance of the patient. C-DAC telemedicine department has implemented videoconferencing with the streaming media server using Flash Media Server and Windows Media Server for data and audio-visual information sharing and exchange between the different locations as hospitals, treatment centers and patients homes.