Streaming

SubC Streaming Service is a cloud-based software that is accessible from any system connected to the Internet.

The SubC Stream Desktop Application works in concert with your SubC Streaming Service account and SubC Presentations, allowing you to live stream a variety of input video sources from offshore (i.e. ROVs and/or Vessels) to SubC Presentations where viewers onshore can watch from anywhere in the world.

With SubC Streaming Service, you can Stream the Channel videos to the Internet and securely control who can view by creating Presentations in SubC Streaming Services Web application.

Your Presentation invitations include a link and Access Code and are sent to your viewers via email from within each Presentation.

To use this Streaming feature in the Stream Desktop application requires a SubC Streaming Service account.

When you select Menu → Streaming, if you get this activation prompt, and your company has subscribed to SubC Streaming Services, login to SubC Streaming Services Web application to generate an Activation Code and enter it in this Activate prompt on your SubC DVR+O / SCI desktop application.

This “Activate” step registers your SubC desktop application host PC with your Group in the SubC Streaming Service. You’ll only have to do this activation once per PC when your first install the SubC desktop application.

With Stream Channel configured with video Inputs, Select Menu → Streaming

Sign In/Out

Sign In to your Streaming Service account

Ideally,

Latency shouldn't exceed 150ms.

Jitter should be below 30ms.

Packet loss % should be no more than 1%

Network Stats

Server - This field will populate automatically with the domain name of the Stream Server based on your selection (below in the Server → Location field).
Status - Indicates the status of the connection with the selected Stream Server: Success or Failed (Failed if the server is unavailable or unreachable due to Internet accessibility issue).
Latency (ms) - Latency refers to the delay in network traffic between your PC and the streaming server.
Jitter (ms) - Jitter is when packets arrive at the destination in a different order than they were sent. (Typically caused by network congestion, route changes, etc.) The longer it takes for packets to arrive, the more jitter can negatively impact the video and audio quality.
Packet Loss % - Packet Loss happens when packets travelling across the network fail to reach the destination (usually caused by network instability and/or congestion).

SubC Stream servers are geographically located. Typically, you select a Stream server that is in the region in which your vessel or project is operating. However, you can select any Stream server you wish as they are all available globally.

Server

Location - Click the dropdown field and select from the list of available SubC Stream Servers.
Login Timeout - Is set to default of 15 seconds. You can adjust this to a longer wait time if your network takes more than 15 seconds to respond to the transmissions between your system and the Stream server.
Auto Reconnect (On/Off) - set to default On. If you lose your Internet connection, or connection to the Stream server is interrupted, as soon as the service is re-established any streams that were started before the interruption will resume.

RealTime streaming is useful when you need very low latency video (such as for piloting a craft). Typically, this type of stream has sub-second latency but minimizing latency means no buffering. Frames are delivered and displayed as soon as they become available. The lack of buffering may result in the video being jumpy on slower networks

Video - Realtime

Transmission Type: RealTime
Encoder: vp9 | gpu_h264 | h264
- vp9 - Default; vp9 is a higher compression codecs, allowing for better quality images at a lower bitrate/bandwidth requirement; Stream at 1bit/sec; requires higher CPU resources
- gpu_h264 - Is a lower compression codecs; Streams at higher bitrate/bandwidth requirement; Stream at 4bit/sec; requires less CPU resources as the performance is video-card based.
- h264 - Is similar to gpu_h264 in all aspects, except it utilizes the CPU resources; Select h264 if your system video card does not support gpu_h264 but you wish to use lower compression/stream at a high bitrate/bandwidth.
BitRate (Kbps) - Default = 256;
- Selection Range: 16-5120.
Resolution - Default = Auto;
- Selection Range: 1920x1080, 1280x720, 720x480, 320x240.
Framerate (fps) - Default = Auto;
- Selection Range: 5, 15, 20, 29.97, 30.

Smooth streaming is useful when you need a smooth consistent stream but latency and quality are not as much of a concern. This type of stream buffers several seconds of video frames to ensure smooth playback and also possesses a technology to cope with slower networks by delivering short fragments of video and verifying that each was played back at the expected quality level. If one fragment doesn't play with the expected quality, the next fragment is delivered at a lower quality level.

Video - Smooth

Transmission Type: Smooth
Encoder options = mpeg4
- mpeg4 - Moving Pictures Expert Group 4 is a standard for the coding compression of audio and video files. MPEG4 efficiently reduces video and audio size while keeping quality and fidelity.
BitRate (Kbps) - Default = 256
- Selection Range: 16-5120, 320x240
Resolution - Default = Auto
- Selection Range: 1920x1080, 1280x720, 720x480, 320x240.
Framerate (fps) - Default = Auto
- Selection Range: 5, 15, 20, 29.97, 30.
SRT Sender Latency: Low | Medium | High
Low = 1s, Medium = 3s, High = 5s

SRT Sender Latency:
Low | Medium | High

These settings allow you to adapt to variations in your Network quality. You can select Low = 1s, Medium = 3s, High = 5s - whichever best suits your current Network conditions. For example, if you have optimal Network conditions, low dropouts, less buffering required, select Low for 1 seconds of buffering. If you need more buffering, select Medium for 3 seconds or High for 5 seconds.

Audio

Embedded Audio - If you have a microphone connected to your system through which you would like to communicate/add narration during your video streaming transmission, select Enable checkbox.
Audio Bitrate (Kbps) - Default is set to 64Kbps depending on your Network performance. You can adjust the audio bitrate to improve the audio quality.

You need to be logged into the SubC Streaming Service (See Menu → Settings → Sign In/Out) to activate the Presentation Name field to become a drop-down / selection field.
Create your Presentations from within the SubC Streaming Service Web Application to make them available in this selection field.

Presentation

Presentation Name - Displays the Name of the Presentation that this Channel will stream to.
Data Enabled - Displays as red “X” if not enabled / green checkmark if enabled on the Presentation
See Data Input section for more details.
Audio Chat - Displays as red “X” if not enabled / green checkmark if enabled on the Presentation
See Audio Chat & Audio Rooms section for more details.
One-Time - One-Time Stream is optimized for quickly sharing a single channel of video, (without the need for an access code as is an option in regular Presentations). The link to a One-Time Stream will expire as soon as the Channel stops streaming, and a new link will be generated each time the input is started streaming. See Presentations → One-Time Stream

Streaming Service Web Application

On the Streaming Service web application → Groups, you’ll see and be able to interact with your Stream desktop application’s Channels.

Similar to the Stream desktop application UI, you can also configure the Channels from within the Streaming Service web UI and start / stop Streaming.

See SubC Streaming Service Web User Manual → Home Groups for details on Configuring Channels Input, Quality and Presentation within the Streaming Service web UI

IP Camera Input Example

INPUT

Name - By default, displays the hostname of the PC on which the DVR+O desktop application is running. If you wish, you can change the Channel Name and click Save Name. This name change will also be applied to the corresponding Channel on the desktop application.
Type - Select an Input Type
- Capture Card
- IP Camera
- RTSP Address
- Screen / Window Capture
- Presentation Input

(These fields below will appear when Input is IP camera)

Address - the address of the video Input source
Protocol
- Default
- UDP
- TCP

(This field will appear if Menu → Settings → Admin Settings → Show RTSP connection parameters has been selected on the Stream desktop application)

Advanced - variable you may tune if you wish.
- Defaults:
  - network.buffer_max=0.5
  - network.buffer_max=0
  - network.low_delay=true
  - loop=true

QUALITY

Transmission Type
Encoder
Bit Rate (kbps)
Resolution
Framerate

PRESENTATION

Presentation
- Select the Presentation Name to which you wish to output this Channel video
- Presentation Features
  - Audio Chat | Data | One-Time
Streaming Location
- Select the Stream Server by geographic location (All SubC Stream Server are accessible all from any location, but we recommend selecting a Stream Server nearest your location)
Click Start when you are ready to start streaming this Channel

Streaming in progress

You can also Start | Stop the Channel Streaming from within the Stream Desktop application also, however it is often convenient to remotely Start | Stop the Channel Streaming via the SubC Streaming Service web application.

Click View to see the Channel Streaming video
Click Stop to end the Channel Streaming

The Channel configuration and activities applied through the SubC Streaming Service web application are automatically applied / synchronized on the Stream Desktop application.

In the SubC Streaming Service Web application, select Menu → Presentations to create and see your list of Presentation.

Regular & One-Time Stream Presentation Examples

Click the green + circle to open the Create Presentation UI.

Title - Give your Presentation a meaningful name.
Email Addresses - enter the email addresses of people you would like to invite to view your Presentation (separate each email with a comma)
Internal Presentation - Do not select for customer facing presentations.
- Select only for internal testing of Presentations and One-Time Presentations as this option will place a SubC Watermark overlay the videos. Also, you will not be billed for these internal test presentations.
Data Streaming - Select if you wish to stream data out along with your Presentation video.
- When you create a Presentation and include the Data Streaming option, if the Channel that is assigned to this Presentation is streaming Data (Channel is taking in data source, such as NMEA or telemetry data, via Data Input), when you then take that Presentation in as Channel Input on another Stream system, it will receive the video & data streaming from the Source (“Sending”) Channel through the Presentation to the (“Receiving”) Channel. You can see this incoming data in Menu → Data Input → Existing Data Inputs → Presentation Data.
Audio Chat - Select if you wish to include the ability to chat with other viewers during your Presentation. An “Audio Chat” button will appear on the Presentation that the viewers can click to open an Audio Chat session in another web browser.

One-Time Presentation
Note, Data Streaming and Audio Chat are not applicable to One-Time Presentation
See One-Time Stream for more details.

Those invited to view the Presentation can now open the Presentation web application, enter their email address and the Presentation specific Access Code to view the Presentation with the Channel videos Streaming to SubC Streaming Service.

If you would alternatively like to have a SubC Presentation viewer UI customized with your Company logo / branding, contact sales@subcimaging.com

Once logged in, the Presentation shows the streaming Channel video in real-time.
If you are running Stream with multiple Channels configured and streaming to the same Presentation, all videos will be displayed in the Presentation.

See SubC Streaming Service Web User Manual