Helix Universal Server Pro
RealNetworks, Inc. | 15.2Linux/Unix, CentOS 6.5 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Needs Work
I set out to put together a service I can spin up on demand, to distribute live streams from events, such as corporate meetings/presentations, public events etc. The web based configuration looks good on the surface, but after battling with configuration for an hour, I noticed that the workflow was not intuitive. Menus didn't seem to make sense. After trial and error, I was able to get Adobe flash media live encoder to stream to the server, but because of the inane design, there is no way to preview the video or generate a working URI from the interface to receive video from the server. Instead, you are expected to create a URI in your head or programmatically, guessing what virtual directory names to insert to match the protocol you wish to use (rtmp, rtsp, HLS etc) , no mention if order of operators is important. I wasted plenty of time, read all of the documentation and all relevant forum posts, and got NO RESULT, NOT A SINGLE FRAME OF VIDEO SERVED. Because of the limited number of people using this software and the specialised skill set of people in the industry, there is very little knowledge about the use of this software published to the web, which makes vendor documentation vital. It seems that making the software easy to use is not important to the vendor. I really wanted this software to work. Amazon held up their end, the AMI required minimal time to deploy.
I highly recommend that people try this software out, the barrier for entry is low. Much cheaper to test out than the competition. Just prepare yourself for disappointment. I am bitter about my experience.
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Helix Universal Server Pro AMI not functioning
I can get Helix going quickly but can not configure it. The AMI is not working properly. When I try to create a mount point it indicates successful but when the server reboots my new mount point isn't there. I haven't done any further configuration. I am looking at Wowza.
Streaming right away (saving money)
Now we can stop worrying about the planning of the number of machines and licences deployed to serve our clients in the near future. With Helix in the cloud we have been able to adapt the service quickly and with more flexibility depending of the demand.
We have used Helix in the cloud heavily and the response time as much as the reliability have been excellent. Anyone interested in this service can be confident about using it.
No problems at all
We've had our own license for the Helix Universal Server (standard) for years, and the software has always worked reliably. Having an EC2 AMI helps us save on licensing and support costs. The AMI was solid, and we were able to get to the admin UI and set up our configurations without any difficulty at all. Though the metaphor is broken, it worked right out of the box.