Multimedia Redirection for Sun Ray Server Software
Wednesday Dec 10, 2008
The latest release of Sun Ray Server Software 10/08 has a new feature Multimedia Redirection. From the product release;
Sun Ray(TM) Software 4 10/08 introduces enhanced multimedia
playback capabilities on the Sun Ray 2 family of clients for H.264
(MPEG4) and VC-1 (Windows Media Video 9) streams using Windows Media
Player on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. This is an optimal
solution for server resource conservation and network bandwidth
consumption, ideal for corporate communications and training videos.
So what does this new feature do? In brief it allows for videos to be played in real time without any video/audio sync issue. There is a known issue with Microsoft RDP, that interjects a 2 second delay between video and audio. The new redirector uses an RDP channel to deliver audio and video in sync.
To get started we need a Sun Ray Server 10/08 enviroment. Directions on how to get one running can be found here.
Now that our Sun Ray environment is up a running we need to install the Multimedia redirection components. As always I recommending reading the manual which can be found here.
The first step is to install the multimedia component either on a windows terminal server or an xp desktop, the desktop that you will be connecting your Sun Ray to. The multimedia component can be found in the supplemental directory of the Windows Connector distribution. There are 2 files an exe and an msi. They are the same installer packaged in 2 different formats.
Once you start the setup you need to select the everyone option.
The installer will now be ready to install
We are notified that the application installed
At this point you will be able to play Windows Media Files in the Windows Media Player in synch on the Sun Ray. In the supplemental directory of the Sun Ray Windows Connectors distribution, you will find a directory named samples. In that directory there will be 2 files, clip01-WMV9.wmv and clip02-WMV9.wmv. Give them a shot and see how well they play! Also don't be shy, move the Windows Media player window around and watch how the video stays smooth.
Next lets look at getting H.264 working. We will need to install some additional components to make this happen. There are several open source and commercial codecs available. For our setup we will use the open source codecs.
The first component we need to install is MatroskaSplitter which can be found here. Double click the exe to start the install. Install with the defaults.
Agree to the license agreement.
Choose the install directory
Create a startup folder
Setup options
Complete the install
The second component that we need to install is ffDShow. It can be found here. Double click the exe to start the install.
Agree to install the app
Choose a directory
Select components, leave the defaults selected
Create a Start Menu Folder
On the select addition tasks page, again leave the defaults selected
On the Management of Compatibility Issue Video page take the defaults
On the Management of Compatibility Issue Audio page take the defaults
On the Speaker setup page take the default
Install!
Click on Finish
At this point you will be able to play H.264 files in the Windows Media Player in synch on the Sun Ray. In the supplemental directory of the Sun Ray Windows Connectors distribution, you will find a directory named samples. In that directory there will be 2 files, clip01-H264.mp4 and clip02-H264.mp4. Give them a shot and see how well they play! Also don't be shy, move the Windows Media player window around and watch how the video stays smooth.
Technorati Tags: Sun Ray, VDI, Virtualization
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Link to FFDShow is flaky. Searching for it manuall...