Java 7 JRE Installation

VODServer is written in Java and therefore requires a Java 7 JRE. As such, you will need to download this from Oracle and install it on the machine where you want to run VODServer.

Unpacking

After installing the Java JRE, unpack the contents of the zip-file to a local directory. The following is a summary of files contained in the archive:

• VODServer.jar: Main VODServer application
• ffmpeg.exe, rtmpdump.exe: Used for downloading and transcoding video streams
• vodserver-jetty.xml: Server configuration (listen address and port)
• vodserver-services-common.xml: Common configuration elements used by various services
• vodserver-service-*.xml: Service definitions
• *.m3u: Example playlist files for accessing VODServer
• lib/*.jar: VODServer Java dependencies

Initial Configuration

By default, VODServer binds to localhost on port 9999. As such, it will handle only requests originating from the same machine. If you want to access VODServer from another machine, or have VODServer listen on a different port, you will need to change the configuration in vodserver-jetty.xml. For more information, please refer to the comments in vodserver-jetty.xml and the Configuration page.

Running for the first time

It is recommended to initially run VODServer from a command line to verify it starts up and runs correctly. You can follow the following steps to verify that VODServer is running fine:

• Find any video file and store it anywhere on your local file system (accessible by the VODServer process)
• Open a command prompt
• Navigate to the directory containing the VODServer files
• Run java -jar VODServer.jar
• Check the output for any errors; fix any errors and restart VODServer before continuing
• Open VLC (or other application capable of opening HTTP video streams), and open the following URL: http://VODServer:port/simple?input=D:\path\to\test\videofile.mp4
• In the VODServer output, you should see VODServer invoking ffmpeg, and the video should begin playing in VLC.
• Stop VODServer by pressing Ctrl-C or by killing the corresponding javaw.exe process.

Creating a shortcut

VODServer loads it's configuration files and executables from the current working directory. Therefore it is recommended to create a shortcut, with the VODServer directory configured as the working directory:

• Right-click VODServer.jar and select 'Create Shortcut'
• Right-click on the shortcut, and verify that the 'Start In:' parameter points to the VODServer directory
• Start the shortcut
• Verify that VODServer is running, either by looking for the javaw.exe process in the process list, or by accessing a VODServer URL. Note that running in this mode doesn't display any output.
• Optionally copy the shortcut to the Windows Startup folder to have it automatically started when logging in