.WMA Streaming (Standard)...Linux or Windows...???

[mark4man]

hello...

[1st off...I used to host my music (A&R) website on a dedicated windows server...'cause I thought it was necessary for streaming .wma files. when I discovered it wasn't...I went w/ a standard hosting package, w/ GoDaddy...now saving BIG bucks.]

BUT...

I moved my recording studio's site to it's own domain. [it used to be a series of pages on my A&R site.]

I now need to create a '301 Redirect' in my old site's directory to redirect surfers (who have my old url) to the new site...but more importantly...to retain my ranking w/ the major search engines...!!!

it cannot be done on a Windows server (which I'm on, w/ GoDaddy)...not an .htm redirect anyway, which I need. [&...I don't think I really need windows features like php or asp...I code my site(s) in Dreamweaver as html pages.]

so...if I migrate my site(s) to a Linux server...

1) will standard .wma streaming continue to work...??? (i.e., a .wax file in the directory that points to the .wma).

2) which type of server is FASTER for this task...(if any)...Linux or Windows...???

thanks,


mark4man

[Rubberman]

I don't know how to best deal with the redirect, but you should absolutely have no problem in streaming wma files using the .wax wrapper since that is handled by the client application. I know that VLC handles those just fine. As for FASTER? Well, that depends upon a LOT of things, such as your available bandwidth, other processing going on with the server(s), etc. In general, all else being equal, Linux should work a lot more efficiently (faster) than an equivalent Windows server.

[mark4man]

Rubberman...

thanks...!!!

man...I just discovered an amazing thing...AMAZING...!!!

I was surfing the web looking for the m3u streaming code...& came upon an article by Nunzio, entitled 'How to Stream Music or Audio from Your Website. I thought the title to be a bit odd...so I checked it out...(especially since it made referrence to streaming .wma's).

so...I'm looking at Nunzio's streaming code, for both the m3u's & the .wax's...& it's NOTHING but the doggone url/folder where the music file exists...i.e., the pointer is simply the domain & path to the music...in ASCII text in Notepad...saved as a .wax...nothing more.

so I tried it...& it WORKS...perfectly...!!! [& really FAST, to boot.]

my .wma's had been opening w/ a hiccup. 1st...after clicking...WMP would indicate 'connecting to media'. then there was a quick flash of 'locating media'...then back to 'connecting to media'...then the file played, but started 1/2 second into the music. the whole shebang took about 9 seconds...& the music started late.

I had been using the standard & typical ASX 3.0 code in the .wax file, which contained the typical mms:// pointer...& it was all crap...!!!

I just finished changing all my .wax files over to the above mentioned method...& those bad boys FLY open & play in about a quarter second.

so now...all I have to do is resolve this Linux vs. Windows server thing. based on what you've indicated...I think I'll go for it. GoDaddy tells me the transition will take 72 hours post request...but maybe quicker.

thanks again,


mark4man


btw - the m3u pointer is the same deal...url/folder/myfreakin'song.mp3

btw2 - what is VLC ?

[Rubberman]

VLC is a multi-platform media player/streamer. It has versions for Linux, Windows, Solaris, and I don't know what all. It basically plays just about every media type known. From the VLC Help->About:

VLC media player is a free media player, encoder and streamer that can read from files, CDs, DVDs, network streams, capture cards and even more!
VLC uses its internal codecs and works on essentially every popular platform.

You can find it on the VideoLAN web site: VideoLAN, Free streaming and multimedia solutions for all OS!

[Rubberman]

Right now, I am using VLC to stream audio from my local Jazz radio station, WDCB.