How would I allow a user to stream video to a web application for storage?

Question

I'd like to add some functionality to a site that would allow users to record video using their webcam and easily store it online. I don't even know if this is possible right now, but I think flash has access to local webcams running through the browser.

Do you have any suggestions or resources to get me started on this? I'm primarily a java developer so If I could do it in an applet that would be great, but It may be easier to accomplish this using flash or some other technology.

This would mean streaming the video back to the webserver and storing it there. Uploading a file is easy enough, but I'd rather the user not have to deal with that if it's possible.

Just to be clear. I'm not talking about uploading a video. I'm talking about allowing the user to click "record" in a web application and having the video streamed to the server and stored when the user clicks "stop".

Answer 1

This is possible with Adobe's Flash Media Server. Red5 is an open source alternative. The protocol they use for this is RTMP.

Answer 2

On the server side, you have three alternatives:

1. Adobe's Flash Media Server
2. Red5, an open source version
3. Wowza Media Server Pro, a commercial alternative

You can either run any of these on your own server or else go for a web provider (I found this list to be helpful)

On the client side, you'll need a flash file for the user interface. Red5 and Wowza some with the source code for their example recorders so it's easy to customize these for your own use.

Answer 3

In addition to the above choices, you can also use haxevideo (open source)