MistServer as your digital supply chain

Ingest

A standard for media ingestion

All media hosting starts with data. This will usually already be digital, but not ready to be shared with end consumers. It will still need to be prepared before most people can view it, MistServer repackages all ingested data in such a way that all received data is supported over all supported protocols. MistServer improves on simple ingestion by repackaging all media received and adding multi-platform support, advanced usage such as seeking and standardising the meta data of the media. This allows all media ingested by MistServer to work in a simple, standardised and improved format ready to use for any software. MistServer is able to ingest live streams through the RTMP protocol and Video on Demand files in various file formats.

Easy multi-platform support

While most media servers are only able to receive specific types of input MistServer can be adapted to receive nearly any type. MistServer is able to automatically convert and prepare received files to the same format and distribute it over multiple protocols out of this single file. This enables you to reach any supported platform with ease.

Flexible use as both front- and back-end

MistServer is flexible and build with both stand-alone and integration with other software in mind. While MistServer is able to work as a heavy-weight media server it can also be implemented alongside other software to enable a single standardised ingest point with great multi-platform support. MistServer is redundant by design and you can strip away unneeded features to ensure efficiency and low resource usage either standalone or in combination with any other software.

Transcode

A great addition to any existing transcoder

Once media has been made available to the system, it may still need to be converted to work with some of the protocols or to be optimized for several screen sizes. Transcoding is a must for any serious media hosting as most protocols and devices have very specific rules media should follow or they will not play correctly. MistServer is made to work alongside with any transcoder and is easily adjusted to your preferences.

Make all transcoders universal

While MistServer cannot transcode files directly it can communicate with software and hardware that can. This makes MistServer a great tool to improve your transcoding experience or enable you to run a media server while keeping your familiar transcoding experience unchanged.

Segment

Traditional segmenting explained

Most modern protocols don’t really "stream". There is no constant flow, but they work with many small media files called "segments" that each contain a short sequence of media. The usual way of handling this is by creating all these segments in advance for each protocol that requires them and keeping them all stored, thus duplicating the media.

Improving upon existing methods

MistServer uses an internal format that allows for efficient on-the-fly segmenting and doesn’t require wasteful duplication of your stored media. Every segmented protocol MistServer supports benefits from our unique technology - yet traditional non-segmented protocols are still fully supported and work just as well.

Distribute

Reach any target platform with ease

Now that the media data is ready it still needs to be actually distributed. This is where MistServer really shines because of it’s extensive protocol support. No other media server can reach as many platforms as MistServer from a single source. Unused protocols do not take up any resources while idle, making MistServer the preferred choice for effective and efficient distribution.

Network multiple MistServer nodes together

MistServer was designed with networked use in mind, and is the only media server that has full support for extensive usage statistics and remote control through an easy to use API or management interface. To complement this, our MistSteward and MistCenter offerings allow you to make full use of these unique capabilities, enabling advanced load balancing, monitoring and control.

Install easily alongside existing services

MistServer can run on a dedicated machine - like other media servers - but can just as easily be installed alongside other services. This makes it possible to use non-dedicated machines such as web servers as backup or emergency media servers, in case the need arises. MistServer can be limited to assure it does not interfere with the operations of other services on the same machine.

Consume

An intelligent way to serve media

While most would think the work of a media server stops at the distribution of media files MistServer is also able to detect the needs of the consumer’s devices and adapt to them. If a device requests a media stream, MistServer will detect the optimal combination of settings and protocols to ensure consumers will get the best possible experience in all cases. The unique and efficient coding of MistServer allows you to serve media equal to dedicated media servers in the most efficient way possible for you.

Unsurpassed detail in statistics

Of course MistServer also provides statistics on the consumed media. In fact, MistServer has the best statistics in the business, providing real time up-to-the-second and up-to-the-byte accurate information through both its integrated management interface and its JSON API.

Detailed analytics over your entire network

While MistServer provides detailed real time data this makes for a lot of raw numbers when combining multiple MistServer instances. MistSteward and MistCenter contain intelligent control interfaces that keep track of, combine and analyse the data of multiple MistServer instances in an efficient and sensible way, enabling history, detailed usage analytics and easy to use statistics for tasks such as billing and audience audit reports over all MistServer instances combined and individually. MistSteward and MistCenter are able to make data collection easy and results are instantly ready for use.