This guide provides details on how to stream your own video collection to your (internet-capable) portable video player. It should work with all devices that can play H264 MP4 video files that feature a webbrowser, such as recent Blackberry devices (Storm/Bold/Tour), Android (Droid, Nexus, EVO etc) Windows Mobile 6.x (HTC HD2) and iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad (iOS2 or iOS4)
Why stream?
Even though most devices have plenty of space available for video content, streaming your video collection provides you with access to your entire collection. No need to make sure you have replaced viewed content with new content. You can watch that one movie you thought of you might want to see again in a matter of seconds, rather than having to get home and put it on your device. And you save the free space on your device for other stuff.
What do you need?
*Video-player device with a web browser and either network (for at home) or Internet access.
*Windows-PC (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)
*Tools4Movies MP4 Streaming Server application
(download)
*Tools4Movies DVD Catalyst 4
(trial download) or (purchase for $9.95)
And of course video content.
Installation:
* Install and Run DVD Catalyst 4
The MP4 Streaming Server uses a few files from DVD Catalyst 4, so for it to work, either the trial or the retail version of DVD Catalyst 4 needs to be installed.
After installing DVD Catalyst 4, start it once, so that it creates the settings folder on your computer.
* Video content.
If you do not have video content in MP4 format, this would be a good time to convert it. In DVD Catalyst 4, select your device, and add your video files or insert a DVD and click Go.
* Install and Run MP4 Streaming Server.
Getting it to work:
*Video content. (If you already have MP4 video files, you can skip to the next step.)
First we need to get some video content. For testing purposes, I often download trailers from the Apple website here:
Movie Trailers are a quick way to obtain some demo videos. If you pick the HD ones, you have perfect quality in the source video, and because of the 2-minute playlength, they convert quickly enough to make it easy to try different settings.
Just download a few trailers from the site, and convert them using DVD Catalyst 4 or any other video converter you use for your device. As long as it converts to H264 MP4 format, otherwise it will not work properly.
If you use DVD Catalyst 4, you can enable a “streaming setting” that will save some time later on. This setting can be found in the “Conversion” tab in “Global Settings”
This setting will enable a streaming “flag” in each MP4 video file that is created with DVD Catalyst 4. MP4 Streaming Server can do it to your existing video files, but if you use DVD Catalyst 4, it will do it automatically.
To convert your trailers with DVD Catalyst 4, follow the following steps:
1. Start the DVD Catalyst 4 program, select your device using the dropdowns on the left, and make the change in the screenshot above.
2. Drag your downloaded trailers onto the program.
3. Click “Go” to start the conversion process
4. After the conversion is complete, the folder where the files are saved will be opened. By default they are stored in your “My Video” folder
Leave this window open, and close DVD Catalyst 4. If you have Quicktime or VLC installed, you can verify the files to make sure they play.
MP4 Streaming Server:
By now you should have some MP4 video files.
Start the MP4 Streaming Server program.
If this is the first time you started it, it will offer to search for MP4 video files in some of the common locations on your computer. You can do this, or just click cancel to add them manually.
To add the files manually, go to the folder with the video files, and drag them onto the MP4 Streaming Server program.
IMPORTANT:
If you added files you converted previously with DVD Catalyst 4 or any other video conversion program, and did not have the streaming “flag” enabled, you have to enable this in the files to make sure they stream. if you do not perform this step, the files will download completely before they start playing on your computer or device.
Select the file(s) you added to the program.
(tip: leftclick on the first one, then hold down the shift key on your keyboard, and left-click on the bottom one. This will select all of them.)
Now click on the orange lightning bolt button next to the search box.
It will apply the streaming flag to the files you have selected. With trailers this process is pretty quick, but for movies the process can take a little longer.
With your video content in MP4 Streaming Server, and streaming-capable, you can organize the files into playlists and categories to make it easier for you to get to the content you want (create a playlist for a series of movies, another playlist for a season of a tv show episodes for example) How to do this is all explained in detail in the MP4 Streaming Server user guide, so we will not go into that in this how-to.
Once you have everything set-up, click on the green globe button at the bottom right. 
(If you receive an error message about port in use, your computer is already running a webserver. You can change the port for MP4 Streaming Server by clicking on the streaming item on the left side of the program)
On the right side of the button, a link appears with a bunch of numbers.
If you click on it, it will open your web browser on your computer and will display the MP4 Streaming Server interface. If your portable device is connected to your home network (wireless router for example) open the web browser on your device and type the exact link in the top.
Just click/tap around to browse your collection.
And to watch the video, tapping on it should open the video player application and play the file while it is downloading.
This is all you need to make MP4 Streaming Server work on your home network.
Streaming files over the internet:
*Video quality:
This part is tricky. Besides some advanced configuration options that are needed to make this work, also the speed of your internet connection at home as well as the internet connection on your device (3G etc) affects the results.
Before you start with this, it is important to know the maximum quality you are capable to use for your streaming video files. The higher the quality of your video files, the more bandwidth is required to stream them. In addition, many people don’t realize that your internet connection has 2 speeds. one for downloading files from the internet and another one for uploading files to the internet. Even if you can download a high quality movie very fast, or watch 20 youtube clips at the same time in HD format, this does not automatically mean that your connection is good for streaming the best quality video.
Visit a speed-test website such as this one
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
A (flash8) test on our own internet connection gives us the following result:
Our download speed exceeds 5000Kbps, but our upload speed is only 900Kbps (and this is on a good day)
So we can watch high quality movies that are located on the internet that are encoded at 5000Kbps in realtime, but if we upload these movies, it will take more than 5x as long than it would take to download. So if we stream such a movie, it would take 5 times as long as the movie playlength for it to finish.
So for our movies to stream properly, we will have to make sure that the total bitrate does not exceed our upload speed. The 900Kbps is the maximum our internet connection can handle, so both the audio AND the video together have to be that or less.
Besides the upload-speed of your internet connection at home, the download speed on your device also affects the playback performance of streaming video. Do a speed test on your device as well, when connected to the internet connection you want to use. If you run a test while connected to your wireless network at home, it will not give you an idea of how the performance is when you use 3G for playback on the road, so if you intend to use 3G or 4G for streaming, make sure you are connected to that before running the test.
After this test, compare the DOWNLOAD SPEED of your phone/device with the UPLOAD SPEED of your computer at home, and use the lowest value. If your connection at home uploads at 600Kbps and your phone can download at 400Kbps, use 400Kbps
As I mentioned, the speed test was done on a good day, so I recommend to be a little on the safe side.
I use earbuds for my own video playback, and like to have a good quality audio, so I use 128Kbps Stereo for my sound quality setting, this leaves 900-128=772Kbps for the video. To be on the safe side, I would pick 700Kbps, which gives a little room for internet fluctuation.
Another adjustment that we recommend to make is to reduce the screen resolution. Your video playback experience will be a lot more enjoyable when you use a lower resolution high quality file than a high resolution low quality file.
The Kbps quality setting basically means the amount of data that is to be used per second. The resolution and the framerate use this limitation to determine the quality per individual frame.
Regardless of the resolution of your video, if we take, for example, 600Kbps as a video quality bitrate, and your video is 30 frames per second, that leaves you with 20Kb per frame. The higher the resolution of your video, the less data is used per pixel, so a 640×480 file will look a lot sharper using these settings than a 1280×800 file.
We converted the Harry Potter trailer using it’s original resolution as well as half the original resolution for you to see the difference. For best results, play them full-screen on your computer.
Zipfile containing both (showing both files are nearly identical in filesize)
To enhance the video quality for slower internet speeds, you can use the following tips:
Screen size: As explained above. A small rule of thumb is to use a width of about the same as the video bitrate setting.
Conversion format: For high video bitrate settings, the difference between h264_ipod and h264_ipod_hq is not really noticable, but on low-bitrate settings, you will benefit from using it. If you use it you can increase the screen resolution a bit.
Video mode: Use 1-pass. With 2-pass you will achieve better quality video files, but the bitrate fluctuates throughout the file, resulting in stuttering playback. With 1-pass, the bitrate is the same from start to finish, resulting in a consistend video playback experience.
Sound quality and Audio mode. Especially for low-speed connections, this can help improve the quality quite a bit. Most conversion tools, including DVD Catalyst 3 use 128Kbps Stereo for audio for most of the devices. 128Kbps Stereo is 2 different audio channels, one for left, another for right. When we change this to 64Kbps Mono, it merges the left and right channel together, and when you play the video file, it will sound pretty much the same, except it misses certain effects like a car driving from one side to the other. The quality is nearly identical, but you gained 64Kbps you can use to enhance the video quality.
Lastly, and this is only if your device supports it (try it), the framerate. By lowering the framerate, each frame that is played gains extra data for the quality.
300Kbps at 30fps is 10Kb per frame
300Kbps at 15fps is 20Kb per frame
A lower framerate makes a movie look a little jumpy, depending on how low you adjust it, but going from 30 to 20 will boost the quality while still keeping the video playback smooth enough to watch.
*Making the connection:
(warning, this can get complicated!)
With the MP4 Streaming Server up and running, and video content in it that plays on your device over your network at home, we can now continue on setting up streaming over the internet.
If your computer is connected directly to the internet using a modem of some sorts (DSL/Cable etc)things might already work.
Visit this link on the computer running MP4 Streaming Server
If the number displayed at the top of this website (Your IP Address Is: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) is the same number as what is displayed at the bottom of the Streaming Server program (http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:xx) youshould be set. Change the internet connection on your device to 3G (or whatever else it uses, as long as it is not the wireless connection you have at home) and in the web browser type in the link displayed by MP4 Streaming Server
If it works, you can skip the following, and scroll down to the Dynamic DNS section.
If MP4 Streaming Server displays something like http://192.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x your computer connects to the internet using a router of some sorts. In this case, we have to set up the router that if it receives a connection for the MP4 Streaming Server that it sends this to the computer that is running the program.
Unfortunately, most computers and routers are set up for an automatic IP adress, so when you restart your computer, it might have a different number in MP4 Streaming Server. For a router to be able to send your device to the proper computer for the videos, we have to make sure that the computer keeps the same adress.
Setting up a fixed IP on your computer.
First we need to get the current information our computer uses.
Click on Start > Run (or hold down the Windows-Key on your keyboard and tap the R key)
in the dialog that appears, type in cmd and click OK
In here, type in: ipconfig and tap the “Enter” key
In here, look for the number that is displayed at the bottom of the MP4 Streaming Server. In our case 192.168.1.89
IMPORTANT: This is most likely different on your computer. don’t use these values unless they are the same as yours.
Write down these 3 items:
IPv4 Address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway
Now, because your router gives out these kinds of numbers within a certain range, (1-100, 101-200) either add 100 to the last number or if it is higher than 150, substract 100 from it.
In our case, 192.168.1.89, we would add 100 so it would be 192.168.1.189. If you have 192.168.1.101, you could use 192.168.1.1 (-100) or 192.168.1.201 (+100)
You are free to use what you want, however, the number can not be the same as the number displayed for the “Default Gateway) (this rules out 192.168.1.1) and can not exceed 254
Once you have that, for safety, in the cmd box, type in
ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (the number you came up with after adding/substracting)
and click OK.
It should say something about unreachable or timed out. If it shows something else, change the number at the end by adding or substracting 10 from it (again, less than 254 and not the same as the Default Gateway)
and do the ping again.
Now, we have to make a change to the computer settings.
Go to your Windows Control Panel (Start > Control Panel or Start > Settings > Control Panel)
Then click on “Network status and tasks” (Windows 7/Vista) or “Network Connections” (2000/XP)
(7/Vista only, not needed for 2000/XP)
And click on Adapter settings
(2000/XP/Vista/7)
Rightclick on your network adapter and select properties
Double (left-)click on TCP-IP (2000/XP) or Internet Protocol Version 4 (Vista/7)
If there are already numbers displayed at “Use the following IP address, click Cancel, and you can skip the following steps, continue on from “Router setup“, otherwise continue.
Change the checkmark from Obtain automatically to Use the following, and put in the numbers you wrote down
IP Adress, the number you came up with above with the adding/substracting
Subnet mask, the same as the one you wrote down
Default Gateway, also the same as the one you wrote down
Preferred DNS server, the same as the Default Gateway.
In our case (Note, this is most likely different than yours)
And click OK.
IMPORTANT: If things go bad, go back here, and change the checkmarks to Automatic again.
Click OK out of the other window as well, so you get back to the “Network Connections”
While not always needed, we recommend to rightclick on the connection, then leftclick on “Disable”, wait a few seconds, then Rightclick on it again, and leftclick on “Enable”. This resets your network connection and forces it to use the settings we entered.
leave the Network Connections open (in case something went wrong you can easily get back to it) and start your web browser to see if you still have internet.Visit a website like CNN or something, just to make sure everything still works. If it does not work, one of the settings you entered is not correct. go back to the network connection, rightclick and select properties, and change the TCPMP / Internet Protocol v4 settings back to automatic. Then start over from the first cmd box in this guide.
If you have working internet with the change you just did, we can continue to
Router Setup:
(Warning: Complicated)
Due to the huge differences in router models and how to configure them, it is impossible to provide you with the full details on how to set up your specific router. Below should give you an idea on how and what needs to be configured, but you might have to refer to the userguide that came with your router.
Most routers are configured using a web-interface. Open your web browser, and at the top, type in
http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the number you wrote down earlier for the Default Gateway (in our case 192.168.1.1
And hit the Enter key. Then login if needed (usually the username is Admin and no password, or no username and admin as the password, if not, refer to the user guide of the router or obtain it from the person who set it up for you)
Then look for a tab called Port Forwarding or Advanced
You should see something along the lines of this:
The items might be blank in there.
In this screen, insert the following information:
Application: Can be anything, but putting in MP4SS might make it easier for future reference
Start: 80 (default port in MP4 Streaming Server. If you changed it, make sure its the same as what you have MP4 Streaming Server set to use)
End: 80 (same as above)
Protocol: Both (or TCP and UDP)
IP Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the number you used in the network settings for your computer, 192.168.1.189 in our example)
And ofcourse, if there is a checkmark to enable it, it needs to be enabled.
After that, Apply and/or save the settings on your router. It should restart.
Now your MP4 Streaming Server should be accessible through the internet.
Make sure MP4 Streaming Server is running on your computer, and that the web-server portion is started (the green globe button and next to it the http:// link should be visible)
then on the same computer that runs the MP4 Streaming Server, visit the following website (again)
Make sure your device is connected to the 3G or data network (not your home network) and open the web browser
At the top, type in:
http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP displayed on the whatismyip website.
If you changed the port from port 80 to something else, use http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:port as the link to visit (http://123.123.123.01:90 for example)
If everything was done correctly, you should see the MP4 Streaming Server website with your videos.
Dynamic DNS:
Unfortunately, unless your internet provider gives you a FIXED IP adress, the website number to access your videos will change when you restart your router. To make it easier to access your videos, and take care of the changing IP number, you can set up a Dynamic DNS. All the websites on the internet use an IP adress to make them accessible. For example, to go to Google, you could use http://209.85.225.99/ instead of http://www.google.com. www.google.com is a lot easier to remember than 209.85.225.99. the www.google.com is the Domain Name provided by DNS. When you type in www.google.com, your internet connection connects to a DNS server, and this DNS server performs a search for google.com and sends back the IP adress your computer needs to find the google website.
With a changing IP adress, it is hard to perform a search, because the IP adress in the DNS server might not be updated for 24 hours, so it will connect to the wrong website. Fortunately, there are websites like DynDNS which have their own DNS servers, which update more often.
DynDNS lets you register a website name for free, and with a small utility, it will keep the ip adress to your computer connected to the website name you selected. With a website name, it is a lot easier for you to access your video files.
Visit www.dyndns.com and register an account. (The free service is enough)
In the hostname area, you can select from a variety of main-domains, and just put something in front of it to make it your own. In above example, we selected:
tools4movies and kicks-ass.net, giving us the full domain name of http://tools4movies.kicks-ass.net
Click on Add to cart, and follow the instructions to create an account.
Use a real email address, because an activation email will be sent out.
After activation, visit this link:
https://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/#windows
and download and install the DynDNS updater.
Follow the instructions of the installer.
At one point during the install it will display the following:
Both options are quite handy to leave enabled. The tray icon is an icon next to your clock, which gives you a quick method of seeing if it is running or not.
The Start with Windows option means that when you restart your computer, it will automatically load the program.
At the next screen it offers to install something about Internet Guide.
I always disable these extra things during install. Many programs include toolbars or helpful plugins, but I always turn those off during install.
Finish the installer.
After the install is complete, run the updater, and it will ask for your account information.
Insert the information you used for creating your account. (note, it needs the name you typed in as part of your website.)
If you provided the correct username and password, it will display your information. Put a checkmark in the checkbox for your domain name and click on Apply.
You should now be able to access your MP4 Streaming Server by using the full domain name, http://tools4movies.kicks-ass.net in our example.
Good Luck 
