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To enable clients to pull the stream from the encoder, you simply set up a session and begin broadcasting directly from the encoder. Clients (Windows Media servers or players) can connect to the stream at any time by using the following URL format: http://IP_address:port (for Internet connections) or http://encoding_computer_name:port (for LAN connections). The encoder supports up to five direct connections during a broadcast by default. You can increase this number to 50 by editing a key in the registry. (Editing the key requires administrative credentials on the encoding computer.)
If you plan to deliver content as a multicast stream from a Windows Media server, the server must be able to detect the stream format from the encoder. A stream format contains information used by players to decode a multicast stream, such as the codecs, bit rates, and frame sizes; the format is stored in the header of the stream. If you start encoding before the server initiates the connection with the encoder, the server automatically detects the stream format. However, if you do not want to start encoding first, you can create a stream format file and make it available to the server administrator. The administrator can add the file to the list of supported stream formats on the server publishing point. Stream format files have an .asf extension.
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