Copying streams¶

Flussonic allows you to copy a stream using the copy:// source type. This function is needed in cases where it is impossible or too expensive to maintain multiple connections with the source of the video signal:

• For SDI capture cards. Flussonic connects directly to such cards and cannot establish more than one connection. If you have only one capture card and you need to perform a load test to see how the system behaves with a large number of streams, then you can use the copy:// option to emulate more sources than you actually have.
• For RTSP sources like IP cameras. The connection with the RTSP source is a Unicast. If you need to receive a stream from a camera several times, then each copy will need a separate connection, and this increases the load on the network. Thanks to the copy:// option, you can get the stream just once and "replicate" it on the Flussonic server.

With other source types, it is usually technically possible to receive several copies of the signal without special options, for example, the number of multicast or satellite signal receptions is not limited in any way.

Example of using the copy:// option with a Decklink card to test the transcoder performance:

stream s {
  input decklink://0;
}

stream s1 {
  input copy://s;
  transcoder vb=1000k ab=64k external=false; 
}
stream s2 {
  input copy://s;
  transcoder vb=1000k ab=64k external=false; 
}
stream s3 {
  input copy://s;
  transcoder vb=1000k ab=64k external=false; 
}