Windows Media Services 9

Windows Media Services 9 is a great "free" component of Windows 2003 server (not available with web edition). Install it through add/remove windows programmes and you will be streaming video and audio in minutes - well in reality, that does depend upon the complexity of your network and making sure you open the right ports on your firewall(s). You will need the following ports mapping in to your firewall to allow Windows Media Services to work correctly:

In: TCP 1755, UDP 1755, UDP 5005, TCP 554 (quicktime)
Out: UDP 1024 - 5000

There are loads of resources for Windows Media Services 9. We have barely scratched the surface so far. There are developer kits available for download. Just get on Uncle Bills site and search.

One thing we do need to work on is cross browser compatibility. Again, we'll blog any findings on this.