Testing the Stream

The final step for configuring the Windows Media server is to test the stream. Testing the stream enables you to verify that the content is encoded and delivered as expected, and that it plays back correctly. If the playback quality is not what you expect, you might need to encode the content again, or adjust your server settings until the content streams satisfactorily.

When you complete the Unicast Announcement Wizard, you are given the option to test the stream as shown in figure 7.15.

Figure 7.15: Testing the stream from the announcement wizard.

You can also test the stream from the Source tab of the Windows Media Services MMC snap-in by clicking the Test button at the bottom of the screen, shown highlighted by a square in figure 7.16.

Figure 7.16: Select the test button to test your stream.