[Allanon]

Been trying to get streams from http://www.americafree.tv to work but no luck. The stream plays in VLC but can't get your program to play them.

Also under Windows XP VLC doesn't close when exiting a stream on the Tivo. If a new stream is then played the result is the requested VLC stream fails to open and the opened VLC stream is played.

 

[Allanon]

When trying the new version I get the following when running start.py in Windows XP:

HME Server for Python 0.13
Skipping: cnn1 - No module named cnn1
Skipping: cnn2 - No module named cnn2
Skipping: cnn3 - No module named cnn3
Skipping: cnn4 - No module named cnn4
Skipping: cspan1 - No module named cspan1
Skipping: cspan2 - No module named cspan2
Skipping: cspan3 - No module named cspan3
Skipping: nasatv - No module named nasatv
Skipping: research - No module named research
Fri Aug 29 15:54:06 2008 Server Starts

EDIT: Just noticed your latest build didn't include the .py files for the streams.

EDIT: After adding the .py files for the streams I get the following error when trying to play a stream:

HME Server for Python 0.13
Skipping: nasatv - No module named nasatv
Skipping: research - No module named research
Fri Aug 29 16:12:52 2008 Server Starts
Registering: cnn1
Registering: cnn2
Registering: cnn3
Registering: cnn4
Registering: cspan1
Registering: cspan2
Registering: cspan3
192.168.0.14:51524 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:09] code 404, message Not Found
192.168.0.14:51524 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:09] "GET /cnn1/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 404
-
192.168.0.14:51525 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:09] code 404, message Not Found
192.168.0.14:51525 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:09] "GET /cnn2/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 404
-
192.168.0.14:51526 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] code 404, message Not Found
192.168.0.14:51526 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] "GET /cnn3/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 404
-
192.168.0.14:51527 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] code 404, message Not Found
192.168.0.14:51527 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] "GET /cnn4/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 404
-
192.168.0.14:51528 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] "GET /cspan1/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 20
0 -
192.168.0.14:51529 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] "GET /cspan2/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 20
0 -
192.168.0.14:51530 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:10] "GET /cspan3/icon.png HTTP/1.0" 20
0 -
192.168.0.14:51569 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:13] code 403, message Forbidden
192.168.0.14:51569 - - [29/Aug/2008 16:13:13] "GET /cspan3/ HTTP/1.1" 403 -
----------------------------------------
Exception happened during processing of request from ('192.168.0.14', 51569)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Python24\lib\SocketServer.py", line 463, in process_request_thread
self.finish_request(request, client_address)
File "C:\Python24\lib\SocketServer.py", line 254, in finish_request
self.RequestHandlerClass(request, client_address, self)
File "C:\Python24\lib\SocketServer.py", line 521, in __init__
self.handle()
File "C:\Python24\lib\BaseHTTPServer.py", line 314, in handle
self.handle_one_request()
File "C:\Python24\lib\BaseHTTPServer.py", line 308, in handle_one_request
method()
File "C:\Tivostreamingvideo\start.py", line 210, in do_GET
self._page(True)
File "C:\Tivostreamingvideo\start.py", line 162, in _page
raise Exception, "Can't find application class for %s" % name
Exception: Can't find application class for cspan3
----------------------------------------

 

[Allanon]

I fixed the VLC command window not closing problem by running a newer version of Python. I have both 2.4 and the latest version of Python installed but when double clicking on a .py file Windows launched Python version 2.4 instead of the latest. When launching with the latest version the VLC command window closed correctly.

 

[Allanon]

Here is the config I'm testing with:

TITLE = 'SciFi'
STREAM_URL = 'rtsp://video2.multicasttech.com/AFTVSciFiH2641000.sdp'
from hmevid import VideoStreamer

class Scifi(VideoStreamer):
    def startup(self):
        VideoStreamer.startup(self, TITLE, STREAM_URL, True)

These are all the SciFi streams from smallest to largest:

rtsp://video2.multicasttech.com/AFTVSciFiH26496.sdp
rtsp://video2.multicasttech.com/AFTVSciFiH264250.sdp
rtsp://video2.multicasttech.com/AFTVSciFiH264500.sdp
rtsp://video2.multicasttech.com/AFTVSciFiH2641000.sdp

Also, when trying to use TITLE = 'AFTV SiFi' it failed when trying to play the stream, what is the criteria for the title and class name?

 

[Allanon]

Most of the time the streams play fine for me in VLC but I have seen times where the video is unwatchable. Maybe their servers get overload at certain times of the day.

 

[Allanon]

Here is a stream for PG24 which is a broadcast that covers online video gaming. It from the Czech Republic so it's not in English but if you like watching people play video games then you might like this stream.

TITLE = 'PG24'

STREAM_URL =  'rtsp://stream.pg24.tv/PG24-High'
#STREAM_URL =  'rtsp://stream.pg24.tv/PG24-Medium'
#STREAM_URL =  'rtsp://stream.pg24.tv/PG24-Low'

from hmevid import VideoStreamer

class Pg24(VideoStreamer):
    def startup(self):
        VideoStreamer.startup(self, TITLE, STREAM_URL, True)

EDIT:

And Here is another stream for ReelGood TV:

TITLE = 'ReelGood TV'
CLASS_NAME = 'ReelGoodTV'

STREAM_URL = 'rtsp://www.reelgood.tv/reelgoodtv'

from hmevid import VideoStreamer

class ReelGoodTV(VideoStreamer):
    def startup(self):
        VideoStreamer.startup(self, TITLE, STREAM_URL, True)

EDIT:

Here are some streams from WPTV. They have other streams but they are not in English:

TITLE = 'WPTV - Gaming'
CLASS_NAME = 'WPTV_Gaming'

STREAM_URL =  'mms://av.wp.pl/wptv-gry'

from hmevid import VideoStreamer

class WPTV_Gaming(VideoStreamer):
    def startup(self):
        VideoStreamer.startup(self, TITLE, STREAM_URL, True)

TITLE = 'WPTV - Lifestyle'
CLASS_NAME = 'WPTV_Lifestyle'

STREAM_URL =  'mms://av.wp.pl/wptv-lifestyle'

from hmevid import VideoStreamer

class WPTV_Lifestyle(VideoStreamer):
    def startup(self):
        VideoStreamer.startup(self, TITLE, STREAM_URL, True)

 

[Allanon]

Below is a stream that has multiple video tracks. Each track has a different video resolution. I can use the video track selector option in VLC's GUI to see the different tracks but I don't know how to select the video track from the VLC command line. Do you know how and can you add support for changing the VLC command line parameters in the .py stream file so the video track can be selected?

rtsp://av.wp.pl/wptv-film

 

[Allanon]

I found this: http://www.videolan.org/doc/streaming-howto/en/ch03.html

Search the page for "video track", the paragraph where the first instance is found might be the answer but I'm not sure.

 

[Allanon]

FYI, a new version of VLC has been released and the default command line your program uses to open the stream doesn't work with this new version.

 

[Allanon]

This is the output from VLC version 0.92 when trying to stream NASA TV:

[00000392] dummy interface: VLC media player - version 0.9.2 Grishenko - (c) 1996-2008 the VideoLAN team
[00000392] dummy interface:
Warning: if you can't access the GUI anymore, open a command-line window, go to the directory where you installed VLC and run "vlc -I qt"

[00000392] dummy interface: using the dummy interface module...
[00000408] main access out: creating httpd
[00000412] mux_ps mux: Open
[00000412] mux_ps mux: Close
[00000448] main access out: creating httpd
[00000451] mux_ps mux: Open
[00000453] access_mms access: selecting stream[0x1] audio (34 kb/s)
[00000453] access_mms access: selecting stream[0x2] video (275 kb/s)
[00000453] access_mms access: connection successful
[mpeg1video @ 00B7C6F0]Warning vbv_delay will be set to 0xFFFF (=VBR) as the specified vbv buffer is too large for the given bitrate!
[mpeg1video @ 00B7C6F0]low delay forcing is only available for mpeg2
[00000495] avcodec encoder error: cannot open encoder
[00000445] stream_out_transcode stream out error: cannot find video encoder (module:any fourcc:mp1v)
[00000445] stream_out_transcode stream out error: cannot create video chain
[00000493] main packetizer error: cannot create packetizer output (WMV3)

The previous version of VLC worked fine before updating.

Edit: This problem might be due to the new version of VLC not recognizing a MPEG-1 video encoder on my computer. When I tried transcoding using VLC's GUI it reported the it couldn't open the MPEG-1 encoder.

 

[Allanon]

I was able to watch my WinTV capture card by using VLC to stream the video from the WinTV over a HTTP port and then use wmcbrine's HME/VLC video streamer to watch the video. I'm thinking of writing a HME program that allows me to change channels and maybe put up a guide. This would be like having a third Tuner in my Tivo HD.

 

[Allanon]

If you want to stream SopCast to the Tivo just add the following to the config.ini:

[SopCast]
url=http://127.0.0.1:8902/stream
needs_vlc=True

Then you can run the SopCast software and once you have a stream playing just select the "SopCast" menu item on the Tivo and it will stream.

 

[Allanon]

The same simplification that wmcbrine did in this post which made streaming DVDs easy can also be applied to VLC compatible capture devices.

Adding the following code to the config.ini file made it easy to stream my WinTV capture device to the Tivo:

[Capture Device]
url=dshow://
needs_vlc=True

 

[Allanon]

Is there a new syntax for the command line?

There are a few changes to the command line syntax and I tried using them but still was unable to get it to work. This is what I tried:

PARAMS = '#transcode{vcodec=%(VCODEC)s,vb=%(VBITRATE)d,scale=1,acodec=%(ACODEC)s,ab=128,channels=2}:duplicate{dst=std{access=http,mux=ps,dst=:%(SERVER)d}}'

 

[Allanon]

Where is that documented?

I used the GUI to get the posted PARAM string and after comparing it to the one in your program I thought the syntax changed but after looking at the documentation it seems the syntax you used it still valid.

 

[Allanon]

I would like to request a feature, could someone add support for ShoutCast TV? VLC already supports this by opening the playlist in VLC and selecting Manage->Services Discovery->Shoutcast TV Listings. If you click info on the Shoutcast TV menu item you will see this URL:
http://www.shoutcast.com/sbin/newtvlister.phtml?alltv=1
That URL links to XML that contains all the info needed to make a menu and play the video streams.

For Example, here is one of the entries in the XML:

<station name="Mystery Science Theater 3000" id="471002" br="128" rt="PG13" ct="" load="99" genre="Video" lc="99" />

as you can see the station's name is "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and the URL to a playlist would be:
http://www.shoutcast.com/sbin/tunein-tvstation.pls?id=471002
VLC can play that playlist URL or you can parse it to find each video in the playlist. This playlist looks like this:

[playlist]
numberofentries=1
File1=http://91.121.196.82:9290;stream.nsv
Title1=(#1 - 99/100) Mystery Science Theater 3000
Length1=-1
Version=2

I would add this feature but I'm not very good with Python, Thanks.

 

[Allanon]

Allanon, what would "this feature" be?

If VLC can play it from a URL, then just pass the URL, and set needs_vlc=true. But I know that you already know that, so there must be something I'm missing.

ShoutCast TV is a website that keeps track of streaming video stations. These stations are not always streaming so ShoutCast TV keeps track of which station is streaming and what they are streaming. I want the VLC/HME program to check the URL that has a list of all active video streams and list them so I can use the Tivo to choose which I want to watch. I don't want to manually place the URLs in to the config.ini because they may not be valid when I go to watch next time plus new video stations are always popping up.

Anyway, I decided to implement this feature and I have a prototype right now that goes out and reads the XML file and makes a dynamic list of all available video channels. What I still need to implement is the playing of the stream. I should be done with this later today or some time in the next few days, I will post the updated file.

 

[Allanon]

Here is an update to the HME/VLC Video Streamer version 2.6. This update will allow you to browse and watch ShoutCast TV Video Streams from the Tivo. It has not been fully tested and does crash once in a while when the computer doesn't read the ShoutCast TV URL correctly. There is no error checking. I have had mixed results with the videos, some work well other don't. It sometimes takes multiple tries before a stream will play. Also note that I did filter out all the channels that had a NC17 rating but other adult channels might slip through so be warned.

To add this new feature just replace the __init__.py file in the hmevlc folder with the one at the bottom of this post. All the other funtionality should be the same except you will now have a ShoutCast TV menu option on the top page.


BTW, page up and down is broken.

 

[Allanon]

It was so easy to add an xml feed that I have added 2 more. The first newly added feed is Archive Classic Movies, they have a bunch of old classic public domain videos. And the other feed is TED, they have a lot of lectures and videos on a whole range of subjects.

All the videos are MP4 so VLC is not needed. Also, I had to limit the number of videos from each feed to 256 due to technical problem in the hme.py file. Adding more files overloads a char variable. I didn't feel like searching for the problem so I just limited the number of videos.

Also, I found a website called Videocasting Station, it is filled with xml links to tons of videocast websites. If you see one you would like added to the HME/VLC Video Streamer just post here and I will do my best to add it.

To get the two new feeds plus the previous ShoutCast TV feed just replace the __init__.py file in the hmevlc folder with the one at the bottom of this post.

EDIT: I fixed a problem, the screen went blank when returning from a video in the TED video feed, it has been corrected.

 

[Allanon]

Thanks for all the hard work Allanon. The Sports and Hobby videocast and the Technology videocast would be a great addition.

Your requested videocasts are just sections not actual videocasts, if you click on those links you will find over 6 pages of different videocast websites. I can't add them all but select a few and I will add them. Be sure to check out the videocast's website and view a few of the videos before selecting just to make sure it's has the type of video you would want to watch.