What are you using as an http server? I Googled this awhile back and only came up with Apache, but again, this seemed to be way beyond my capabilities. Is there a simpler way?
What are you using as an http server? I Googled this awhile back and only came up with Apache, but again, this seemed to be way beyond my capabilities. Is there a simpler way?
You don't need a http server. when you compile vlc it has a simple http server built in that is customized for vlc. I don't think a regular http server like apache will even work right.
You don't need a http server. when you compile vlc it has a simple http server built in that is customized for vlc. I don't think a regular http server like apache will even work right.
What do you mean by "compile vlc"? All I've been doing so far is UDP. Basically I enter in the IP of the PC I am streaming to and then it works. With HTTP, I am not sure what settings I would enter.
BTW, I appreciate your answers. I haven't found the support on VLC to be very helpful. :)
this problem HAS to be associated with media player 10 mobile. I just have to find the solution.
I suspect you are right on the basis that older versions of Media Player (WIN32) cannot play ASF streams produced by VLC either, versions >9.0 work fine. I also tried many times myself and couldn't get it to work. BTW axzilla is not correct, WMP Mobile can play MSMPEG4 v3 but it must be encapsulated in an ASF container, it's AVI that is not supported. The closest I've seen to a spec for WMP10 Mobile that is aimed at end-users is this.
Originally Posted by Gigi
What do you mean by "compile vlc"? All I've been doing so far is UDP. Basically I enter in the IP of the PC I am streaming to and then it works. With HTTP, I am not sure what settings I would enter.
I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark here and assume that you are running the Windows version of VLC rather than the Linux version, in which case the copy you have already contains Web Interface support.
The easiest way to enable the web interface is to go into Preferences->General Settings->Interface and enter http in the box labelled Extra interface modules. Click save, then restart VLC now if you open a web browser and go to http://localhost:8080 you should see the page produced by VLC. Although this is cool I get the feeling it's not really what you want to know.
Give these settings a try and see what shakes loose. In the Stream Output dialog check HTTP but don't enter any address, set the port to whatever you like, leave Play Locally turned off as it slows transcoding/streaming down. For Encapsulation Method try Ogg or MPEG PS either should work, turn transcoding on and use mp4v, 256, 0.5 to start off with for video, and vorb, 64, 2 for audio. Hit OK, start up Betaplayer and connect to http://[your PC's IP address]:1234 it should start playing within a few seconds. Once it works you can start messing around with different bitrates, scaling values etc. but hopefully this should get you started.
P.S. Don't bother with the Pocket PC version of VLC, it does not have any of the opimisations that Betaplayer does and contains a lot of bugs.
I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark here and assume that you are running the Windows version of VLC rather than the Linux version, in which case the copy you have already contains Web Interface support.
The easiest way to enable the web interface is to go into Preferences->General Settings->Interface and enter http in the box labelled Extra interface modules. Click save, then restart VLC now if you open a web browser and go to http://localhost:8080 you should see the page produced by VLC. Although this is cool I get the feeling it's not really what you want to know.
Give these settings a try and see what shakes loose. In the Stream Output dialog check HTTP but don't enter any address, set the port to whatever you like, leave Play Locally turned off as it slows transcoding/streaming down. For Encapsulation Method try Ogg or MPEG PS either should work, turn transcoding on and use mp4v, 256, 0.5 to start off with for video, and vorb, 64, 2 for audio. Hit OK, start up Betaplayer and connect to http://[your PC's IP address]:1234 it should start playing within a few seconds. Once it works you can start messing around with different bitrates, scaling values etc. but hopefully this should get you started.
Yes, I am using the Windows version of VLC. I followed all of the steps you've outlined but unfortunately, I cannot get any output from betaplayer, VLC (for PC) or a browser. The error I get on betaplayer is "Could not open URL!", the VLC client times out and shows nothing, and the browser (both Firefox and IE) cannot connect. I have tried both "localhost" as well as the IP of the server PC. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong? I'm quite sure I have configured the server side ok since when I play locally, the image is fine. Thanks.
The most plausible explanations are that either the address/port you are entering is incorrect (can you ping the server from your axim?), a firewall is blocking the connection, or the server is not running properly (does netstat show your PC listening on the port entered into VLC?).
Could you include a message log dump from VLC with your next post? Please excuse my brevity as I'm typing this on my PDA.
The most plausible explanations are that either the address/port you are entering is incorrect (can you ping the server from your axim?), a firewall is blocking the connection, or the server is not running properly (does netstat show your PC listening on the port entered into VLC?).
Could you include a message log dump from VLC with your next post? Please excuse my brevity as I'm typing this on my PDA.
I just tried UDP from laptop to desktop and it worked fine so is it still possible that the problem lies in my settings or firewall? I have forwarded ports 1234 from my laptop (server) so I'm assuming that part is ok too.
Where can I find the message log dump?
Thanks. I appreciate your help, even from mobile! :)
I got it to work on Betaplayer after moving my test capture device (webcam, but normally would be a USB tv tuner card) from laptop to desktop! Once I did that and configured it as OddbOd had described, it worked flawlessly on the first try. Now I am stumped as to why it will work with my desktop but not my laptop as server. I have been able to use my laptop on UDP with no problems in the past (but only streaming to desktop and not PPC).
I just tried UDP from laptop to desktop and it worked fine so is it still possible that the problem lies in my settings or firewall? I have forwarded ports 1234 from my laptop (server) so I'm assuming that part is ok too.
Not only is it possible but by the sounds of things it is the crux of the problem you've been having.
Streaming over UDP should work regardless of how your firewall is set up as it does not use a client initiated connection like HTTP streaming over TCP does. With UDP streaming the VLC server opens a UDP port and starts spitting out packets of data with the destination address that you have specified, the other end regardless of whether its your laptop or PPC always receives these packets, it cannot stop the stream being sent. HTTP streaming works quite differently, the VLC server listens on the port you specify for incoming connections and will not send anything until a client (your PPC/laptop) connects and asks to be sent the stream.
The difference here is subtle from a user perspective but radically different as far as a firewall sees it, in the case of UDP the connection is made outwards from the server which should be allowed by almost any firewall by default, with HTTP the initial connection is being made inwards which will most likely be blocked by default. The port that is being listened on will not respond if a firewall is blocking incoming connections to it.
Quote:
Where can I find the message log dump?
It's under View->Messages.. or hit Ctrl+M, make sure the window is open before you start the stream otherwise the important parts will not be logged.
Please don't give up as you can do some very cool things with VideoLAN that you may not have even considered yet - Shr00m's channel changing method can be adapted to Windows and should in fact be easier to setup (well easier than doing it this way).
Woohoo! I'm excited to try all this crud out tommorow, but as it is, its 1:00 in the morning, so i'll read through tommorow. Thanks to everyone for the info.
By the way, does this eat up bandwidth? Cause I have an extremly heterosexually challenged bandwidth cap on my connection.
Thanks again, OddbOd! Yes, it was definitely the firewall and after giving VLC permission, I got it to work without a hassle. :approve:
However, I am now having some buffering issues. When played on my Axim, it will play flawlessly for a few minutes and then I'd see the spinning circle and will have to manually soft reset. When streamed to my desktop, VLC media player will play a few seconds and then totally freeze. I have used the settings you have outlined in post #19. How else can I tweak them? Is it all just trial and error?
Also, when streaming from the tv tuner card, I have found that VLC cannot handle MPEG2. My card is the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR USB2 which uses hardware compression. The only way I am able to watch tv is to use my PVR software to record the program, and then stream that recording using VLC while it is being recorded. Is there a way around this?
One more question: When using HTTP streaming, is it possible to view the stream OUTSIDE of my own network? I tried to test this using GPRS via my cell phone but it would not connect. However, I am not sure if this is due to the speed and bandwidth limitations of this kind of connection.
The buffering/stall problem can be overcome by tweaking Betaplayer, usually turning on Microdrive mode is sufficient but play around with the buffering settings and the Prefer less buffering over smooth video setting. To get the best performance is definitely a matter of trial & error, the VLC settings I gave were just a starting point (based on my early failures ;) ) which you probably won't want to deviate too far from them as there are a lots of combinations that don't work.
Originally Posted by Gigi
Also, when streaming from the tv tuner card, I have found that VLC cannot handle MPEG2. My card is the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR USB2 which uses hardware compression. The only way I am able to watch tv is to use my PVR software to record the program, and then stream that recording using VLC while it is being recorded. Is there a way around this?
Arrrgh! I hoped you weren't going to say that, WinTV PVR cards are incompatible with just about every piece of capture software ever written. The only combination that works with VideoLAN are the PVR250 or PVR350 under Linux, sorry but the workaround you're using is the only way I know of to make it work under Windows.
To view the stream outside your own network should only require a change in firewall settings, just forward the port you're using to your Internet IP instead of your LAN IP. To figure out the bandwidth you have just use an online bandwidth test like the McAfee Speedometer.
Thanks OddbOd for the tips - I will give them a try. (Always kind of wanted the option to watch some tv while at work, hence the http server part...shhh... :hide: )
So are there any other cool things to try with VLC while I'm "in the groove"? :p
Ummm how about editing line 23 of the browse.html file (it should be in C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\http\admin) from param2="_directory_" to param2="directory". Now edit the .access file in the same directory to set a username:password combination that is not the default and switch on the web interface. Now start a stream and on your PDA browse to http://your_pc's_ip_address:8080/admin/browse.html?dir=c:/ if all is well you should be able to add files to your playlist by remote control, simply replace the drive letter after ?dir= to see other drives on your system but bear in mind you need to use regular slashes as VLC was designed for Linux.
With some help from some kind souls who helped me do some testing, I was able to get http streaming to work! :approve: Unfortunately, as the thread poster described, it does not work with WMP. Are there any other media players (besides VLC and Betaplayer) that would be capable of receiving an http stream?
Originally Posted by OddbOd
Ummm how about editing line 23 of the browse.html file (it should be in C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\http\admin) from param2="_directory_" to param2="directory". Now edit the .access file in the same directory to set a username:password combination that is not the default and switch on the web interface. Now start a stream and on your PDA browse to http://your_pc's_ip_address:8080/admin/browse.html?dir=c:/ if all is well you should be able to add files to your playlist by remote control, simply replace the drive letter after ?dir= to see other drives on your system but bear in mind you need to use regular slashes as VLC was designed for Linux.
I was able to add an mp3 file onto the playlist but cannot actually play it on Betaplayer. Whenever I tap on to play, nothing happens. Thanks. :)
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