Streaming h264 hit and miss, help

[Shai-Hulud]

I'm currently running vlc 1.0.3 under Windows xp 64. What I am trying to do is an http stream using the h264 codec. When I use the gui interface by going to Media, Streaming, selecting the file, setting the bitrates, etc, it WORKS perfectly. What doesn't work is the exact same settings except inputted through the HTTP interface. I get the following error:

It seems your FFMPEG (libavcodec) installation lacks the following encoder:
H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10).

This has been a problem as long as I have used VLC (for years), at least to my knowledge, though I've never pursued a solution until now as I always have used DIV3 instead. Why it works in the GUI and not via the HTTP interface is rather inconsistent. I've done some research on Google but have yet to find anything pertinent to the issue.

Any ideas?

[VLC_help]

Run it with extra interface and copy the logs from HTTP one here if you can.

[Shai-Hulud]

main error: stream chain failed for `transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=512,fps=25,scale=1,acodec=a52,ab=64,channels=1,samplerate=44100}:std{access=http,mux=ts,dst=192.168.0.100:8080}'
main error: cannot start stream output instance, aborting
avcodec error: cannot find encoder H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10)
*** Your FFMPEG installation is crippled. ***
*** Please check with your FFMPEG packager. ***
*** This is NOT a VLC media player issue. ***

Is that what you're talking about?

And here's the error with a bit more verbosity:

avcodec error: cannot find encoder H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10)
*** Your FFMPEG installation is crippled. ***
*** Please check with your FFMPEG packager. ***
*** This is NOT a VLC media player issue. ***
qt4 debug: Updating the geometry
qt4 debug: Updating the geometry
qt4 debug: Updating the geometry
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 17.000 ms - Total 17.000 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 17.000 ms)
stream_out_transcode error: cannot find video encoder (module:any fourcc:H264)
avcodec debug: ffmpeg codec (MPEG-4 Video) stopped
main debug: removing module "avcodec"
stream_out_transcode error: cannot create video chain
main error: cannot create packetizer output (mp4v)
main debug: Decoder buffering done in 25 ms
mpeg_audio debug: MPGA channels:2 samplerate:48000 bitrate:128
qt4 debug: Updating the geometry
qt4 debug: Updating the geometry

As far as I can tell, it's not telling us anything useful. H264 WORKS with the GUI. Checking the log for when the GUI runs shows NO errors what so ever.

[VLC_help]

Does it work from GUI if you copy

Code: Select all

transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=512,fps=25,scale=1,acodec=a52,ab=64,channels=1,samplerate=44100}:std{access=http,mux=ts,dst=192.168.0.100:8080}

to it?

[Shai-Hulud]

I compared the string you provided with the "Generated Stream Output String" generated by the gui. It's the same thing. Here's the gui string plus a few changes in bitrate and port number:

:sout=#transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=256,fps=25,scale=0.5,acodec=a52,ab=64,channels=1,samplerate=44100}:std{access=http,mux=ts,
dst=192.168.0.100:8181}

[VLC_help]

I was just wondering, if something is eating the code from HTTP interface, since the

main error: stream chain failed for `transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=512,fps=25,scale=1,acodec=a52,ab=64,channels=1,samplerate=44100}:std{access=http,mux=ts,dst=192.168.0.100:8080}'

seems little strange. If for example vcodec=mp2v works from HTTP interface, then my assumption is wrong.

[Shai-Hulud]

:sout=#transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vb=384,scale=0.5,acodec=a52,ab=64,channels=1}:std{access=http,mux=ts,dst=192.168.0.100:8181}

vcodec=mp2v from the web interface does indeed work.