streaming web tv to dreambox

[ian1095]

ok ive managed to stream webtv to my dreambox and so watch the content on my tv screen.the problem is though that ive only managed to do it if i first save the stream to ts on the pc's HDD thats mounted to the dreambox,then open up file mode on the box and then watch the created ts file on the fly.this works perfectly,but the problem is space.it doesnt take long to fill up the pc's HDD when watching alot of web tv.

heres the batch file i created to do this and if anyone wants to watch web tv this way all they have to do is copy this into a text editor and save as a .bat file(obviously editing the HDD directories to that of their own on their pc)then run it and enjoy tv from the states ect.

cd \Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC
vlc.exe -vvv "mms://151.1.245.71/cblfilm-live" --sout "#transcode{vcodec=mp2v,width=352,height=576,vb=30 72,scale=1,fps=25,acodec=mpga,ab=192,channels=2}:d uplicate{dst=std{access=file,mux=ts,dst=F:\shared\ movie\%~n1.ts}}"

obviously ive been using a url snooper to give me the mms of the web tv stream to insert into any batch file that i create.i have them for movie channels entertainment,sport ect and you would also need to use a snooper on your desired web tv stream from sopcast or whatever stream server you prefer(tv-links.cc is a good one) and then edit it into your own batch files,but this only ever has to be done the once for each of your favorite internet porn channels or sports and movie channels ect.
as i said this works great,but i dont feel its the final answer,simply because of the space issue.

so what i want to do is connect the dreambox directly to the vlc stream without first saving it to disk,using vlcf.but im failing miserably.

here is the experimental batch file ive been using to do this(its not finished yet,screen size,resolution,vb,cache ect can all be sorted later)

cd \Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC

vlc.exe -vvv "mms://151.1.245.71/cblfilm-live" --sout "#transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vb=2048,scale=1,acodec=mpg a,ab=192,channels=2}:duplicate{dst=std{access=udp, mux=ts,dst=192.168.0.2:8080}}"

then i created a m3u file with this content

udp://@192.168.0.2:8080

(192.168.0.2 being the LAN ip of my pc)

i first run the batch file and when vlc opens and connects to the web tv stream i then open the m3u file with vlcf on the dreambox.(unfortunately it has to be vlcf 1.30 as vlcf 1.80 doesnt recognise m3u files yet)
but it wont connect!!!!
it gets to 8% then tries again,untill finally it states that there is a problem with the stream.
on the vlc program itself it states that udp://@192.168.0.2 is indeed running,but this information replaces the information about the web tv stream,so in effect when i start the m3u file,its closing the web tv stream in vlc.ive no idea why this is.

this should work,but it doesnt!!!!!! and ive completely ran out of ideas why it wont.
please someone help me find out why this is.ian.

[cacosta]

Hi there!
Some while ago I managed to stream Web TV successfully to dreambox to watch it on TV.
I wrote a post here explaining how but it must have been deleted (or archived?).

I have a dm500 and the secret with these machines comes with the function that permits you to watch a DVD on dreambox.

If you debug and watch carefully what happens, you'll see that there is a command that is sent to dreambox to start receiving a stream on the IP and port previously configured.
The commands are:
http:// + DreamBoxIP + /cgi-bin/movieplayer.m3u?command=start
http:// + DreamBoxIP + /cgi-bin/movieplayer.m3u?command=stop

So, you just have to start streaming from PC (a valid trancoded stream, try several configurations) with VLC to a destination on PC like this "dst=192.168.0.1:1234/dboxstream". Note another trick, it only works with "/dboxstream" because dreambox will always look for this path on the url.
Example of parameter "sout:" on vlc:
:sout=#transcode{vcodec=mp2v,hurry-up,vb=4096,width=352,height=288,acodec=mpga,ab=192,channels=2}:std{access=http,mux=ts,pid-video=9999,pid-audio=9999,tsid=9999,sap,name=\"TestStream\",dst=192.168.0.1:1234/dboxstream}

You may alter some of the parameters above.

In summary you just need to:
1- Configure on dreambox Web interface the IP/port for the PC stream.
2- Start streaming with vlc on PC to the same ip/port on PC (you have to master vlc functions).
3- Send command to dreambox via http as explained to start receiving video.
This should have a delay of 20 seconds for buffering before you start seeing anything on TV screen.
4- Send command to dreambox via http as explained to stop receiving video when you want.

It worked?
For me it works.
Now you just have to implement some way of easily manage these commands with batch and/or m3u files.
I have a complex system working for me but the only thing that makes me mad is the 20 seconds of buffering time on dreambox.
When you connect to a WebTV on PC you may sometimes wait up to 1 minute and then plus 20 seconds of buffering on dreambox is definitely too much, specially if you like zapping.
Zapping should take 1 second, not 1 minute.

Does this work for you?