Stream a live event?

[SIMEN]

Hey all... I'm new to the forum, but fairly experienced in streaming video (primarily Multicast within a LAN)...

My question is: has anyone tried or been able to stream video capture from a live event? specifically, my cousin is getting married next month, and would love to be able to send video of his wedding to our extended family in parts abroad.

I would love ideas and best practices if anyone has done this successfully!

I am currently working with the following set up to try:

1. Sony camera with video out into computer
2. MPEG-2 encoder card in computer, verizon 500 kbps link via cellular
3. machine on land connection running VLServer
4. VLClients on client machines...

Is this doable? thanks!!!!!!

-Rishi

[jerry marksman]

we're actually working on streaming live feed with VLC.
This does work but it depends on the version of VLC you're using. 0.8.1 or 0.8 does not work fine with some video card and 0.7.2 is also unstablwe're using 0.8.1 to stream a PAL signal acquired by a Matrox RTX 100 Xtrem directly throught a network after compressing it in MPEG4. The required bandwith is minimum 1280 kbps to get something nice with a 720 x 576 image at 18 fps.
On the client machine you only need VLC 0.7.2.
Just to give you an idea of our network, we got a P4 at 2.4 GHZ streaming to a multiple port router, then 1.5 Mbps Fiber optic LAN, then router, ethernet hub and clients.

Hope this will help

[SIMEN]

Jerry...

thanks for the reply, and yes, it does provide some help. My situation is a bit more complex (at least I think so!)

My cousin is getting married in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere (don't get me started on why)...

Onsite, I have a machine connected to a video camera. What I am trying to do, is introduce a layer of complexity in this. My onsite machine will ideally encode the video stream, send it over the verizon wireless connection to a machine on land line (T-1), and use that second machine to run the streaming video.

I'm basically trying to relay video from my capture machine to the server...

Regular streaming basically goes from camera -> server -> client
I'm trying to do: camera -> encode/capture -> server -> client

I can send a digram of what I'm trying to do if this seems convoluted...

thanks

[markfm]

Nothing complex to what you're describing, it's classic rebroadcasting..

Your first instance of VLC, in the field, does an initial serve of the video, while the one at home repromulgates the video for use by others.

I would not use an MPEG2 encoder card -- doesn't compress all that well. Buy a simple framegrabber like an Osprey 210, under $200, have the PC in the field do a software compression. A 3 GHz PC uses about 25% - 30% CPU compresing 640x480 30 frames per second mpeg 4, with video, timestamp, and logo overlays, 1 Mbps output. If your first haul is hard-limited to 500 kbps, I'd suggest using mpeg4 compression, 320x240 pixel, perhaps cut the frame rate down below maximum -- maybe 15 or 20 fps, instead of 25 - 30. Will mono feed for the audio work?

Once you do the initial feed to home, repromulgating could be interesting. Most people do not have a multicast-output-capable ISP connection, so you would be limited to addressed mode operation, where each person viewing the wedding would use up one set of outgoing bandwidth. At home you might want to record the incoming video/audio at full resolution, plus transcode down to a lower frame rate for retransmission to remote viewers, so that you can handle multiple simultaneous connections.

(You can make the full framerate/resolution video available for later download by relatives, using an FTP server from home)

Good luck!

[jerry marksman]

For going from your PC on the field to your server why don't you use a WiFi connection. We've tried it for as far as 2 km with directionnal antennae and about 22 Mbps connection. Worth thinking about it

[SIMEN]

Jerry

Def worth a try... just need to find a connection we can jump onto, but shouldn't be too much of a problem...

But can streaming be done with a machine used to relay the video stream?

-Rishi

[jerry marksman]

Yes, on one of our network, we use a PC with VLC to receive a stream sent by another PC which is acting like a server through a network with routers. The receiving PC is set to get the stream and stream it to other PCs through an ethernet hub (basically 3 client with one having a barco to project the video, another saves the file and the third one just as a backup)

[jerry marksman]

just to add, if you need to broadcast throught multiple routers, you need to set the TTL number to the number of knots + 2 ( we usually set it at 10). So to do this, go to parameters/preferences... check the "advance setting" boxin the bottom right and then go to modules/sout stream/stream-out-rtp/TTL . hope you'll understand

[richardkfk]

Dear Jerry,

It is interesting that u use a PC as a Video Streaming Relay Agent and
re-broadcast the video stream to other users.

Actually, how can I configure the VLC081 to act as a Video Streaming Relay Agent .

I know the VLC081 can be used as a standalone streaming server or standalone client only.

cheers,

-ricky321-

[markfm]

The model is Input -- Demux -- Decode -- Filter -- Encode -- Mux -- Output.

When acting as a relay, you are using a Network Stream as Input, instead of a File.

For instance:
vlc mmsh://192.168.2.3:1234 :sout=#transcode{vcodec=mp4v,vb=1024,scale=1,acodec=mpga,ab=192,channels=2}:duplicate{dst=std{access=udp,mux=ts,url=239.240.5.6:5678}} --sout-udp-ttl=10

As one line would connect to whatever is being made available at 192.168.2.3, do a transcode to mp4v/mpga at 1024/192 kbps, send it out as a UDP multicast, with the UDP packets marked with a ttl of 10.

[jerry marksman]

Yes we use about the same config, except for the adresses and the codec some time because we have to broadcast it in mpeg2 to get it compatible with one of our PCs (I know its not high qual mpeg2 but its better than nothing)
cheers.

[Chico - Lorraine]

Salut et Bravo !!!
VLC c' est impeccable (2peccable mm )
bon
allons droit au but :
Un G4 av OSX 10.3, une camera Sony dcr trv30 E firewire
une emission de radio a diffuser en live (son+video)
-VLC me permet il de streamer un flux audio video avec mon equipement ?
Si oui comment faire sur osx pour streamer ?
Sinon existe t il un logiciel me permettant de le faire ... ?
`C' est l' an 2000 ou bien ...?'
Merci d'avance !
et continuez comme ca les mecs

[markfm]

Try a forum Search, put in both Mac and firewire, see what comes back.
(Also, you'll do better if you post in English. Many of the developers are European, quite a few actually are French, but the overall forum is in English.)

[Guest]

Salut et Bravo !!!
VLC c' est impeccable (2peccable mm )
bon
allons droit au but :
Un G4 av OSX 10.3, une camera Sony dcr trv30 E firewire
une emission de radio a diffuser en live (son+video)
-VLC me permet il de streamer un flux audio video avec mon equipement ?
Si oui comment faire sur osx pour streamer ?
Sinon existe t il un logiciel me permettant de le faire ... ?
`C' est l' an 2000 ou bien ...?'
Merci d'avance !
et continuez comme ca les mecs

The same problem with Sony DCR-TRV410E PAL camera...

VLC seems not understand video+audio streem from 1394 FireWire.

Video ever 1 second break by digital noise (audio in fact), but VLC dont understand that.

Ssory for my badly english...

Any solutions? ....

[jerry marksman]

A ce jour c'est impossible sur mac os X, il manque l'option dans VLC, pas la même évolution malgrè le même n° de version. J'ai le mm problème que toi mais en plus exigeant et je suis obligé de passer par un PC (sic) !!

[Guest]

The same problem with Sony DCR-TRV410E PAL camera...

VLC seems not understand video+audio streem from 1394 FireWire.

Video ever 1 second break by digital noise (audio in fact), but VLC dont understand that. .

See here, viewtopic.php?t=5930.

Using VLC 0.8.0 seems to sort the problem out.

[dapkor]

hey , i know how you can set it up , for live feed streaming you can use MS media Encoder 9 this is a powerfull free ware that enabels you to set up a life feed stream , origanally designed to be used for conferencing and webCAM use it has been given to the public .. hope this helps your problem

[jerry marksman]

I've tried MS media Encoder 9, yes it works but you need a very powerfull computer in order to get seamless streaming and also the quality of the encoder in not as good as VLC.