Windows XP VLC streaming - help please!

[ws6500hp]

I may have posted this in the wrong section - if so, I apologize - but here is my post duplicated - sorry for the mixup!

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=67906

I am not a newbie to streaming. I stream using Windows Media Encoder and SageTV using various sources for the stream. I stream from the streaming server (Windows XP) to PCs on my local LAN and externally to the Internet from a variety of capture devices. I have resolved all of the firewall (port forwarding, etc.) issues for streaming with these programs.

I have long used VLC as a media player, but have never used it for streaming over a network connection and thought I'd give it a try since I really like VLC.

Here is my situation: I am trying to set up VLC to stream from a Windows XP computer using a Canopus ADVC300 video controller (it works just like a DV camcorder) as a source. VLC recognizes this device and I can play from that device on that computer just fine using VLC - so I know VLC is fully capable of using this device as a source for the streaming server. (I can stream fine using this device with Windows Media Encoder).

Normally, i just follow the instructions and read and am able to figure it out. However, either I am unable to find it, or it doesn't exist - i.e. a simple set of instructions as to how to set up VLC to stream under Windows XP. All of the step by step docs I can seem to find are for Linux.

Can someone please point me to a step-by-step set of instructions as to how to get started doing this - or give me a couple of simple pointers as to how to setup the streaming server so that I can stream to a VLC client PC? I think that I start with Media/Streaming/Capture Device. I then select the Video Device, click Stream, and then I get lost from there. if someone could give me a simple set of settings to get me started - I can then try more advanced options - but I can't seem to get off the ground

I have a local LAN with gateway router 192.168.1.1 with the streaming server having static IP of 192.168.1.210.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

Thank you!

[Greg]

Take a look here

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=66473&p=221466#p221466

I think it covers most of what you want to do...? It at the very least covers the principal.

[ws6500hp]

Thanks - that really helped!

Here's what I've found - those instructions got me started and I tried most settings. The capture device streams data firewire to the computer (pretty high speed). It apparently does not allow any picture scaling and VLC will only allow 720x480 - it gives an error if I try any other picture size. Between the firewire speed from the device and VLC trying to transcode this on the fly for streaming, although it's not eating 100% CPU (it's running about 75%) I get severe pixelating and jerkiness both at the server and client. I am able to play the device just fine - just pixelates badly when trying to stream. I don't think the VLC transcoder can keep up (unless I'm missing something which is very likely) even when transcoding the stream to WMV or Mpeg2.

Windows Media Encoder has a very similar problem, but manages to squeeze out a watchable picture over the net at 640x320 from this same device (at around 1mbps and 24fps and 85% CPU utilization). Also, WME will scale to just about any size that I want - the smaller the picture size, the better the streaming - all the way up to "DVD" quality which inundates the CPU and gives results similar to VLC. I don't know what else I can do in VLC to get a better result.

WME + Windows Media Player seems to be the best answer for this device - unless you guys can tell me a better way with VLC.

Thanks!

[Greg]

At the risk of stating the obvious..
Yes, your picture size is too big for a circa 1M stream

Have you tried <width=xxx> and <height=xxx> or even <scale=x.x> in your output string?

Reducing the framerate by using <fps=xx> (say 25 to start with) may help
Where bandwidth is not so much of an issue eg in a LAN then, try raising <vb=xxx> to something like 2400
Also
If you can use H264 the picture quality you will get will probably outweigh the extra cpu resource used over WMV

[ws6500hp]

I'll try all of those - thank you for the suggestions!

[Greg]

As I happen to be tinkering about with an XP box at the mo, I tried approx recreating what you are doing

So
With 2x 2.4G cpu and PAL capture card res 768x576

VLC-: server and client
Default H264 stream and following additions/changes
scale=0.66 (512x384) ish
fps=25

Fairly good result , some minimal pixelation streaming at less than 1M, cpu circa 60%


and
scale=0.5 (384x288)
fps=25
Good result, nearly no pixelation, streaming at less than 1M, cpu circa 50%

[ws6500hp]

Thank you - I'll try them!

Bandwidth is not an issue on the LAN and I have approx 3mbps upload and 12mbps download on Comcast Internet - all of my streaming problems thus far have been transcoder related - not bandwidth. CPU is old but fairly powerful - 3.4GZ P4.

Thanks again - I really appreciate the help!

[Greg]

If bandwidth not an issue, then

Crank up <vb=xxx> Say 4800

This in general terms allows the transcode to get on with transcoding without having to compress into a target bandwidth! And thus= better quality.

You probably want to start with a pic size no greater than circa 384x288 (scale=0.5 ish) and see how it goes?

[ws6500hp]

I think part of my problem here is with this device - the ADVC300. Keep in mind it's A/D converting and transport streaming raw video over firewire into the computer real time and at the same time the computer is trying to transcode and stream it out onto the net. I've found that while capturing from this device, it's just about all that I can do to get the raw video captured to a file prior to editing - and the resultant files are huge!

In my 3rd post above, I describe how I'm able to get full screen (640X320) streamed using WME. It's not that I am limited to 1mbps bandwidth - it's just that those are the only settings that I am able to get to work with WME without problems.

Here's the device in case you're interested - it's been around for years and really is a great little video processor:

http://desktop.grassvalley.com/products ... /index.php

Thanks!

[Greg]

I don't use firewire. I have tried a few USB devices, they use up quite a bit of cpu rescource, and therefore will be interupting the on the fly transcode. I imagine Firewire will have the same problem

I have found that Analogue PCI/PCIE cards get the data stream right where you need it without too much cpu overhead.
You might want to take a look through the Hardware Compatability List.?

VLC server and client combination certainly beats WME and WMedia Player combination in my experience
Try tweaking VLC a bit more before you give up and go back to WME.

Good luck

[ws6500hp]

I'm going to try tweaking VLC a bit more and see what I can do - I'm retired so I have the time (oh no! - command lines back to the world of Linux - I left there years ago).

The ADVC streams raw A/D converted transport stream video - lots of data - very high rate over firewire - probably interrupting the living hell out of the CPU. Some of the other devices with hardware mpeg encoders, etc. are way easier on the cpu. I have two other devices that fit that bill - a Hauppauge HVR-1600 and a PVR-250 - VLC doesn't seem to like the 1600 - I haven't tried the 250 (it's not installed in the machine but I can do so - just have to get off my butt). I wish VLC could talk to the 1600 - that would be ideal! I have to check to see if the windows version of VLC will talk to the 250. WME can't talk to either the 250 or the 1600 - but can talk to the ADVC300 since it's a DV compatible device (and it does produce fantastic video - just tons of data). Right now I use SageTV in conjunction with the HVR-1600 (it works nicely).

Actually WME is not too bad - but I'd like more flexibility and I suspect VLC has it - I just need to learn and read more.

Thanks again - your help is greatly appreciated!

[tawan]

thank you .

[nalkhaf]

I too have a problem....

I'm remotely logging onto a linux machine and starting up vlc through a terminal in the cmd line [typed "vlc" & the vlc interface window pops up] and on the [windows machine] desktop starting the local vlc. I have an axis 207mw cam. I can stream live video from the cam from the linux machine through vlc & viewing it on the local vlc. Now on the remote vlc, I use: http://192.168.1.233/axis-cgi/mjpg/v...esolution=2CIF - network protocol window under Media --> Streaming --> Network tab. This cmd [http://192.168.1.233/axis-cgi/mjpg/v...solution=2CIF] now becomes the source w/http as the type. The destination is UDP & to be Displayed locally w/transcoding enabled w/the profile: Video - MPEG-2 + MPGA (TS). All output is now to be a transcoded stream delivered via UDP to the machine address 192.168.1.241 [the local windows machine that vlc will be running] & the port 1234. So after I click "Stream," I'm prompted for the User name & Password & once I input that, the cam starts to stream live. On the other vlc [on the desktop], I click Media-->Open Network Stream--> and enter the Network Protocol : udp://@:1234, & click "play." Now the video is being streamed from 1 machine to another, but I want to make it so that I don't need to bring up vlc on the remote machine, but instead use the vlc-generated stream output string [under the "options" button "Generated stream output string" ] :sout=#transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vb=800,scale=1,acodec =mpga,ab=128,channels=2,samplerate=44100}:duplicat e{dst=std{access=udp,mux=ts,dst=192.168.1.241:1234 },dst=display} & like type that into a vi text editor & executing the file instead, so the only thing I'd see the the vlc live stream on the desktop. Is such a thing possible? Can settings be saved on vlc?

Thanks

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

You don't have the same issue... Stop hijacking threads.