vlc on demand relay

[level20peon]

Hey guys,

I am unsure about the terminology for what I am trying to accomplish, so I'll describe what I want to do:

I already set up a vlc broadcast on server A using:

Code: Select all

vlc --sout="#transcode{vcodec=h264,vb=600,scale=1,acodec=mp4a,ab=128,channels=1}:http{mux=ffmpeg{mux=flv},dst=:4321/vlc.flv}}"

So, I can basically access this stream from any computer I like.

Since server A has bandwidth limitations, I would like to use server B (for discussions sake with unlimited bandwidth) to grab the stream from server A and relay it to the enduser WHEN somebody accesses server B in order to watch the stream. Alternatively, server A could stream whenever I feel to stream something, to server B, which just would not provide a stream to the enduser, if stream A->B is not active at the time.

Any pointers on how to realize such setup, or on the terminology I should search for ?

[level20peon]

ok, I'll try to clear some things up:

A ---(1)--- B ---(2)--- C

A is the pc using VLC to do the transcoding mentioned in my post above.
(1) is a low bandwidth connection
B is the root server where VLC shall grab the http stream once (!) from A and then provide multiple streams via (2), the unlimited bandwidth connection, to the endusers C.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

This is not possible with the current architecture, unless you have no more than one client at a time.

[level20peon]

Is this technically impossible or does VLC just not support it ? Could I use some other software on server B (debian) to accomplish this ?

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

It is technically possible but VLC does not currently support it.

[level20peon]

ok, could you tell me about the terminology I have to look for here ? Is connection (1) an unicast and are connection(s) (2) broadcasts (or are they multicasts) ? If so, doesn't vlc support broadcasting ? I have a feeling you got me wrong or I explained myself not well enough.

[level20peon]

I succeeded with what I was trying to accomplish. My home computer now streams over my DSL connection once, whereas my rootserver streams to as many clients as I like. I used vlc for this. So it is seemingly possible after all... it's funny how many times I read some dev in these forum stating that things are not possible, just to get rid of somebody.

[Sébastien Escudier]

You asked to, I quote : "to grab the stream from server A and relay it to the enduser WHEN somebody accesses server B"
That is not what you accomplished... Or you request was not clear.

[level20peon]

Well, Server A is in fact my home computer, transcoding and streaming the source material. Server B is my rootserver, which grabs the stream from A and relays it to multiple endpoints. Sorry if I was not clear on that.

[Sébastien Escudier]

What was not clear is : do you want to stream from A to B only when at least one user is asking the stream on B.
That is not currently possible with vlc.

[level20peon]

I asked for true VOD OR:

Alternatively, server A could stream whenever I feel to stream something, to server B, which just would not provide a stream to the enduser, if stream A->B is not active at the time.

[video_streaming]

hello level20peon
thanks for your fast reply
i dont want to use http .. i have to use udp/rtp
can i dont specify the destination address when i use rtp or udp ?

[level20peon]

I don't know the specifics on how to setup utp/rtp, please refer to the manual for that.