[mythtv-users] Network Recorder and VLC transcoding on demand

[David W. Allor]

Hi!

I am trying to figure out how to transcode outgoing streams to the
Network Recorder over rtsp.  The only missing piece of the puzzle is the
transcode settings.  I thought I had them right, but it doesn't work.
I'm using VLC's VLM module, which, I believe, means I have to specify
the muxer as a separate option rather than including it in the vlc
transcode line.  Below are all the full details.

The Summary:

I have been using VLC to serve video on demand within my home via rtsp.
I've been watching the videos in VLC.  I'm trying to get this to work
with mythtv's network recorder.  The videos will be transcoded on the
fly on another box.  I know there are simpler ways to watch these in
mythtv (m3us in the video file cataolgue), but I'm using the network
recorder because this is a step towards what I'm trying to accomplish.
I also know that there are modules in development that to something that
sounds similar to this.

The Roadblock:  

Getting the videos to transcode in the correct format for the network
recorder in mythtv 0.21.

The Progress Thus Far:  

I am able to download streams automatically, save them, and then
transcode them on demand and watch them with vlc from another computer
using rtsp (this is a silly way of doing it, except that it's a step
towards a goal).  The serving computer isn't doing any work unless the
video is being watched, besides getting the videos from online.  I'm not
worrying about directly restreaming without saving them for now because
I haven't been able to accomplish this with saved files yet.  I could
easily restream on the fly in vlc if I was not using vlc's video on
demand server (VLM).  I have successfully created an m3u file for the
network recorder, and the test channel shows up.  However, doesn't get a
lock.

The Data:

The VLC command line on the server is "vlc -I dummy --vlm-conf
$dir/vlm.conf --rtsp-host 192.168.1.10:5554".  This starts the VLM
module which can manage multiple streams and do rtsp video on demand.
Here's the vlm.conf section for the test channel (it's the only thing in
the file during testing):
new 1 vod
setup 1 input /home/tv/Media/Videos/.vlmtest.mpg
setup 1 output #transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vb=2048,acodec=mpga,ab=128}
setup 1 mux mp2t
setup 1 enabled

Please note my transcode line, and my muxer.  I'm not sure if the video
is actually getting muxed, which might be the problem.  I've also tried
putting the muxer the output option, which made it start throwing
bananas out of the trees at me.  Never the less, I'd be happy to try it
if someone supplied a proper vlc output line for transcoding and muxing
for the network recorder.  Remember I'm able to watch this in vlc from
another computer through rtsp://192.168.1.10:5554/1, so it's probably
only the format or muxer that isn't right.

The Question (to be clear):

Does anyone see an error in the transcoding format above?  Is it not the
correct format for the network recorder over rtsp?

I'm asking here instead of at forums.videolan.org because they probably
don't know what format the network recorder needs.  If I have the format
correct already, them hopefully someone there can help me.  I would also
like to try putting the muxer up in the output line again, as I may have
never gotten the output command for that correct (if it can even be done
that way in VLM).

Let me know if any other details are needed.

Thanks,
David
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mythtv.org/pipermail/mythtv-users/attachments/20081112/0ebcb4cd/attachment.htm