VideoLan Tutorial
As far as marketing goes I guess this article may one day bring
me some hate for teaching some dumbass to build online
infomercials, but I assure you my motives are far less
industrious.
If you live outside North America, like me, you might think
watching your favorite TV provider back home was impossible. In
fact for years I figured I was just stuck with crap TV and
limewire downloads. Trailerpark Boys, Battlestar Gallactica, and
Family Guy had become pleasures I relied on friends to send me
in the mail, years after they aired. Until now...
I have been fiddling with this all day and I will say VLC
(www.videolan.org) is one of the coolest open source programs I
have come across in some time. Platform support is universal
from Win32, *Nix to even long dead BeOS. These are also the
people behind Google Video if that is any indication. VLC allows
you to stream video online, multicast, save incoming streams,
and do all sorts of cool things only people with lots of money
should be able to do - like open your own TV station. The
quality is really amazing and of course endlessly tweakable. Oh
and ya did I mention it is completely free? Ok I did, onwards...
I tested VLC by getting a friend to stream DISH Network to me
from the US and it was VERY watchable. Keep in mind this was
streaming from Seattle, WA to Bangkok, TH. 18 hops.
Streaming using a Video Capture Card
What you will need:
- Operating System - 1 Video Capture Card - Drivers for Video
Capture card (go to driversguide.com to find software drivers
for video capture cards) - DirectX 9.0c - VLC (please get the
nightly CVS version, a lot of good folks work really hard on
this software, and PLEASE donate to them if you can) - A network
connection - Windows Media Player - A WHOLE LOT of patience
Step 1
- Install Capture Card (I use all ATI Wonder Cards and have no
problem) - Install or Update your DirectX (windowsupdate.com) -
Install VLC
Step 2 FOR NAT(using DHCP for home networks)/DSL/CABLE
Routers
- Go to your router and click on Port Forwarding - Enter your
VLC server's IP address and the desired port for forwarding. -
Your router should accept the setting and tell you everything is
ok
Step 3
- Fire up VLC - Go to File > Open Captue Device > Video Device
Name > Refresh.. (wait a moment) click on the default bar and
then click on your capture device driver (the one that came with
your card) - Now click Stream/Save > Settings - Click on Play
Locally and MMSH. Insert YOUR LOCAL IP ADDRESS and DESIRED port
(for folks using NAT thats 192.X.X.X that you forwarded on your
router earlier) - Click on Video Codec and select your Video
Codec format (I use WMV since I am using WMP), then select a
good bit rate like 192 or 128, then select the size of the
picture in your player (1 - 2) - Repeat the instructions above
for audio - One VERY IMPORTANT quality setting is TTL - Type 10
at a minimum. This tells VLC the number of routers your stream
will probably go across. - Click Ok and Click Ok again to start
your stream
Step 4
- Open WMP and click on File > Open URL - Type http://:9494 -
Your video will take a bit to buffer but then you should see
your pictures.
I would love to hear results from anyone else working with VLC.
My next step is to setup a remote control with an external IRD
box, so I can change channels - yes people ARE doing this! Check
my official Vide
oLan Tutorial thread for updates on this project.