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BlueCop · 2011-03-02, 01:27

I got a basic version complete that just scrapes the website. I haven't found anything that will parse amazon html files very well.

It is kinda frustrating though because on the akamia CDN they use will sometimes use a new handshake that librtmp doesn't support. You can't predict what will play and what won't anymore. I didn't have the problem a couple days ago. The same handshake recently started being used on the limelight hulu cdn.

I am going to work on finishing up some quality selection code later tonight. whenever I get that done I will commit a version to my repo if anyone wants to try it out. I hope librtmp gets updated to support this handshake. If not then I probably won't put much more time into this.

Most of the content is still playable right now but if they start using this handshake on everything then this plug-in will be useless.

if you get a failed playback and you check the logs look for.
"WARNING: HandShake: Type mismatch: client sent 6, server answered 9"
if the server answers 9 then rtmplib doesn't support the handshake.

BinaryTB · 2011-03-02, 17:21

AppleTV2 Wrote:Agreed it would be a great add-on - I think however only the primary member (i.e. not your extended family) would be able to use the on-demand service

Just tried this with my family, you are correct, only the primary paid amazon prime member can stream videos, not the family connected to the same prime membership.

**daemox** · 2011-03-02, 18:57

BinaryTB Wrote:Just tried this with my family, you are correct, only the primary paid amazon prime member can stream videos, not the family connected to the same prime membership.

Just for reference

Quote:Prime instant videos require an Amazon Prime membership and are not included with the free shipping benefits provided by Amazon Mom, Amazon Student, or if you are a guest of an Amazon Prime member.

From here.

Also of interest may be that you can watch two simulataneous streams from the same account. So, if you're willing to share your password with a family member you can at least split it with one other person.

Quote:Video limitations: If you are an active Prime member, you can watch a Prime instant video as many times as you would like; however, you may only simultaneously watch two videos from the same account.

From here.

@Bluecop: That's too bad about the new handshake. I'll be sure to test the version you get up tonight or tomorrow. It'll be a bummer if it's still born though. Here's hoping and thanks for working on this!

BlueCop · 2011-03-02, 22:06

here is a basic version of the amazon prime streaming plugin.

It lists 2 basic categories right now. Movies and TV Shows that are free to prime customers. You have to enter your email and password in the settings for it to stream.

There is also a quality selection setting with bitrates of 2500,1328,996,664,348. The 2500 is the HD streaming quality. The default is 2500 so it will just always choose the highest quality available. There is also an Ask option which will display a list of available bitrates for you to choose.

Try it out and let me know how if works for you guys.

tboooe · 2011-03-02, 22:33

BlueCop Wrote:here is a basic version of the amazon prime streaming plugin.

It lists 2 basic categories right now. Movies and TV Shows that are free to prime customers. You have to enter your email and password in the settings for it to stream.

There is also a quality selection setting with bitrates of 2500,1328,996,664,348. The 2500 is the HD streaming quality. The default is 2500 so it will just always choose the highest quality available. There is also an Ask option which will display a list of available bitrates for you to choose.

Try it out and let me know how if works for you guys.

Unbelievable! You rule!

Eric_S · 2011-03-03, 01:20

@ Bluecop - Greetings, and thanks for the plugin.

Streamed the intro minutes and subsequently quit, in rapid succession, quite a few videos while checking-out the plugin. Streaming quality was good, but suddenly, I get a "Script Failed" message with every video that I attempt to stream.

Uninstalled/Reinstalled the plug-in, no change.

If you can tell me where to post the log for this plugin, I would be happy to send the info.

Again, thanks for your dedication and hard work. Eric

BlueCop · (This post was last modified: 2011-03-03, 01:29 by BlueCop.)

Eric_S: it probably thinks you have taken up your 2 streaming sessions. I will look into it. I would suggest being more deliberate for now. I have been using it without issue warching several movies and tv shows.

also those sessions will timeout and you can stream again.

Eric_S · 2011-03-03, 03:07

Thanks again for your help, Bluecop. The streams are now working again.

I, too, had wondered about the 2-stream limit before I first posted, but while suffering the script errors noted in my earlier post, I successfully logged-on and streamed Amazon Prime video from another computer on the same network, logging in with the same Prime account credentials (so that made me question whether it really was the 2-stream limit at issue). Guess I don't fully understand how Amazon handles the streaming requests.

Regards, Eric

ktjensen · 2011-03-03, 21:54

As an alternative in this discussion.

I can use the UPnP application PLAYON running on my remote server to play all of my Amazon Instant movies that I own. PLAYON has a plugin for Amazon that seems to work fine.

This is NOT Amazon Prime, but is a way to watch Amazon movies and TV shows that you buy. I did this for a few shows, at $1 per show. Works better than the Apple web site.

BlueCop · 2011-03-03, 23:37

ktjensen: Thanks but no thanks. playon sucks your $$. Their greedy middle man approach really puts me off.

It won't be hard to add support for rented content. I am focused on finding a better data source for the listings because scraping the website sucks.

jsun311 · 2011-03-04, 01:18

BlueCop Wrote:here is a basic version of the amazon prime streaming plugin.

It lists 2 basic categories right now. Movies and TV Shows that are free to prime customers. You have to enter your email and password in the settings for it to stream.

There is also a quality selection setting with bitrates of 2500,1328,996,664,348. The 2500 is the HD streaming quality. The default is 2500 so it will just always choose the highest quality available. There is also an Ask option which will display a list of available bitrates for you to choose.

Try it out and let me know how if works for you guys.

It works like a champ for a first release. The picture quality is better than I expected; in fact, I think the Amazon HD looks better than the HULU HD. The way the content is listed is a bit clunky and I know that will improve. All in all bluecop you have done a great job! Many thanks!

dreamxbmc · 2011-03-04, 04:51

Love it! Picture quality is great. Once you get the scrapers working this would be perfect. All that is missing is the ability to search for movie titles and show movie details/covers. No way I thought this would be ready by now. GREAT job. Major props.

aia832003 · 2011-03-05, 02:23

Hey Bluecop, love the plugin. Your repo is one of the best out man. Just a question, but do you take donations to compensate for the time you spend on this stuff? I for one, think you deserve it from all the XBMC heads out there.

BlueCop · 2011-03-05, 02:40

Just donate to xbmc. I too am just an xbmc head trying to give a bit back. I kinda want to accumulate some bitcoins.

also there is a bug in some of the episode lists where the episodes will listed incorrectly. it lists one episode link out of order throwing the rest off by one.

I am going to focus a bit on a plugin for videolectures.net because it has just been frustrating parsing amazon html. There has to be a better data source I am missing. I might end up using the compressed video site maps if I can differentiate what is free.

I could have it cache movie and tv listings on first launch and then have it reload the data after an expiration or manual reload. that might be the best option in the end. so you have a little database of free content.

Eric_S · 2011-03-05, 02:55

@BlueCop - Just wanted to express my gratitude for all that you do for the community. Amazing how you cranked out this plug-in so quickly after the service was launched.

The lack of search makes things interesting; sort of like being lost in a foreign city, we now "stumble" across interesting videos via, well, serendipity. I watched "Caligula", a positively awful video but somehow quite entertaining!

Again, thank you. Eric_S