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2007-12-28, 17:08
Vastly inferior solution but as a quick fix could we not write a server that runs on a networked computer which essentially embeds the actual client and to which a python client passes variables?
It would need the server running on a networked computer, of course. quite like Xlink Kai really.....
Still as a down and dirty quick fix solution until we can figure out how to get the streams working directly it might work.
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Also while the BBC is essentially 'non-commercial' it's not strictly speaking an arm of the government. Our taxes do not go to paying for the BBC - in the UK one must pay for a 'TV License' in order to (legally) watch BBC channels. It is the TV license that pays for the BBC as distinct from other channels which are paid for through advertising and not licensing. That's my understanding anyway!
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I'm not a Phython programmer either, but I'm damn sure I could take an existing script and work out enough to create an iPlayer version. What I want to know, and what would save me loads of hacking time, is how do I find out the URL of the actual stream?
I've found the config and metadata XML files, but the actual TCP traffic of the stream and the request for the stream appears encrypted to me (or maybe I'm looking in the wrong place).
My understanding so far is:
- You go to a programme's page (ID in the URL)
- Programme metadata and a general app config XML is requested (URLs passed to the flash as flashvars)
- You get back the streaming server location, an identifier and a token for the media
... oh crap, that's the key that Phil was talking about, isn't it?
So according to Phil's thing this is then constructed into a URL by the flash player of the form:
rtmp://217.243.192.52:1935/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp41752.edgefcs.net&auth=SECRET_KEY&aifp=v001&slist=STREAM_NAME
OK! It's the rtmp part that just doesn't show up as anything useful in Wireshark.
...and I can't seem to construct a URL that will work in Mplayer. Can mplayer even open RTMP streams?
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Somewhat irritatingly, mplayer in linux puts an "http://" in front of "rtmp://..." whenever you attempt to open an rtmp stream. I guess it wouldn't do that if it could already open it.
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2007-12-29, 15:53
I have sometimes found that simply changing the protocol to http:// and dropping the real player protocol works with some servers in constructing direct links....
Oh and while I'm not sure if we can handle rstp protocol we can handle real video formats some of my videos on my xbox are already in this format. Also note that scripts such as bbcpodiocast etc. are using realplayer streams elsewhere on the bbc site (listen again). However I supsect they're using urllib functions and http rather than rstp....
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BTW, I'll post a bit later what URL I'm trying out - see if anyone else can get it to open content or if I'm just getting it totally wrong.
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mplayer will not play RTMP streams, nor will VLC.
You will have to use a separate tool to download, but you *will* end up with a DRM-free FLV file which will work in the player of your choice.
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Re: The media format - helps if I read up on it. So the data streamed from RTMP is whatever the FLV is, but it's the actual connection that's protected rather than the data, as you would get from DRM protected formats.