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Veoh can be streamed from using XBMC, as it uses FLV streaming. I don't know about the other two you mentioned. I reckon it is possible to get full-length movies from Veoh without downloading their software - PowerFLV does it. I don't have the slightest idea how, though.
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Cracking Veoh would be good. I'll need to try your media-catcher program to grab the URLs as I suppose that will make a passable second attempt.
I'm assuming if you start streaming from one of the URLs it will continue rather than cut off when the URL chagnes in 10 minutes?
Could it be that the URL you've isoleted is still forwarding you to the media (so that those already having used the 'long' url can continue watching on the old address?)? or is it the actual .flv address?
Well done on getting Veoh to work with XOT. What caused the <25 MB restrition? Is this just the 5 minute preview thing again?
It will be great if we can get veoh working. There quality is excellent and since they started doing all that annoying stuff with 5 minute previews there bandwidth is excellent too.
Thanks again for your help everyone. I, and the rest of the community, is indebted to you.
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2008-03-13, 12:49
Yeh I figured it was hinging on solving that one.
It appears we can find out what the exact URL is using Replay Media Catcher tool (see the post a couple below). But that it is being changed every 10 minutes (I'm assuming from other things he said that once you start streaming you don't need to worry about that).
I suppose the best place to start would be with a selection of long URLs uncovered that way and see what we can figure out?
There's always the suggestion of passing the links from a PC script until we crack the actual allogarithms for doing it ourselves....
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Basje
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Well, I got it, but it looks bad. What it does is:
1. get some more details on the file and find the location of the pieces (that is bad) file.
2. open the pieces file
3. download each piece into a single file
And then you have your file download. Now that sound good. However, it isn't and this is why:
The files (flv) consist of a number of 256kb large files. So if a flv has size 350MB (normal episode), it would contain: (350MB*1024kb/MB)/(256kb) = (358400kb)/(256kb) = 1400 pieces!!!! Now as a normal episode lasts about 45 minutes, that would mean that every piece would last 45mins*60s/1400 = 1.92 seconds!
So in my opinion it is NOT POSSIBLE to stream the files using XBMC. UNLESS MPlayer or DVDPlayer can play files while they are being downloaded. In that case I would start downloading all parts in a single (cache) file on the HD, after 10 or 20 parts are downloaded, I would start the playback of the file, and keep downloading until completed and hope that the playback would continue.
Could a DEV tell me if DVDPlayer/MPlayer is capable of that?
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I've come to the same conclusion as Basje. I've managed to write a script which so far gets the file hash, the piece hashes and the cache root. Unless we can download-whilst-playing with a Python script there seems to be no way to do this - unless we can give MPlayer a playlist which it will precache.
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My script now downloads the video in its entirety.
MPlayer on the PC can play whilst downloading, but if the playing catches up with the download then it quits with EOF. Any suggestions?
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2008-03-15, 16:38
Good work guys..downloading and playing does sound like the only way to do it.
What about a plugin by-the-way they can create a playlist can't they? (like for instance seekpod does for audio).
If so might a video playlist of the parts files played consecutively work?
Or is there significant load time between the two videos that might make it juddery? Or worse actually stop playing the movie, go back to the main screen, re-cache, and play again....
hmmm *scratches chin*
I think Basje is right we probably need the dev's help re stream and playing with mediaplayer from python. Whether it's possible if so how if not can we incorporate it
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Each part is not in itself a video - it doesn't have the headers. MPlayer can't play any part except the first one, at least not as a normal video in a playlist. It seems that play-while-downloading is the best (or even the only) way to do it.
Can a video item be a script with an argument? That might be a good way to incorporate it into a video plugin.
