Difference between revisions of "Documentation:Streaming HowTo/Easy Streaming Newer Versions"

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=Introduction=
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==Introduction==
Since the documentation on streaming is fairly old, this wiki page was written to show how to do streaming on newer versions of VLC Media Player.
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Since the documentation on streaming is fairly old, this wiki page was written to show how to do streaming on newer versions of VLC Media Player. EDIT: This page looked incomplete, and I figured out a way that worked for me on my particular system, so I thought I'd document it in the hopes that it helps someone else in the future.  My setup is as follows:
=Streaming using the streaming dialog=
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* Server: Windows Vista Machine running VLC 1.1.11 (IP Address: 192.168.2.2)
1. Launch VLC and then push Media -> Streaming...
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* Client: Windows 7 Machine running VLC 1.1.11  (IP Address: 192.168.2.4)
2. On the window that pops up click on the tab of the media you want to stream from.
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* Two computers are on the same subnet (192.168.2.X).  I am able to ping from each machine to the other.
[[File:StreamSelect.png|StreamSelect]]
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 +
Goal: I have a bunch of video files ripped from DVDs that I want to share between my server and my client(s).  This is simply to be able to keep all my movies in one central location. 
 +
 
 +
==SERVER SETUP: Streaming using the streaming dialog==
 +
* Launch VLC and then push Media -> Streaming... (You should see a dialog like the one below)
 +
[[File:SS_Streaming1.JPG]]
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* On the window that pops up click on the tab of the media you want to stream from. I chose to stream from a file (a .vob file).  I add this file to the "File Selection" list.
 +
** I left "Use a subtitles file" unchecked
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* Hit the "Stream" button at the bottom of the dialog.  This pops up a new streaming options dialog.  The streaming options dialog has 3 sections: Source, Destinations, and Options. 
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===Source Dialog===
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[[File:SS_SourceDialog.JPG]]
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Source is already filled in with the file that I chose already, so I hit the Next button
 +
 
 +
===Destinations===
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* Under Destinations, I selected "RTP / MPEG Transport Stream", since this is an awesome way to send data across the network (that's what RTP is all about). 
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* In my case, I want to see the movie both on the server and the client (it gives me warm fuzzies to see the movie in both places), so I check the "Display locally" checkbox
 +
* Under "Transcoding options", I uncheck "Activate Transcoding" because I happen to know that my videos are already encoded just fine (and when I tried transcoding, that didn't seem to work so well for me)
 +
[[File:SS_Destinations1.JPG]]
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* Now click "Add".  Specify the IP address of the client (in my case 192.168.2.4 - if you don't know what yours is, open a command prompt (cmd.exe), and run "ipconfig /all")
 +
[[File:SS_Destinations2.JPG]]
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* Hit "Next" to go to the final options screen
 +
 
 +
===Options===
 +
* Under "Options", I selected "Stream all elementary streams" (not completely necessary it turns out...this probably sends more than I really have to), and I also checked "SAP announce" and gave it a name (I chose the name of the video file...seemed logical) and a group name (doesn't seem to be all that important)
 +
[[File:SS_Options.JPG]]
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* Hit "Stream", and your movie should start playing locally (and it should start streaming)
 +
 
 +
==CLIENT SETUP: Receiving the stream==
 +
Since I configured SAP in the server, it's easy to open the stream on the client: I just open up the media browser view of VLC (by clicking on the button next to the full screen button) and look under "Local network".  I see the name of my SAP stream show up, and I double click it.  Voila!! Streaming video!  **Football style chest bump**
 +
 
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Note: you can start and stop the stream on the client, just as long as you don't catch up to the server.  Pretty nice!

Latest revision as of 03:40, 17 September 2011

Introduction

Since the documentation on streaming is fairly old, this wiki page was written to show how to do streaming on newer versions of VLC Media Player. EDIT: This page looked incomplete, and I figured out a way that worked for me on my particular system, so I thought I'd document it in the hopes that it helps someone else in the future. My setup is as follows:

  • Server: Windows Vista Machine running VLC 1.1.11 (IP Address: 192.168.2.2)
  • Client: Windows 7 Machine running VLC 1.1.11 (IP Address: 192.168.2.4)
  • Two computers are on the same subnet (192.168.2.X). I am able to ping from each machine to the other.

Goal: I have a bunch of video files ripped from DVDs that I want to share between my server and my client(s). This is simply to be able to keep all my movies in one central location.

SERVER SETUP: Streaming using the streaming dialog

  • Launch VLC and then push Media -> Streaming... (You should see a dialog like the one below)

SS Streaming1.JPG

  • On the window that pops up click on the tab of the media you want to stream from. I chose to stream from a file (a .vob file). I add this file to the "File Selection" list.
    • I left "Use a subtitles file" unchecked
  • Hit the "Stream" button at the bottom of the dialog. This pops up a new streaming options dialog. The streaming options dialog has 3 sections: Source, Destinations, and Options.

Source Dialog

SS SourceDialog.JPG Source is already filled in with the file that I chose already, so I hit the Next button

Destinations

  • Under Destinations, I selected "RTP / MPEG Transport Stream", since this is an awesome way to send data across the network (that's what RTP is all about).
  • In my case, I want to see the movie both on the server and the client (it gives me warm fuzzies to see the movie in both places), so I check the "Display locally" checkbox
  • Under "Transcoding options", I uncheck "Activate Transcoding" because I happen to know that my videos are already encoded just fine (and when I tried transcoding, that didn't seem to work so well for me)

SS Destinations1.JPG

  • Now click "Add". Specify the IP address of the client (in my case 192.168.2.4 - if you don't know what yours is, open a command prompt (cmd.exe), and run "ipconfig /all")

SS Destinations2.JPG

  • Hit "Next" to go to the final options screen

Options

  • Under "Options", I selected "Stream all elementary streams" (not completely necessary it turns out...this probably sends more than I really have to), and I also checked "SAP announce" and gave it a name (I chose the name of the video file...seemed logical) and a group name (doesn't seem to be all that important)

SS Options.JPG

  • Hit "Stream", and your movie should start playing locally (and it should start streaming)

CLIENT SETUP: Receiving the stream

Since I configured SAP in the server, it's easy to open the stream on the client: I just open up the media browser view of VLC (by clicking on the button next to the full screen button) and look under "Local network". I see the name of my SAP stream show up, and I double click it. Voila!! Streaming video! **Football style chest bump**

Note: you can start and stop the stream on the client, just as long as you don't catch up to the server. Pretty nice!