.\" Man page for iso13818ts
.\"
.\" Copyright (C) 2001, Convergence Integrated Media GmbH
.\" Author: Oskar Schirmer
.\"
.TH iso13818ts 1 "April 30th, 2001" "0.0.2" "Multiplexer"
.SH NAME
iso13818ts \- multiplexer for ISO 13818 transport streams
.SH SYNOPSIS
iso13818ts [COMMAND...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
Generates an ISO 13818-1 conforming transport stream from multiple
input streams.
The result is sent to \fIstdout\fR,
the input streams are read from explicitely opened files.
All of the following commands may also be fed to \fIstdin\fR during
operation by omitting the leading hyphen (e.g. \fBQ\fR) or
double-hyphen (e.g. \fBquit\fR).
.TP
\fB\-\-help\fR
Display this help.
.TP
\fB\-V\fR, \fB\-\-version\fR
Output version information.
.TP
\fB\-Q\fR, \fB\-\-quit\fR
Quit this program.
.TP
\fB\-v\fR, \fB\-\-verbose\fR [\fIlevel\fR]
Verbose mode, \fIlevel\fR = 0..6, default is 2 (providing warnings
concerning data errors), initial verbosity is 1 (providing only
program errors).
.TP
\fB\-p\fR, \fB\-\-pes\fR \fIfile\fR \fItarget_program\fR
Open a PES input \fIfile\fR,
output the contained stream as \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF).
.TP
\fB\-p\fR, \fB\-\-pes\fR \fIfile\fR \fItarget_program\fR \fItarget_stream_id\fR
Open a PES input \fIfile\fR,
output the contained stream in \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF)
with \fItarget_stream_id\fR (recommended range 0xBD..0xFE).
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-P\fR, \fB\-\-ps\fR \fIfile\fR \fItarget_program\fR
Open a PS input \fIfile\fR,
output the contained program as \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF).
.TP
\fB\-P\fR, \fB\-\-ps\fR \fIfile\fR \fItarget_program\fR \fIsource_stream_id\fR [\fItarget_stream_id\fR]
Open a PS input \fIfile\fR,
extract the stream with \fIsource_stream_id\fR (range 0x00..0xFF)
and output that stream in \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF)
with \fItarget_stream_id\fR (recommended range 0xBD..0xFE).
If no \fItarget_stream_id\fR is given, \fIsource_stream_id\fR is used instead.
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-ts\fR \fIfile\fR
Open a TS input \fIfile\fR,
extract all programs from it and output them.
Note, that additional SI data is not propagated,
see command \fB\-\-si\fR for further information.
.TP
\fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-ts\fR \fIfile\fR \fIsource_program\fR [\fItarget_program\fR]
Open a TS input \fIfile\fR,
extract the program \fIsource_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF)
and output that program as \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF).
If no \fItarget_program\fR is given,
don't change the \fIsource_program\fR number.
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-T\fR, \fB\-\-ts\fR \fIfile\fR \fIsource_program\fR \fItarget_program\fR \fIsource_stream_id\fR [\fItarget_stream_id\fR]
Open a TS input \fIfile\fR,
extract the stream with \fIsource_stream_id\fR (range 0x00..0xFF)
from the program \fIsource_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF)
and output that stream as \fItarget_stream_id\fR (recommended range 0xBD..0xFE)
in program \fItarget_program\fR (range 0x0001..0xFFFF).
If no \fItarget_stream_id\fR is given, use \fIsource_stream_id\fR instead.
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-c\fR, \fB\-\-close\fR \fIfile\fR
Close input \fIfile\fR, as if eof is reached.
In combination with \fB\-\-repeat\fR this causes the next repeatition
to start immediately.
Note, that the input data file is cut of as is, i.e. no attempt
is made to close the file on a clean audio or video frame border.
.TP
\fB\-a\fR, \fB\-\-append\fR \fIfile1\fR \fIfile2\fR [\fInum\fR]
Earmark another \fIfile2\fR to be opened as soon as \fIfile1\fR
comes to its end.
The appended \fIfile2\fR is foreseen to be repeated \fInum\fR
times, default is 1 (see \fB\-\-repeat\fR).
Both files must contain the same type of data,
as the data of both files is chained without considering clean
transition of audio or video sequences.
The \fIfile1\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-f\fR, \fB\-\-file\fR \fIreference_number\fR \fIfile_name\fR
The positive \fIreference_number\fR is associated with a \fIfile_name\fR.
For all following commands, the \fIreference_number\fR may be
used instead of the \fIfile_name\fR. This allows better control
over file handles, as the same file may be addressed via different
\fIreference_number\fRs.
.TP
\fB\-x\fR, \fB\-\-crop\fR \fItarget_program\fR [\fItarget_stream_id\fR]
Delete a stream given by \fItarget_stream_id\fR,
or a complete program given by \fItarget_program\fR
from the output.
The corresponding input file will be closed, if not needed otherwise.
.TP
\fB\-r\fR, \fB\-\-repeat\fR \fIfile\fR \fInum\fR
Set the repeatition counter for \fIfile\fR to \fInum\fR
(or to infinite if \fInum\fR=0).
The file will be reset as soon as eof is reached
(or it is closed by the command \fB\-\-close\fR).
Note, that the file will be reset without considering clean transition
of audio or video sequences at the restart point.
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-R\fR, \fB\-\-reopen\fR
This command shall precede one of the commands that open a new file
(i.e. \fB\-\-pes\fR, \fB\-\-ps\fR or \fB\-\-ts\fR must follow
\fIon the same line\fR).
The next file will be opened with a new file handle,
regardless of whether the same file is yet open or not.
.TP
\fB\-\-si\fR \fIfile\fR [\fIlower_bound\fR \fIupper_bound\fR]
In a TS \fIfile\fR, all TS pakets with PID in the range
from \fIlower_bound\fR to \fIupper_bound\fR
(possible range 0x0001..0x1FFE, recommended range 0x10..0x1F)
inclusive are handled as SI pakets (according to ETSI EN 300 468).
These pakets are bypassed and promoted to the output without further handling.
If no further data from the \fIfile\fR is in use,
the SI pakets are promoted \fIgreedy\fR, i.e. without any timing or delay. 
If \fIlower_bound\fR and \fIupper_bound\fR are omitted,
the special handling of SI pakets is turned off for the given \fIfile\fR.
\fBNOTE, that the \fIfile\fB must be opened with \-\-ts before!\fR
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.TP
\fB\-\-sipid\fR \fItarget_program\fR [\fIpid\fR [\fIstream_type\fR]]
Manually add or delete entries to the target PMT for the given
\fItarget_program\fR.
To add an entry, all three parameters must be provided.
If an entry for the given \fIpid\fR (range 0x0001..0x1FFE) does exist,
the new \fIstream_type\fR (range 0x00..0xFF) is set
and all descriptors are cleared.
If no \fIstream_type\fR is given, a corresponding entry
in the PMT is deleted,
if it was added thru \fB\-\-sipid\fR earlier.
If no \fIpid\fR and no \fIstream_type\fR is given, all
entries for the \fItarget_program\fR in the PMT are deleted,
which have been added thru \fB\-\-sipid\fR earlier.
Note, that regular entries, i.e. those which are generated
automatically instead of using \fB\-\-sipid\fR,
cannot be changed.
Note, that entries added through \fB\-\-sipid\fR are
solely entries in the PMT, but there is not any corresponding
data stream created.
\fB\-\-sipid\fR is meant to be used in conjunction
with the \fB\-\-si\fR command, which in turn causes
data to arise in the target stream without listing it
in the PMT.
.TP
\fB\-\-descr\fR \fItarget_program\fR [\fIdescr_tag\fR [\fIdescr_length\fR \fIdata\fR...]]
Add, inhibit or delete in the PMT section a descriptor,
that does \fBnot\fR belong to a specific stream.
To add a descriptor, all parameters must be given,
\fIdescr_tag\fR (range 0x00..0xFF),
\fIdescr_length\fR (range 1..255),
and the appropriate amount of bytes given as \fIdata\fR (range 0x00..0xFF).
To inhibit any descriptor with a given \fIdescr_tag\fR,
\fIdescr_length\fR is set to \fB0\fR and no \fIdata\fR is given.
This causes matching descriptors from input streams to
be discarded instead of being copied to the target stream.
To delete the manual setting of a descriptor,
\fIdescr_length\fR is omitted. This causes descriptors
with matching \fIdescr_tag\fR to be passed from input to
the target stream.
To delete all manual settings for a \fItarget_program\fR,
that do \fBnot\fR belong to a specific stream,
the \fIdescr_tag\fR is omitted, too.
Note, that \fB\-\-descr\fR never modifies descriptors,
that belong to a specific stream.
To modify these, use the command \fB\-\-sdescr\fR or \fB\-\-pdescr\fR.
.TP
\fB\-\-sdescr\fR [\fItarget_program\fR [\fIstream_id\fR [\fIdescr_tag\fR [\fIdescr_length\fR \fIdata\fR...]]]]
Add, inhibit or delete in the PMT section a descriptor,
that does belong to a specific stream.
To add a descriptor, all parameters must be given,
\fIstream_id\fR (recommended range 0xBD..0xFE),
\fIdescr_tag\fR (range 0x00..0xFF),
\fIdescr_length\fR (range 1..255),
and the appropriate amount of bytes given as \fIdata\fR (range 0x00..0xFF).
To inhibit any descriptor with a given \fIdescr_tag\fR,
\fIdescr_length\fR is set to \fB0\fR and no \fIdata\fR is given.
This causes matching descriptors from the corresponding input streams to
be discarded instead of being copied to the target stream.
To delete the manual setting of a descriptor,
\fIdescr_length\fR is omitted. This causes descriptors
with matching \fIdescr_tag\fR to be passed from input to
the target stream.
To delete all manual settings for a \fIstream_id\fR in
the \fItarget_program\fR,
the \fIdescr_tag\fR is omitted, too.
To delete all manual settings for all streams \fBand\fR those
that do not belong to a specific stream,
the \fIstream_id\fR is omitted, too.
Finally, to delete all manual settings in all programs,
all parameters are omitted.
.TP
\fB\-\-pdescr\fR [\fItarget_program\fR [\fIpid\fR [\fIdescr_tag\fR [\fIdescr_length\fR \fIdata\fR...]]]]
Add, inhibit or delete in the PMT section a descriptor,
that does belong to a specific stream.
To add a descriptor, all parameters must be given,
\fIpid\fR (range 0x0001..0x1FFE),
\fIdescr_tag\fR (range 0x00..0xFF),
\fIdescr_length\fR (range 1..255),
and the appropriate amount of bytes given as \fIdata\fR (range 0x00..0xFF).
To inhibit any descriptor with a given \fIdescr_tag\fR,
\fIdescr_length\fR is set to \fB0\fR and no \fIdata\fR is given.
This causes matching descriptors from the corresponding input streams to
be discarded instead of being copied to the target stream.
To delete the manual setting of a descriptor,
\fIdescr_length\fR is omitted. This causes descriptors
with matching \fIdescr_tag\fR to be passed from input to
the target stream.
To delete all manual settings for a \fIpid\fR in
the \fItarget_program\fR,
the \fIdescr_tag\fR is omitted, too.
To delete all manual settings for all streams \fBand\fR those
that do not belong to a specific stream,
the \fIpid\fR is omitted, too.
Finally, to delete all manual settings in all programs,
all parameters are omitted.
Note, that, in contrast to \fB\-\-descr\fR and \fB\-\-sdescr\fR,
with \fB\-\-pdescr\fR it is possible to set
descriptors for PMT entries, that have been added using \fB\-\-sipid\fR.
.TP
\fB\-I\fR, \fB\-\-ident\fR \fItransport_stream_id\fR
Set the output \fItransport_stream_id\fR (range 0x0000..0xFFFF).
.TP
\fB\-B\fR, \fB\-\-busy\fR [\fInum\fR]
Set the busy flag to \fInum\fR (range 0..1, default is 1).
Whenever the program has no more data to handle and
the busy flag is not set, it stops.
.TP
\fB\-\-timed\fR
Force delay timing, even if solely disk files are in use.
If not so, if delay is to be awaited while processing regular files,
the delay is skipped instead and timing information in the resulting
file is adjusted accordingly.
.TP
\fB\-F\fR, \fB\-\-fpsi\fR \fItime\fR
Set the PSI table frequency to \fItime\fR msec
(or to infinite if \fItime\fR=0, initial value is infinite).
The PAT and PMT will be generated at more or less the given
frequency, even if the tables did not change.
In any case, the next tables will be generated immediately.
.TP
\fB\-\-trigin\fR \fItime\fR
Set the input buffer trigger timing to \fItime\fR.
For any input stream, that is newly opened
(or has to be retriggered, e.g. due to intermediate emptiness),
the buffer is triggered for promotion to the splice unit
with a delay of \fItime\fR msec compared to the time
of data entrance into the buffer.
For any stream yet triggered the timing is not changed
unless retriggering takes place.
Not affected by this value are the other trigger conditions,
mainly a certain buffer fullness
and cotriggering with a corresponding stream that is triggered.
.TP
\fB\-\-trigout\fR \fItime\fR
Set the output buffer trigger timing to \fItime\fR.
As the output buffer is triggered for promotion to \fIstdout\fR,
this is done with a delay of \fItime\fR msec compared to the time
of data entrance into the buffer.
The new timing is only valid if set before the first triggering
of the output buffer,
or if retriggering takes place, e.g. due to intermediate emptiness.
Not affected by this value is the trigger condition
of a certain buffer fullness.
.TP
\fB\-C\fR, \fB\-\-config\fR \fInum\fR
Order output configuration of target stream with \fInum\fR=1,
switch off with \fInum\fR=0.
Set \fInum\fR=2, to get information about descriptors, too.
When switched on, the configuration is printed each time it changes.
First, the number of programs is printed,
then for each program one line of description and
for each stream within that program another line is printed.
When \fInum\fR=2, then for each descriptor there is printed one more line.
The following values are compiled:
.RS
.TP
\fIprogs\fR
Number of programs in target stream.
.TP
\fIprog\fR
Program number within target stream.
.TP
\fIpmt\fR
PMT PID for the program.
.TP
\fIpcr\fR
PCR PID for the program.
.TP
\fIstreams\fR
Number of streams in the program.
A number in parantheses may be added that denotes how many of these
streams are not PES data streams, but have been added by use of the
\fB\-\-sipid\fR option to the PMT.
.TP
\fIstream\fR
Stream PID.
.TP
\fItype\fR
Stream type (according to ISO 13818-1 table 2-29).
.TP
\fIsid\fR
PES stream ID.
.TP
\fIfile\fR
Source file contents type (PES=0, PS=1, TS=2).
.TP
\fIsource\fR
Stream index in source file (SID for PS, PID for TS).
.TP
\fInum\fR
Source file reference number (-1 if none).
.TP
\fIname\fR
Source file name.
.TP
\fIdescr\fR
Descriptor tag.
.TP
\fIlen\fR
Descriptor length, number of data bytes in the descriptor.
.TP
\fIdata\fR
Descriptor data, bytewise.
.RE
.TP
\fB\-S\fR, \fB\-\-statistics\fR \fItime\fR
Order output load statistics to be generated about every
\fItime\fR msec.
Switch off with \fItime\fR=0.
The statistics are written to \fIstderr\fR linewise,
the following values are calculated:
.RS
.TP
\fInow\fR
Internal clock in msec.
.TP
\fIout\fR
Number of bytes written to stdout since last statistics,
and number of write operations needed.
.TP
\fIbuf\fR
Number of bytes in the output buffers (lower and upper bound).
.TP
\fItime\fR
Time in msec, for how long the contents of the
output buffers should suffice (lower and upper bound).
.TP
\fIburst\fR
Size of write burst, i.e. number of bytes prepared to
be written in a single write operation (lower and upper bound).
.RE
.TP
\fB\-\-badtiming\fR
In conjunction with a program stream originating from a DVB-s
digital TV receiver card, You might want to automatically
correct some of the PCR values produced by that card, to
prevent discontinuities in the output.
.SH OVERVIEW
The multiplexer is designed to run uninterrupted and
be controlled via \fIstdin\fR and \fIstderr\fR.
It is designed to process data in real time,
i.e. if the processing is not performed fast
enough (e.g. because of low processor performance),
errors in the resulting data may occur, namely
concerning the timing.
The multiplexer may be invoked interactively with
the streams to process given as command line options
or with the commands to be processed typed into
\fIstdin\fR during operation.
The latter type of usage is also designed for use
with an user interface front-end, that may
translate some GUI input to iso13818ts commands
and filter its responses to be presented to the user
as appropriate.
.P
Three different types of input are supported:
Paketized elementary streams (PES),
Program streams (PS),
Transport streams (TS).
.P
Numeric parameters may be given in decimal (e.g. 31)
or in hex (e.g. 0x1F).
.SH DETAILS
The output file or device does not change throughout the
time the program runs. The input files, however, may vary.
Also the contents of an input file may vary, but not its
type. E.g., a file opened as program stream must contain
valid program stream data up to its end (and including
any files that are appended to this file with \fB\-\-append\fR).
.P
All basic PSI is evaluated contiguously, and changes in
the configuration (changing PID, etc.) are taken into
account and tracked. Thus a stream should not get lost
simply because its PID is changed in the middle of the
broadcast.
.P
When remultiplexing a transport stream, the user cannot
rely on the original PIDs to be the same in the output stream.
Usually output PIDs are different from input PIDs.
This is because all basic PSI is composed from scratch for the
output stream, with exception of the descriptors.
These are not evaluated but only copied and reused
as appropriate.
.P
For each output program one stream within this program
must contain PCR time stamps. The strategy in selecting
which stream shall carry the PCR is, first see if there
is one input stream that contains PCR, if none is found,
use the stream for which data packets are found first.
Note, that for a simple mono TV program this is not
necessarily the video stream.
.P
When using the command \fB\-\-si\fR,
PID collisions may occur with source stream PIDs
as well as with target stream PIDs.
.br
For source collisions, data streams win,
i.e. if a packet is encountered,
that matches the PAT and PMT description of the input file
as well as the range given by \fB\-\-si\fR,
the latter match is ignored and the packet is
processed as PES data packet
(or PMT packet, if appropriate).
.br
For target collisions, the \fB\-\-si\fR range wins,
i.e. the attempt is made not to assign PIDs to
target data streams (or PMT streams),
that are covered by a range given by \fB\-\-si\fR.
If this attempt fails, e.g. because the full range
was given with \fI\-\-si 0x0010 0x1FFE\fR,
the potential collision is accepted, because there
is no easy algorithm to get around it.
Instead, the user should avoid covering the full range
with \fB\-\-si\fR and preferredly only state those
PIDs, which actually will contain SI packets.
.P
Note, that no collision check is done for PIDs,
that are given with the \fB\-\-sipid\fR command.
This is because these PIDs are assumed to be
covered by a corresponding \fB\-\-si\fR.
.SH EXAMPLES
To convert a program stream file x.PS to a transport stream file x.TS,
with program number 42, transport stream id 23
and PAT and PMT generated about every half second:
.IP
$ iso13818ts --fpsi 500 --ident 23 --ps x.PS 42 > x.TS
.PP
If the program stream doesn't contain correct PSI,
the single streams may be extracted one by one. Assuming
one video stream (0xE0) and mono audio (0xC0):
.IP
$ iso13818ts --fpsi 500 --ident 23 --ps x.PS 42 0xE0 --ps = 42 0xC0 > x.TS
.PP
To bundle two streams originating from video devices and
send them out to a streaming device, e.g.:
.IP
$ iso13818ts -F 500 -P /dev/video0 0x7300 -P /dev/video1 0x7301 > /dev/xdvb0
.PP
To remultiplex a transport stream containing two TV programs
with program numbers 4711 and 4712, with the audio streams (0xC0)
of the TV programs exchanged:
.IP
$ iso13818ts -F 500 --file 1 /dev/rdvb0 --ts 1 4711 4711 0xE0 --ts 1 4712 4712 0xE0 --ts 1 4711 4712 0xC0 --ts 1 4712 4711 0xC0 > /dev/xdvb0
.PP
To invoke the multiplexer for interactive use, it must
be put in all-time-busy-mode. Subsequently, commands can
be fed to \fIstdin\fR, e.g. to do the same as with the
first example:
.IP
$ iso13818ts --busy > x.TS
.br
fpsi 500 ident 23
.br
ps x.PS 42
.PP
This instance of the multiplexer will not cease when the
end of file in x.PS is reached. To stop the multiplexer,
either \fBquit\fR or \fBbusy 0\fR may be typed to \fIstdin\fR.
.P
To output a movie repeatedly (e.g. seven times):
.IP
$ iso13818ts -F 500 --ps thepurpleroseofcairo.PS 777 --repeat = 7 > /dev/xdvb0
.PP
Note, that if during the movie is processed, the command
.IP
close thepurpleroseofcairo.PS
.PP
is issued, and supposed it is not yet processed the seventh time,
it is not closed, but restarted immediately.
.P
To concatenate two movies and output them in sequence:
.IP
$ iso13818ts -F 500 --ps rambo1.PS 789 --append = rambo2.PS > /dev/xdvb0
.PP
Note, that a file can only be appended to a file, that is
yet in use (i.e. being processed). Thus, it is not possible
to append a third movie (rambo3.PS) from within the command
line. Instead, the processing of the second movie must be
awaited, and then the following command can be fed to \fIstdin\fR:
.IP
append rambo2.PS rambo3.PS
.PP
To add data from a DSMCC carousel to the output, a DSMCC
carousel generator must be started seperately. The carousel
must generate the DSMCC data as a series of transport
stream packets that contain private sections. The PIDs used by
the carousel must be known (e.g. 0x10..0x1F). Supposed use of
the DSMCC carousel data provider \fIrepeatts\fR:
.IP
$ mkfifo dsmcc_pipe
.br
$ repeatts 8000 2000 dsmcc_data.TS > dsmcc_pipe &
.br
$ iso13818ts -F 500 --busy --ts dsmcc_pipe --si = 0x10 0x1F > /dev/xdvb0
.br
ps x.PS 42
.br
ps y.PS 43
.br
\&...
.PP
.SH "KNOWN PROBLEMS"
The program might not work in conjunction with device drivers
that do not deliver or accept data unless a first read or write
is done on the device. E.g., for a MPEG video data source, that
does not produce output without being triggered by being read
from, this program will await the readability of the first
data infinitely. On the other hand it is obvious that the driver
should not encode data as long as there is no application that
will read this data.
One possibly solution to this dilemma is to patch such a driver
to interpret the \fIpoll\fR command as an order for data, thus
triggering the read mechanisms. Analogous considerations hold
for polling the output device and writing to it.
.P
Paketized elementary streams do not necessarily contain
usable time stamps, so when multiplexing raw PES, streams
belonging together may be out of sync. This is especially
noteworthy in case streams shall be demultiplexed and then
again multiplexed in some way. Results will always be better
when this remultiplexing takes place entirely within the
multiplexer, because that way timing information won't get lost.
.SH BUGS
End of action sometimes is not detected correctly, which
causes the multiplexer to hang.
Nevertheless, it then can be stopped by the \fBquit\fR command.
.P
Changing configuration is not printed if the change
is solely a descriptor coming from a source file.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR repeatts (1),
.BR iso13818ps (1),
.BR ISO\ 13818-1 ,
.BR ETSI\ EN\ 300\ 468 .
.SH AUTHOR
Oskar Schirmer (oskar@convergence.de).