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.\" 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 0x0000..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.
The \fIfile\fR may be specified as \fB=\fR to denote
the last previously mentioned file.
.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\-\-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 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 go 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.
.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):
.IP
$ mkfifo dsmcc_pipe
.br
$ some_dsmcc_carousel ... > 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 go lost.
.SH BUGS
Non-ISO_13818-1 descriptors (private descriptors) in
ISO_13818-1 PSI sections are not promoted.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR ISO\ 13818-1 ,
.BR ETSI\ EN\ 300\ 468 .
.SH AUTHOR
Oskar Schirmer (oskar@convergence.de).