Streaming-V4L

Introduction

Streaming applications can use v4l devices to broadcast audio and video over the Internet.

Software

• VideoLan (VLC and VLS) -- the simplest place to start
• ffserver -- an HTTP/RTSP multimedia streaming server for live and recorded broadcasts
• MPEG4IP -- industrial-strength integration project sponsored by Cisco
• Darwin streaming server -- free binary (?) but not free software
• List of clients and servers

Guides

• VLC streaming HowTo
• Stream from a tv card or webcam with VLC or VLS
• VLC user guide -- stream utput
• HowTo Stream almost anything using VLC
• MPEG-4 with Linux -- mpeg4ip, ffmpeg, and Darwin Streaming Server (Linux Journal)

VLC instructions

Note if these commands don't work, you may need to upgrade your VLC. This was done on Debian sid using vlc 0.8.5-svn20060212-0 from the nightly builds for 386 and amd64.

Stream a file to a designated machine

Skip the gui with "-I dummy".

   vlc file.avi -I dummy --sout udp://123.45.678.9:8080 --loop

The more recent syntax also works -- note the single quotes, and add "vlc:quit" to quit after the file is played:

   vlc file.avi -I dummy --sout '#std{access=udp,mux=ts,dst=123.45.678.9:8080}'  vlc:quit

Receive:

   vlc udp://@:8080

Stream a file to the network

Again, single quotes mandatory:

   vlc file.avi -I dummy --sout '#std{access=mmsh,dst=:8080}' --ttl 12 vlc:quit

   vlc file.avi -I dummy --sout '#std{access=mmsh,dst=:8080}' --ttl 12 --loop

Receive:

   vlc mmsh://servername:8080

Stream from a webcam

   vlc -I dummy -v --noaudio --ttl 12 v4l:/dev/video0:size=320x240 \
   --sout '#std{access=mmsh,dst=:8080}' -V X11 

   vlc -I dummy -v --noaudio --ttl 12 v4l:/dev/video0:size=320x240 \
   --sout '#transcode{vcodec=mp4v,vb=128}:std{access=mmsh,dst=:8080}'

Receive:

   vlc mmsh://123.45.678.9:8080

Stream from television

Use this to find tv channel frequencies:

   scantv - scan a v4l device for TV stations

Stream tv to a single designated machine:

   vlc --color
   v4l:/dev/video2:norm=ntsc:frequency=77250:size=640x480:channel=5:\
   adev=/dev/dsp2:audio=0 --sout #transcode{vcodec=mp4v,acodec=mpga,vb=512,\
   ab=128,samplerate=44100,venc=ffmpeg{keyint=80,hurry-up,vt=800000},\
   deinterlace}:std{access=udp,mux=ts,dst=123.45.678.9:8080} --ttl 12 -I dummy 

Receive:

   vlc udp://@:8080

Stream tv to the network:

   vlc --color
   v4l:/dev/video2:norm=ntsc:frequency=77250:size=640x480:channel=5:\
   adev=/dev/dsp2:audio=0 --sout #transcode{vcodec=mp4v,acodec=mpga,vb=512,\
   ab=128,samplerate=44100,venc=ffmpeg{keyint=80,hurry-up,vt=800000},\
   deinterlace}:std{access=mmsh,dst=:8080} --ttl 12 -I dummy 

Receive:

   vlc mmsh://servername:8080

Tested and works. There are lots of variants of this that don't work -- ymmv.