[clug] [WOT] iView performance

[Scott Ferguson]

> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:25:33 +1000
> From: steve jenkin <sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au>
> To: CLUG List <linux at lists.samba.org>
> Subject: [clug] [WOT] iView performance
> Message-ID: <4BCBB10D.7010300 at canb.auug.org.au>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> Something that's Way Off Topic [WOT]...
> 
> What sort of results do others get from streaming video - like iView??

It varies. I have a 3G connection (not too quick) so I don't watch the
streaming video - I cache it, copy the temp file, convert to an indexed
video format and watch at my leisure. NOTE: iview doesn't cache the
movie to /tmp

> 
> With "Dr. Who" being released first on iView, I had to have a go...
> Wasn't all that impressed.
> 
> My old 1.3Ghz PPC Mac couldn't hack it.
> Played tolerably well on dual core 2.5Ghz Intel with NVIDIA 9400.
> 
> But not always perfectly, especially near the start.
> Didn't try for Full-Screen.
> 
> Is this just an issue with Adobe Flash?

Yes. The GNU swf viewer will not cut it.
See this for format information:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Messaging_Protocol

Must be Adobe 10 (from
http://noisymime.org/blog/2010/03/abc-iview-on-boxee/)
The ABC have enabled a function called SWF Verification on their RTMP
stream. This is something that Adobe offer on top of their RTMP products
despite the fact that they omitted it from the public RTMP spec. That
wouldn’t be so bad, except that they are now going after open source
products that implement this, threatening them with cease and desists.
Going slightly technical for a minute, SWF Verification is NOT a real
protection system. It does not encrypt the content being sent nor does
it actually prevent people copying it. The system works by requesting a
‘ping’ every 60-90 seconds. If the player can’t provide the correct
response (Which is made up of things such as the date and time and the
phrase “Genuine Adobe Flash Player 001″) then the server stops the
streaming. Hardly high tech stuff.

And:
I should’ve mentioned this originally, Andy and I did actually contact
the iView team at the ABC regarding SWF verification. They responded
with the following:

Thanks for contacting us re-Boxee. We agree that it’s a great platform
and ultimately appropriate for iView iteration. Currently we’re working
out our priorities this year for our small iView team, in terms of
extended content offerings, potential platforms and general enhancements
to the site.

Just some background on our security settings. We have content
agreements with various content owners (individuals, production
companies, US TV networks etc) a number require additional security,
such as SWF hashing. Our content owners also consider non-ABC rendering
of that content as not in the spirit of those agreements.

We appreciate the effort you have put into the plug-in and your general
interest in all things iView. So once we are on our way with our
development schedule for “out of the browser” iView, we’ll hopefully be
in a position to share our priorities a little more. We would like to
keep in touch with you this year and if you have any questions or
comments my direct email is ********@abc.net.au.

> 
> Is it my (slow) 1.5Mbps link and ISP?
> 
> Do things like VLC work significantly better?
> 
> 
> If the NBN ever rolls out at an affordable price, video streaming has
> gotta Just Work, and consumer equipment to do that has to be sub-$500.
> 
> Any ideas on how they're going to make it work?
> 
> s
> 
> -- Steve Jenkin, Info Tech, Systems and Design Specialist. 0412 786 915 (+61 412 786 915) PO Box 48, Kippax ACT 2615, AUSTRALIA sjenkin at canb.auug.org.au http://members.tip.net.au/~sjenkin 

If you are still having problems try
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=ABC%20iView%20Downloader (platform
independant)
or http://rtmpdump.mplayerhq.hu/
There are (Windoze) tutorials here
http://stream-recorder.com/forum/www-abc-net-au-stream-ripping-adobe-t3526.html?s=5bf69e4886fa40ecdf318040f1da916b&amp;

Hope this helps you solve your viewing problem

Cheers, Scott
-- 
If it breaks - you get to keep both pieces