UbuStream v2.1 Beta finally available

[jksmurf]

The UbuStream config app gives you an easy way to add stations to the UbuStream database.

Ah I see. That IS useful.

UbuStream isn't a requirement for UbuRadio.

Arrghh. OK. When I saw this in the wiki I thought I needed it. But you are correct, the radio d/l DOES have it. "Copy the UbuRecordingService Controller shortcut from gbppvr/Plugins/UbuStream/Shortcuts to your desktop (or pin it to the Windows start menu)."

I figured that changing that message every time the user moves the focus to a different screen element is more work than I'd signed up for.

OK, no worries... I can work it out without the extra instructions... and I think my wife can too. Better do or that's it, no allowance this week... wait a minute ... she earns more than I do....

k.

[idkpmiller]

So you're thinking of maybe writing a DynSource app to support RSS feeds. Interesting. Any particular feeds in mind?

I love GeekBrief TV so thats one I will be testing with no matter what method I end up using to get into GBPVR.

If you just click the Finish button without adding any new URLs, you should get the message "0 stations imported from DynSource". I've attached a patch containing a version of UbuStreamPlugin.dll that fixes this.

New patch fixes bug, you may also want to put some error trapping on the ADD button else array out of bounds errors occurs if nothing to add.

The idea is that you have your browser open and that you are looking at a YouTube video you want to add to UbuStream. Highlight the page URL (in the address field at the top of the browser) and press Ctrl-C to copy it. Then switch to the DynSource form (the PLX Generator window in your jpg) and click the Paste button (or press Ctrl-V). The URL will show up in the URL field. Now press the Add button. The DynSource app will scrape the YouTube page and extract the "real" URL of the video (along with it's name, description, etc.) and add the video clip name to the list box. Repeat this for as many clips as you want to capture and, when you are done, press Finish. The DynSource app will then create a PLX file and UbuStream will import it. If you now look in the "My YouTube Clips" group, you'll find the clips listed as new stations.

I may be missing something here, it seems that to provide the source I need to use a browser and the ubuconfig app, do these have to be run on the GBPVR PC? as this seems intrusive and not particularly dynamic. I use GBPVR as an appliance and try to keep "desktop time" (Windows desktop visible) to a minimum.

The message is correct but appears to be truncating in your environment. Which skin are you using? I test with the Blue and Community skins and the message displays just fine.

You are spot on it was a skin issue, I was actually using the community skin but had a larger font (I have dim vision) this was causing the minor cosmetic issue I was seeing.

You found another bug. Again, I probably caused this during v2.1 code mods. (The more you enhance a piece of software, the more bugs you reintroduce into the existing code, I fear.) Fixed now.

Confirmed fixed.

Thanks for catching some bugs and for asking some good questions. I look forward to seeing an RSS DynSource app. Let me know if you have further questions or need help with the DynSource framework.

I am in discovery mode regarding RSS feeds, so once I get my head totally around the Dynsource capabilitys and the video attachment for RSS 2.0 I will decide how the integration should be tackled.

I cant seem to play the Youtube clips I have setup due to the lack of the ubuflashplayer, is this a separate download?

You are doing an excellant job with your streaming plugin, it would be great to contribute to your plugin.

Thanks

[ubu]

I love GeekBrief TV so thats one I will be testing with no matter what method I end up using to get into GBPVR.

I use UbuStream to watch GeekBrief TV. I subscribe to the "large format" feed (which is pretty high quality video and looks good on a TV, btw) so my podcast receiver automatically downloads the latest episodes. Then I have the Podcasts DynSource app set up so they automatically show up as UbuStream stations.

Things that could be better:

• The Podcasts DynSource app reads ID3 tags from mp3 files to get the title and description but, since mp4 files don't have tags, this is not available. Also, if the tag info isn't available, the podcast file name is used as the station name. The GeekBrief file names contain the episode number but not the title, so the name isn't very informative. Presumably, if the app had access to the actual rss data (the xml) it could extract this data.
  
• Also, I notice that GeekBrief offers a WMV feed but I haven't figured out how to subscribe to it (or which podcast receiver to use). This would be a good option because, while the mp4 files play fine using UbuStream's Preview Play mode (with either the Quicktime or VLC players), for some reason, VLC can't transcode them to mpeg so you can't use Timeshift Play. I'd imagine the WMV files would transcode OK.

New patch fixes bug, you may also want to put some error trapping on the ADD button else array out of bounds errors occurs if nothing to add.

I'll add it to the list but, as I've been saying, unless I hear that other people are actually using the two UI DynSource apps, it's not likely to be a priority for me.

I may be missing something here, it seems that to provide the source I need to use a browser and the ubuconfig app, do these have to be run on the GBPVR PC? as this seems intrusive and not particularly dynamic. I use GBPVR as an appliance and try to keep "desktop time" (Windows desktop visible) to a minimum.

In a sense, you're correct. The DynSource architecture, as its name suggests, is mainly about seamlessly providing UbuStream with dynamically changing sets of content. The initial release of UbuStream was developed with the aim of allowing GB-PVR to support a fairly static set of URLs pointing to live media streams. But I quickly realized that it should also support VOD streams and that this required a means to capture frequently changing sets of URLs without much user interaction so the Dynamic Source approach seemed like a reasonable solution.

The two "UI" DynSource apps, as I mentioned in my earlier post, were really intended to show that the DynSource architecture might be used for different kinds of things. Since nobody seemed to really pick up the idea for discussion, I assumed that this "trial balloon" had turned into a "lead balloon".

I think "HTPC as appliance" is totally what GB-PVR is all about. However, when you use the GB-PVR or UbuStream config apps, it probably makes sense to view them as PC apps. For instance, I'd imagine that most people use VNC or Windows Remote Desktop to run these apps (the TV isn't the greatest display for reading text, etc.). I can access my GB-PVR desktop from any machine on my network so, if I'm browsing the web and I see a stream I want to add to UbuStream, I just bring up the remote desktop, fire up the UbuStream config app and copy in the URL I want. For many sites (such as YouTube and Google Video), however, this always involves displaying the page source and searching through the HTML for the actual stream URL (and often having to follow the breadcrumb trail through several pages before you find it). The PLX generator form simply saves a bit of time since it calls the appropriate C# method to automate that process for each site. And it adds a bit of value by also grabbing the title and descripton of the stream and letting you "batch" multiple items into a single import.

I am in discovery mode regarding RSS feeds, so once I get my head totally around the Dynsource capabilitys and the video attachment for RSS 2.0 I will decide how the integration should be tackled.

It'll be interesting to hear what you end up planning to do. The Podcasts DynSource app was really intended for audio podcasts (which it handles quite well) so it's a bit limited when it comes to video podcasts. Maybe it could be enhanced to do a better job or maybe you'll see a need for something more closely coupled to the RSS feed (ie. removing the need for additional podcast receiver software).

I cant seem to play the Youtube clips I have setup due to the lack of the ubuflashplayer, is this a separate download?

LOL Well that kinda proves my point. I forgot to add it to my "fancy" new installer app for the v2.1 Beta and you're the only one who noticed! I'll add it to the next cut. In the meanwhile, I've attached it here: [ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND] Just copy it into the UbuStream/DynSource directory. Then you'll need to add it as a new media player using the config app: Player name: UbuFlashPlayer (case sensitive), Player application: the exe file you just copied, Fullscreen parm: blank. UbuFlashPlayer is only required for the YouTube app. The Google Video streams all play with VLC (and most will work with WMP).

You are doing an excellant job with your streaming plugin, it would be great to contribute to your plugin.

Look forward to working with you.

[ralphy]

Does anyone have any ideas what's going on here? Uninstalled and re-Installed beta 2.1 (April 7) with patch 5 and get the following GBPVR error.

Code:

12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.562    INFO    [1]    UbuStream plugin is loading...
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.593    ERROR    [1]    Error initializing menu plugin: C:\Program Files\devnz\gbpvr\plugins\UbuStreamPlugin.dll
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.593    ERROR    [1]    Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.609    ERROR    [1]       at System.RuntimeTypeHandle.CreateInstance(RuntimeType type, Boolean publicOnly, Boolean noCheck, Boolean& canBeCached, RuntimeMethodHandle& ctor, Boolean& bNeedSecurityCheck)
   at System.RuntimeType.CreateInstanceSlow(Boolean publicOnly, Boolean fillCache)
   at System.RuntimeType.CreateInstanceImpl(Boolean publicOnly, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks, Boolean fillCache)
   at System.Activator.CreateInstance(Type type, Boolean nonPublic)
   at GBPVR.Backend.Common.xc4f12ec3a8a4c96b.xb77fa95273e0c228(Boolean x8bae2a88590d8cc0)
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.609    ERROR    [1]    Inner exception: System.FormatException: String was not recognized as a valid Boolean.
   at System.Boolean.Parse(String value)
   at UbuStreamPlugin.UbuStreamGlobal..ctor(XMLSchema1 ubuSchema)
   at UbuStreamPlugin.UbuStreamPluginTask..ctor()
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.609    ERROR    [1]       at System.Boolean.Parse(String value)
   at UbuStreamPlugin.UbuStreamGlobal..ctor(XMLSchema1 ubuSchema)
   at UbuStreamPlugin.UbuStreamPluginTask..ctor()
12/04/2007 8:55:00 PM.609    VERBOSE    [1]    GuideMenuTask created

[ubu]

Does anyone have any ideas what's going on here? Uninstalled and re-Installed beta 2.1 (April 7) with patch 5 and get the following GBPVR error.

Welcome back from your Easter break. I've tried to reproduce your problem (clean install of the current wiki bet 2.1 version, applied patch 5, then copied in the version of UbuStream.xml that you sent me on 3/28) but I don't get that error.

The error message seems to be complaining about the UbuStreamGlobal section of your UbuStream.xml file. Have you tried using an earlier version of your xml file? Do you get the error if you delete the xml file (so UbuStream creates a new, empty one)? If you attach your current UbuStream.xml file, I'll see if I can reproduce your error.

[ralphy]

The error message seems to be complaining about the UbuStreamGlobal section of your UbuStream.xml file. Have you tried using an earlier version of your xml file? Do you get the error if you delete the xml file (so UbuStream creates a new, empty one)? If you attach your current UbuStream.xml file, I'll see if I can reproduce your error.

Aha, so that's how I can read the error log! You learn something everyday!

For some reason the config file only looked like this in the UbuStreamGlobal section.

Code:

<UbuStreamGlobal>
    <Fullscreen>true</Fullscreen>
    <Minimize_Audio>false</Minimize_Audio>
    <Sort_Alpha>true</Sort_Alpha>
    <AutoSynch_At_Startup>false</AutoSynch_At_Startup>
    <Podcast_Folder>Choose podcast folder</Podcast_Folder>
  </UbuStreamGlobal>

So it is missing quite a bit of stuff. Unfortunately, I am not able to pinpoint what caused this. All I can remember doing was installing the latest beta to get rid of the original problem (below), and also removing all sections from the BBC dynsource.

Now I get a 'can't find skin\blue\Common Dialogs\Prompt Box\skin.xml' in GBPVR. Which app installs this/where can I find it??

I am still away from home, so can't compare with my other systems.

[JavaWiz]

First I have to say, you've done a really good job on this new version, much appreciated.

I am having an intermittent problem though when shutting down GBPVR. UbuStreamPluginTask frequently throws an exception trying to write something to the log AFTER the logger function has closed the file.

System.ObjectDisposedException was unhandled
Message="Cannot access a closed file."
Source="mscorlib"
ObjectName=""
StackTrace:
at System.IO.__Error.FileNotOpen()
at System.IO.FileStream.Write(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
at System.IO.StreamWriter.Flush(Boolean flushStream, Boolean flushEncoder)
at System.IO.StreamWriter.Flush()
at GBPVR.Public.Logger.LogMessage(Int32 level, String message)
at GBPVR.Public.Logger.Info(String message)
at UbuStreamPlugin.UbuStreamPluginTask.Finalize()

I can send my log files if you'd like also, but I did scan and did not find any errors in any of them. If you'd like the logs, tell me which ones and I will post.

Thanks again for the great plugin.

[ubu]

For some reason the config file only looked like this in the UbuStreamGlobal section.

Code:

<UbuStreamGlobal>
    <Fullscreen>true</Fullscreen>
    <Minimize_Audio>false</Minimize_Audio>
    <Sort_Alpha>true</Sort_Alpha>
    <AutoSynch_At_Startup>false</AutoSynch_At_Startup>
    <Podcast_Folder>Choose podcast folder</Podcast_Folder>
  </UbuStreamGlobal>

So it is missing quite a bit of stuff. Unfortunately, I am not able to pinpoint what caused this. All I can remember doing was installing the latest beta to get rid of the original problem (below), and also removing all sections from the BBC dynsource.

Looks like you've picked up a v2.0 UbuStream.xml file. That's how the UbuStreamGlobal section looked in v2.0. I added a bunch of stuff to the XML schema for v2.1. The UbuStream.xml file that you sent me on 3/28 had a valid v2.1 format, so I don't know what you're looking at now. :confused:

If you want to convert an "old" xml file to the current format, you should run the UbuStream config program before you use UbuStream from GB-PVR. When the config app loads it runs some code to convert old formats to the new schema.

Now I get a 'can't find skin\blue\Common Dialogs\Prompt Box\skin.xml' in GBPVR. Which app installs this/where can I find it??

That's part of the CommonGBPVRUtilities install. (Don't look at me. I didn't do anything. ) Right now, as you know, the CommonGBPVRUtilities and GbpvrUIElements libraries are prerequisites for installing UbuStream (as per the wiki). I'm working on new, improved installers for both UbuStream and UbuRadio and one of the things I'm adding is a check to see if they're installed and, if not (or an old version is installed) the setup app will install them. (The uninstall apps will not uninstall them, however, in case something else is using them.)

[ubu]

I am having an intermittent problem though when shutting down GBPVR. UbuStreamPluginTask frequently throws an exception trying to write something to the log AFTER the logger function has closed the file.

....

I can send my log files if you'd like also, but I did scan and did not find any errors in any of them. If you'd like the logs, tell me which ones and I will post.

Actually, yes, your gbpvr.exe.log file would be very helpful. I want to see the last thing UbuStream writes to the log before this occurs. I've been chasing this one for a while (unfortunately, it's intermittent and hard to reproduce) so your help would be appreciated.

Basically, I write a log entry when the plugin's destructor is invoked (but, presumably, GB-PVR is still alive at that point so the log file should still be open) but then I do some clean up to make sure any existing players are shut down. Depending on which player was being used and its state (whether you were using Preview, Timeshift or External play, which type of stream - WMP, Real, VLC, etc. - was being played, had you already closed the player before exiting) a variety of different methods/classes might be in play, each of which could try to write to the log. My (perhaps naive ) assumption is that all this work invoked from the Finalize method will occur before GB-PVR closes down its log file. Maybe there's something I'm not understanding about how this all works. If I could get a sure-fire reproduceable case, hopefully I could nail it down.

[JavaWiz]

Here is the log file. I also pasted the exception from the debugger at the end.