UbuStream v2.0 - Beta

[ubu]

So (finally) here's the beta version of UbuStream v2.0. It's a complete re-write. Very little of the original v1.5 code remains. I've tested it fairly well but, since I've introduced a lot of new functionality, there's probably some "undocumented" features still in there. So I'd be grateful if y'all could hammer it a bit, if you have the time, so I can release a stable version fairly soon.

New features include:

• Station "groups" for organizing your media links. You can move backwards and forwards through the groups using buttons on the main UbuStream screen to filter the stations you see listed.
  
• The station database is continuously refreshed while UbuStream is running so any changes you make using the config program (or directly to the UbuStream.xml file) will show up immediately, without you having to exit GB-PVR in order to pick up the changes.
  
• Improved usability features include hiding the player when playing Audio streams, a Stop button to kill players that won't close, a Delete button that let's you remove stations from the database without having to exit GB-PVR to use the config program, a new "integrated" web browser for viewing station schedule web pages via the WebSite button and some other stuff I can't remember now.
  
• Ability to import stations from standard M3U or PLS playlist files. Should be compatible with other web media apps.
  
• Automatic download of stations and groups from Dinki's Worldwide Media Project web site. Media links from your custom MyTV and MyRadio playlists can be imported in "real time", either by using an AutoSynch button from the GB-PVR screen to initiate a request or automatically when UbuStream starts up.
  
• Integration with Dynamic Source "mini-plugin" applications to automatically download media links from web sites containing "on-demand" video/audio streams. The applications "scrape" content from the web sites and publish it as UbuStream stations and groups. The downloads can be triggered via the AutoSynch button or executed automatically when UbuStream starts up. (I've included some so you can try it out: CNN by HTPCGB, Uitzendinggemist by Remco and my own attempts: BBC, Mosaic and DemocracyNow.)
  
• The WWMP and Dynamic Source download/import processing is run as a background task. So you should (in theory) be able to continue using GB-PVR/UbuStream while it is running and new stations will just "magically" start to appear as each import completes.

The UbuStream config app is easier to use and packed with handy features. As a convenience, to avoid having to load the GB-PVR config app in order to access the UbuStream config app, a new executable, UbuStreamConfig.exe, is provided that fires up the config window directly. (You still have to use the GB-PVR config app to ensure that the plugin appears on the GB-PVR menu and for setting up UbuStream for use in channel mode with ExternalRecorder.

Installing the new version:

Download the attached zip file and copy the setup program it contains into your GB-PVR directory. Run it. It does a "destructive" install, overwriting any existing UbuStream components. It will convert an existing UbuStream.xml file to the new format but it's probably smart to make a backup before running the setup program.

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Happy trails!

[stefan]

I don't have time to test it right now (at work), but I installed it and it looks great Good job!

[stefan]

Ok, I tried it now, and so far I only have one problem: my VLC client starts in the foreground and steals focus, so I can't stop the stream until I switch the windows backs... any thougths?

[ubu]

Ok, I tried it now, and so far I only have one problem: my VLC client starts in the foreground and steals focus, so I can't stop the stream until I switch the windows backs... any thougths?

That's actually how UbuStream has always worked. The player needs to have focus so you can watch the video playing. So, here's what you need to do:

For video:

If you use a remote control you can set one of the buttons to send the Alt-F4 keystroke combo - this will close the window that currently has focus. For most players you have to press the button twice - once to exit from fullscreen, once to close the app. For Hauppauge remotes, for instance, I have the line "GRNPOWER={alt}{f4}" in the DEFAULT section of my irremote.ini file ("GRNPOWER={sys(0xF060)}" will also work). If you use a keyboard/mouse, you can just close the VLC window with your mouse or by typing Alt-F4.

For audio:

There is a new setting, "Minimize player when playing audio", in the Options>Player section of the UbuStream config app. When set, you won't see the player at all while it plays your stream. To stop the stream (and close the player) you can use the Stop button on the UbuStream menu. If you want the player to show up (so you can watch your favourite visualizations), leave this option unchecked and close the player, as you would for video, by using the Alt-F4 button on your remote.

I think most of this is mentioned on the UbuStream wiki page and in the v1.5 documentation. I'll be updating all that when I "officially" release v2.0.

BTW - you can set up your remote to give you greater control of the player while playing streams with UbuStream by including a section in your irremote.ini for each player. For instance, you can set buttons for Play, Pause, Stop, toggle full screen, etc. while watching a stream with VLC. For remotes other than Hauppauge, I believe you can do something equivalent to set the buttons.

[HTPCGB]

Excellent work. Dynamic importing works as expected. However, there are a few things that I've noticed...

1. Once sections have been selected and imported using the dynamic source setup, they can't be removed by unchecking the checkbox. The associated group must be deleted in order to remove the section. (Yes, I am that lazy. )

2. When the title strings are longer than the listbox width (specifically democracy now), there is some bleed-through. (See attached.)

3. The Mosaic .mov stream will play fine on VLC.

Edit: 4. If you for some reason attempt to delete the "No stations matching type/group to display." list-item in the "ugrouped" group, you recieve an "Index was outside the bounds of the array." exception.

Regards,
HTPCGB

[jksmurf]

Nice work

1. Love the disclaimer :-)
2. I use Real Player Alternative and Quicktime Alternative.
Default Paths are both "C:\Program Files\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe"

Cheers,

k.

[ubu]

Excellent work.

Thanks. I hope the Dynamic Source feature works more or less as you had imagined it would.

1. Once sections have been selected and imported using the dynamic source setup, they can't be removed by unchecking the checkbox. The associated group must be deleted in order to remove the section. (Yes, I am that lazy. )

That's by design. I figured it was possible (unlikely, I agree) that someone might want to stop getting new content for that section but might want to keep something they had already downloaded from it. Better to have to explicitly delete the group than to curse me for having deleted something you wanted to keep. I could be persuaded otherwise if you think this is being excessively "anal".

2. When the title strings are longer than the listbox width (specifically democracy now), there is some bleed-through.

I'd noticed this. I wish I had a better handle on manipulating the skin objects. I suppose I could truncate the title to some arbitrary length but, if somebody skins it so the whole title can be displayed, they would be missing the last part of the text.

3. The Mosaic .mov stream will play fine on VLC.

Awesome! I get video and audio out of synch when I try to do this but it sounds like this is specific to my setup. Most .mov streams should play OK on VLC. And QuickTime is truly a pain! (If anybody knows how to start it in full screen mode - short of calling it from a Java app - please let me know).

4. If you for some reason attempt to delete the "No stations matching type/group to display." list-item in the "ugrouped" group, you recieve an "Index was outside the bounds of the array." exception.

Well caught! I'll investigate. Hopefully, the average user will not try to do this. :eek:

[ubu]

Nice work

1. Love the disclaimer :-)

Thanks. You like the install app? That's all done with the excellent (and free) WinRAR.

2. I use Real Player Alternative and Quicktime Alternative.
Default Paths are both "C:\Program Files\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe"

Do you think I should add them to the default set of players automatically defined when a new UbuStream database is created? Right now I'm just including what seem to be the most widely used players: WMP, RealPlayer and QuickTime, along with (IMHO) the best player available: VLC. There seems to be a pretty large community of Winamp users, so I'd thought of adding that. Maybe I should add the "Alternative" players too. However, I want to avoid presenting users with a bewildering array of player apps that they don't have (and maybe haven't heard of) and it is, after all, fairly easy to define new players via the UbuStream config app.

[jksmurf]

Thanks. You like the install app? That's all done with the excellent (and free) WinRAR.

Yup, it's a beaut. For some reason in the Plugins dir there is a "Shortcut (2) to Ubustream ..." not sure where Shortcut (1) went ?

Do you think I should add them to the default set of players automatically defined when a new UbuStream database is created? .

I'm not sure TBH, if your installer can detect what is installed, maybe, although you are correct about most common. The folks who have the RA and QT alternative installed probably also know how to fill in the paths to them... :-)

However, I want to avoid presenting users with a bewildering array of player apps that they don't have (and maybe haven't heard of) and it is, after all, fairly easy to define new players via the UbuStream config app.

Fair enough!

On another note, I tried to test the import of the station NDR2 that I referred to in this post i.e. the rma one, but I get a pretty ugly error. I think the URL must not be correct, but perhaps a different message might not frighten some folks :-)

Finally, I haven't actually been able to use it because the darn thing does not want to show up in the GBPVR main menu. I checked it in plugins OK in the config, and other plugins appear but this one... doesn't want to know. This could be my dubious system, I have been having other problems and am seriously considering a WinXP reinstall. :confused:

k.

Code:

<ExternalMenuLayoutFile>MainMenu.xml</ExternalMenuLayoutFile>
  <MenuLayout>
    <Task enabled="true">TV Guide</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">Live TV</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">Music Library</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">Photo Library</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">Recordings</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">Video Library</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">Search Guide</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">DVD</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">FM Radio</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">Net Radio</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">System</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">Exit</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">XSearch</Task>
    <Task enabled="false">XGuide</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">XRecord</Task>
    [B]<Task enabled="true">Web TV/Radio</Task>[/B]
    <Task enabled="true">DVD to MPEG</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">Videos</Task>
    <Task enabled="true">Video Archive Panel</Task>
  </MenuLayout>
  <!-- Plugin Layout -->
  <PluginsEnabled>true</PluginsEnabled>

[ubu]

Yup, it's a beaut. For some reason in the Plugins dir there is a "Shortcut (2) to Ubustream ..." not sure where Shortcut (1) went ?

What can I say? It's a beta.

I'm not sure TBH, if your installer can detect what is installed, maybe, although you are correct about most common. The folks who have the RA and QT alternative installed probably also know how to fill in the paths to them... :-)

What I should really do is search the registry for installed players. That way I'd always get only the players currently installed and the paths would be, by definition, correct. I could check for newly installed players each time the UbuStream config app starts (I'm already doing this for Dynamic Source apps). Maybe when I get time.....

On another note, I tried to test the import of the station NDR2 that I referred to in this post i.e. the rma one, but I get a pretty ugly error. I think the URL must not be correct, but perhaps a different message might not frighten some folks :-)

Well, firstly, if you want to add (not import) the NDR2 stream to your UbuStream station list, simply click New>Station and add the name and URL there. Then it will show up in your list of stations. You are trying to enter it in the URL field on the Worldwide Media Project panel. This is for WWMP users to enter their unique link for downloading playlists from WWMP. You need to be a registered WWMP user (it's free) to use this feature.

Nonetheless, you caught a bug. I'm already checking for an invalid URI string but not, apparently for a site that doesn't exist or that doesn't transmit the expected playlist. It shall be fixed.

Finally, I haven't actually been able to use it because the darn thing does not want to show up in the GBPVR main menu. I checked it in plugins OK in the config, and other plugins appear but this one... doesn't want to know. This could be my dubious system, I have been having other problems and am seriously considering a WinXP reinstall. :confused:

So it shows up on the plugins tab in the GB-PVR config app but not on the main menu when you run GB-PVR? If you had "AutoSynch at startup" checked on the WWMP panel (couldn't see in your screen print because the error dialog obscured it) that would have caused UbuStream to abend at startup because of the bad URL you entered. Uncheck it and get rid of that URL. If UbuStream still doesn't appear on the menu, look in the gbpvr.exe.log file for "fatal" errors and let me know (or attach the log file so I can see it).