Streaming video boxes

[Snelvuur]

Hi all,

I'am looking for a box with ethernet, where you can put a video signal on. After that it should be watchable via mediaplayer/quicktime/whatever.

I know the slingbox is what can do this, but the player is not open source (so you need a special client for it) and there are more functions in there which i dont need.

So just a box with a small streaming function with ethernet and 1 source (video signal)

Anyone seen those boxes? A usb to video is allowed too, but (ofcourse) i want it to have support under linux then.

// Erik (binkey.nl)

p.s. yes an axis can do this, but i think it can be cheaper

[Mhwlng]

if you accept a pc on the server side, check out VLC :

http://www.videolan.org open source and multi platform

I use it (on windows!) to watch tv in my bedroom...

1)
server pc is in my living room with external Hauppage WinTV-PVR-USB2 connected to composite video on UPC digital tv set-top-box (and irtrans is used to change tv channel)

(note that you can also use an analog tv tuner)

I don't know which hardware is supported under linux though..

2)

videolan runs in server mode, transcodes in real time from MPEG2 to MPEG4 with certain bitrate and sound is transcoded to mp3 with a certain bitrate and then streams using MMS/ASF (other streaming methods are also supported)

3)

in my bedroom runs the videolan active-x control, inside a web page, inside netremote (but you can also use the stand-alone videolan application, standard media player etc.)

Marcel

[Snelvuur]

I thought of that, i do have a pci card for that. Only problem is that i want it to start up whenever it stops, or when the pc reboots. I want to encode a video source, so you would media encoder or something on the pc. Or the videolan one, but can you start it as a service?

// Erik (binkey.nl)

[Mhwlng]

videolan also has a built-in 'web server' to control it...

I can only speak for windows, as I don't know much about linux...

my living room pc (vista) has auto logon and starts videolan in server mode at boot-up, but it does nothing, because the transcoding from mpeg2 to mpeg4 heats up my (passively cooled) processor.
(of course, you can start streaming immediately at boot-up, if you wish and perhaps you don't need to transcode)

as soon as I start a client (i.e. netremote in my bedroom)

then I tell the videolan built-in 'web server' to start streaming
and if I stop the client, then I tell the videolan built-in 'web server' to stop streaming (the server videolan application is always running)

you can also do clever stuff with multicast etc...
but that's beyond my knowledge...


Marcel

[Snelvuur]

i have a dreambox, which comes with build in videolan server i can watch t.v. anywhere in the house aswell.. nice toys though. I'll try and make it automatic if that can work.

// Erik (binkey.nl)