TV "Broadcasting" Over Wireless Networks? 66
nuggetman asks: "This year we're starting an in-high-school TV network. What we would like to do is be able to broadcast from anywhere in the building using our wireless 802.11b network. In doing some tests at home, I discovered 802.11b has enough bandwidth to allow me to send live video at VHS quality (320x240 29.97fps) w/ FM quality audio when using Windows Media encoder on the sending end, and Windows Media Player at full screen on the receiving end. When applied in school, the receiving computer would simply output the full screen display to a TV signal. Are there any other free (as beer) solutions that would let us do this, other than WMP?"
several options... (Score:5, Informative)
Quicktime Broadcaster (Score:2)
Buy a cheap iMac DV for like $300, and run Quicktime Broadcaster (it's free, as in beer).
Good luck.
Re:Quicktime Broadcaster (Score:2)
Note that Darwin Streaming Server runs on various platforms, including Darwin OS and Linux.
Quicktime Brodcaster/Streaming Server (Score:1)
Darwin Server works on anything....
Use Shoutcast! (Score:5, Informative)
It can use a regular shoutcast server and winamp to play it.
It's a bit poorly documented, but any geek should be able to figure it out. It can play a set of files in a loop, do live feeds, etc.
http://www.nullsoft.com/nsv/
Re:Use Shoutcast! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Use Shoutcast! (Score:1)
Re:Use Shoutcast! (Score:1)
This is not VHS quality (Score:4, Interesting)
Sorry, the best you can say is near VHS quality. And I don't even agree with that. A fresh, first generation tape in a good machine blows 320x240 away any day.
Tell the truth and people will trust you.
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:2)
Actually if you run 320 by 240 video, even compressed, to a TV it is hard to tell the difference. I used to have a setup like this at home.
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:2)
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:2)
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:1)
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, and a 128kbit MP3 may not hold a candle to a fresh, properly mastered CD. But most CDs aren't properly mastered: they have their dynamic range compressed so much that they are clipping almost constantly. When most people think of VHS, they think of their own personal recordings or old tapes from Blockbuster, not the full capability of the medium.
Re:This is not VHS quality (Score:1)
But... Beer isn't free? (Score:3, Funny)
This is a stupid question: where on earth did that phrase come from? Beer isn't free, is it? Have I been ripped off all along?
Is there a
- Peter
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
This is a stupid question: where on earth did that phrase come from? Beer isn't free, is it? Have I been ripped off all along?
I was at a German block party a couple of weeks ago for "ascention sunday" or something. The beer was free as in beer there. It cost nothing, the semmel were three euro each, the steaks were three euro, but the beer was null euro... So I guess in Germany the Beer really is Free. But, you had to bring your own mug.
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
And its very good too!
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2, Informative)
1. in soviet Russia.... a tired Yakov Smirnov bit.
2. the "step 1: xxx, 2: ? 3: Profit!" spiel is from the underpants gnomes episode of South Park. In the episode, the underpants gnomes explain their business model:
Step 1: Collect underpants
Step 2:
Step 3: Profit!
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
a) liberty -- free to do that as you please
b) gratis -- something for no cost.
Think of the (as beer) as a casting operation to the free word.
People will often say free(libre) or free(gratis), but more often, it is just easier to say free(as beer) 'cause who would turn down free beer?
And finally, how can someone who has such a low slashdot ID not have picked these things up? Have you been pouring hot grits down Natalie Portm
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
Of course! It's not clear until it's expressed as a computer science concept, naturally.
It still doesn't feel natural to me, since I can't think of a case where the sense of "free" isn't implicitly understood. In most cases it's an object that is free(beer). Of course, you could talk about it being free(libre) to do something or other... but that would be anthropomorphizing an inanimate object, and they hate it when you do that.
Except, of cou
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:1)
It's a way of saying you're getting something for nothing. Of course, it comes with the knowledge that often you get what you pay for (ie, free beer might be crappy beer).
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
So, when people say "it's 'free as in speech', not 'free as in beer'", what they're really trying to say is "it's free as in freedom, not free as in 'no charge'". In that context, "free beer" basically means "no charge, and it's really crappy", while "free speech" basically means "no restrictions, it's really good".
Unfortunately, as t
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
It's simply a way to differentiate the types of free.
If something is free (as in beer), it's free in the sense you don't have to pay for it, but you don't have direct access to the recipie so to speek.
If it's free (as in speech), it's related to liberties.
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:1)
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:2)
- Peter
Re:But... Beer isn't free? (Score:1)
Re:Great (Score:1)
Re:Great (Score:1)
Personally, I think's it's a good idea to tran
Try a real TV transmitter (Score:3, Informative)
Since you are going to output to a TV anyway, why bother with computers/802.11b and broadcast directly using a small TV transmitter. I would have expected Ramsey [ramseyelectronics.com] to have a transmitter kit, but all they seem to have these days is a semi-cheesey 'cube' transmitter [ramseyelectronics.com]. Even so, the high powered version might be good enough for what you are looking for, especially with a good antenna.
A quick Google search turned up some [abra-electronics.com] other [electronickits.com] kits [gatewayelex.com]. Most of these have a fairly short range, but with good antennas, they'll easily transmit further (and with higher quality), than compressed video over 802.11b. Plus, if you get a kit, building it can be a nice little project for an electronically minded student.
Re:Try a real TV transmitter (Score:3, Informative)
I know it's not free as in beer but it's definately the best solution for the ultimate application. Thirty-five bucks is
Re:Try a real TV transmitter (Score:2)
I wonder if the cheapest and most expedient solution is to just sign up for Channel [channelone.com] One [commercialalert.org] and then cancel it after a year. TV's for every classroom and free CCTV wiring to boot! No messing with open RF broadcasting. No pissing off the neighbors with interference.
Re:Try a real TV transmitter (Score:1)
Agreed - Do it the right way (Score:2)
When they renovated my high school, they installed a closed-circuit TV system in the building. Every room had a cable drop and a ceiling-mounted TV, and in the administration building there was an equipment rack that contained a number of RF modulators so that the A/V people could transmit up to 4-5 different channels of custom content on any arbitrary channel they chose. One was used for live feeds (Assemblies in the auditorium, Friday-morning school newscasts), an
Huh? (Score:2, Insightful)
1: You use Windows Media Encoder/Player, and it works fine
2: You come to Slashdot asking for a free (as in beer) alternative.
Huh? You already have a free (beer) solution, so long as the server and client are running Windows (as they most likely already are). Now you want to find a free (beer) solution that's different? Why? Want better quality? Cross-platform support? Just hate Microsoft? These are important details overlooked in your post.
BTW: With 802.11g, you can get aroun
VideoLAN (Score:1)
Open source and everything too :).
Re:VideoLAN (Score:1)
What's limiting you? (Score:4, Interesting)
In any case, bandwidth considerations aside, if you want a WMP alternative, try Nullsoft Streaming Video and Winamp 2.9x (as a few other commenters have suggested). It's good stuff.
Re:What's limiting you? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:What's limiting you? (Score:2)
Oh man WMP streaming... (Score:3, Insightful)
Let's pretend you have linux... (Score:3, Informative)
Check out: http://www.videolan.org/
The player works on lots of platforms including windows but the server has to be linux. Now that's fine with me. I'm wondering about Digital Video and digital editing too...
You may also look at these links:
http://cs.uhh.hawaii.edu/~jeschke/links/video.htm
This fella has made a pretty good collection of links that he's researched. Hey, I'm interested in this idea now... I think I may have an idea for a project.
Re:Why waste bandwidth? (Score:1)
FFMpeg (Score:1)
Just noticed their page is closed due to the patent thing. Try here [sourceforge.net]
Re:FFMpeg (Score:2)
Im saddened (Score:1)
You should find great helpon both the mailing lists and Mplayer is portable to windows so if your school mates are alarmed at the diffrence in Linux you can make them feel more at home.
Fre RealVideo producer (Score:1)
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/producer/b
Digression - Wireless Cable TV (Score:1)
Solution looking for a problem (Score:2)
Seriously, by the time your get all the software set up, the players in place, everyone knowing how to click on the right thing, the bandwidth straightened out (you didn't actually think you'd get what the spec claimed it could max out at did you?) plus dealt with network congestion, codecs, encoding servers, weird antennae patterns, dead spots, hand-offs, enabling multicast... You'll be graduating.
Buy a small TV tran
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:1)
It depends on latency requirements really... (Score:1)
As far as I know this is the only way to minimize the delay to something between 20ms and a whole second.
You could try something like Helix from real but you will experience a delay anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds. Mainly because the player wants to have a buffer to buy time if the network craps out. Probably every streaming technology has this but maybe there's one who can cope
One thing (Score:1)
The purpose of this setup is to get the video from the camera to a transmitter we already have, courtesy of Channel One. The problem is you need to be directly connected to the box with RCA cables, so obviously we can't be running RCA cable all over the building. Therefore we would just use computers to relay the signal from a computer the camera is on to a computer with RCA output
Using existing coax (Score:1)