JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

For help and support with Universal Media Server
Forum rules
Please make sure you follow the Problem Reporting Guidelines before posting if you want a reply
Post Reply
event-horizon
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:21 pm

JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by event-horizon »

I was thrilled to see Jumpy to see XMBC plugins working via UMS. I'm creating a new thread on this issue as there's very much little questions asked on this.

My client: PS3
Latest UMS: 3.4.3
Platform: Win 7 64 bit
Updates: Web audio 2 update
Jumpy: 0.3.1 over last Jumpy Dev patch.

I tried with XMBC.conf and WDTVLive.conf various transcoding audio/video tweaks. Tried updating ffmpeg to the latest build in UMS win32 dir. I have install Jumpy manually and using the setup both is fine , and all installations are detected such as Python, py4j, rtmpdump.

My issue is As soon as stream starts it plays for a second or so and audio gets disabled and then stream ends (auto paused), I was only able to play some of youtube trailers. Whatever changes I tried above does not seem to change error or behavior at all.
None of the above was able to fix the unfortunate issue I have with XMBC plugins like ESPN 3 and youtube using Jumpy, mainly on live streams. None of the stream from ESPN 3 works. Also I noticed WebReader functionality using Jumpy does not work as well. However the urls in WEB.conf un UMS firectory including live TV streams working fine.

Another thing I noted is that I can have only FFMPEG as first preference for web stream video in UMS settings to even start the stream but to end shortly. Any other renders like VLC (or VLC legacy) or MEncoder, stream does NOT even start like before, giving content cannot be played or data corrupted error. This kind of tells me that there is an issue FFMPEG rendering the stream to client (PS3) via UMS/Jumpy.

I do not think there is any issue with XBMC or ESPN plugin it self since it is working flawlessly in XBMC and can watch youtube and ESPN 3 without any with perfect quality. Also my network looks good with wired gigabit connection can play 1080p content (from PC) loss-less without any issues.

I checked the debug logs on Jumpy the and there are not real errors and I see the urls start being resolved for ESPN 3 streams are in following format:
rtmp://cp208705.edgefcs.net/ondemand/?auth=da.aLbudJbrc.bTcmaRdWakd9aCcsbjd9aA-btjLu1-O-9ytqBKKEs-oalem5s4k8l9s0s3tdl2pfq3jeodq5leoal3m9rdjgk3r8rfs8&aifp=v0001&slist=lfc/replay&ct5=17-Mar-14&ct6=67.83.188.190&ct7=31551931:FMS_CLOUD&ct8=39&ct1=espn_us&ct3=optimum:&ct4=espn_us&ct9=ce2c4ae6dce34d74973f285460c00cae

I can't play these urls in browser as well since rtmp:// is not understood.
Sorry for the lengthy questions, hopefully this will cover all the questions you need to know in order to come up with some tweaks/ workarounds for me.

Really appreciate any pointers on this if someone experience similar problems or any easter-eggs from Dev that would fix this in no time, well one can be hopeful..

Thank you
infidel
Developer
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:37 am

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by infidel »

event-horizon wrote:My issue is As soon as stream starts it plays for a second or so... None of the stream from ESPN 3 works.
I haven't had a chance to chase down the source of the brief playback/sudden exit bug (it's been reported before), but the workaround for now is to add this setting to jumpy.conf:

Code: Select all

resolve_at_playback=false
which will add one level to folder depth but the links should work (I just tested it with ESPN3 v1.0.0 addon on windows and linux).

event-horizon wrote:I was only able to play some of youtube trailers.
With the youtube addon and jumpy in windows there seems to be an issue with https support in the UMS build of ffmpeg ('tls' is the name of ffmpeg's https library):

Code: Select all

DEBUG 2014-03-17 17:11:57.344 [ffmpeg.exe-2-2] [tls @ 02a9fbc0] Error in the push function.
After replacing the UMS ffmpeg with a new one from zeranoe.com the problem went away (although some youtube 'official' videos still return a 'HTTP error 403 Forbidden', which is a separate issue).

event-horizon wrote:the setup both is fine , and all installations are detected such as Python, py4j, rtmpdump... Also I noticed WebReader functionality using Jumpy does not work
webreader requires phantomjs.

event-horizon wrote:Another thing I noted is that I can have only FFMPEG as first preference for web stream video in UMS settings to even start the stream but to end shortly. Any other renders like VLC (or VLC legacy) or MEncoder, stream does NOT even start like before, giving content cannot be played or data corrupted error.
The urls returned by the ESPN3 and many other XBMC addons are actually psuedo-urls understood only by librtmp, which provides the underlying rtmp support for ffmpeg. XBMC's dvd-player is actually a customized ffmpeg player, which is why these links work only with XBMC/ffmpeg and not other players.

Also, in the future please attach TRACE logs with issues like this (and please also refrain from double-posting just to keep things sane around here :)).
event-horizon
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:21 pm

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by event-horizon »

@infidel

Sorry for delay in reply since Forum was down for a day or so.
Thank you so much for infidel for you spot response. I heed to you call removed the duplicate post, I think a new thread would make this discussion clear and would eventually help other readers as well.

resolve_at_playback=false tweak did the trick for ESPN 3 and You tube live streaming. Now no more sudden pauses and stream ends.
I actually have seen resolve_at_playback=true in other posts and I believe with latest Jumpy you have set resolve_at_playback=true as default which actually need to make it false to get ESPN 3 stream working.

I already changed to latest FFMPEG (as part of my prior troubleshooting) using that site but good to know it is actually helps in some streams for youtube, Currently using the latest FFMPEG built on 3-17. I'm currently running UMS in 64 bit, would it make sense get the 64bit FFMPEG, usual transcoders comes with UMS are 32 bit. With my initial testing both 32bit and 64bit works when I start UMS in 64 bit mode.

Here are my somewhat annoying observations with ESPN 3 streams though I can at least play the stream without any interaction.
- Either ESPN 3 live or on demand stream, you can watch only as if you do not touch any rewind, fast forwards button, only pause or 1.5 ff is possible since it does not break the stream. Any other would end the stream and go to title screen. When press to play again "Content cannot be played error"
- If for some reason stops and on demand stream (without even touching rewind or fast forward) cannot resume or play from beginning, giving content cannot be played error.
- Only way to play a stream affected (see earlier points) is to completely restart UMS from the computer (PS3 server restart is not enough)

This can be an issue especially when watching on demand stream since you do have to watch from the beginning every time.

The you tube stream now actually works really good, all fast forward, rewind buttons working even with live streams (of course upto the point live streaming point, live stream rewind is handy too).

My take is that all rewind/fast-forward working for youtube-xbmc via jumpy, espn 3 plugin my the culprit here.


Regarding Webreader still I'm not able to play them, I have both PhantomJS and Jumpy text streaming enabled. I still keep getting the "Content cannot be played" for all the links I tried under Webreader.

I attached snippets of Trace logs for both ESPN 3 resume/rewind/fastforward error and Webreader error. I don't see much issues in Jumpy.log, just the usual logs. If you need I can attach that too.

Thank you again for your support
Attachments
PhantonJS_webreader_TRACE.txt
(4.62 KiB) Downloaded 393 times
ESPN3_stop_start_TRACE.txt
(15.02 KiB) Downloaded 393 times
infidel
Developer
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:37 am

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by infidel »

event-horizon wrote: Either ESPN 3 live or on demand stream, you can watch only as if you do not touch any rewind, fast forwards button, only pause or 1.5 ff is possible since it does not break the stream.
Jumpy simply delivers links to UMS, playback issues such as seeking, restarting etc have to do with UMS itself, and more importantly the transcoder's (i.e. ffmpeg's) specific capabilities. If ffmpeg can't seek in a particular stream then of course there's not much that can be done, it is what it is :).
event-horizon wrote:Regarding Webreader still I'm not able to play them, I have both PhantomJS and Jumpy text streaming enabled. I still keep getting the "Content cannot be played" for all the links I tried under Webreader.
Your log snippet doesn't show enough to be helpful, and without knowing precisely how you've set things up there's not much I can do. Please run the jumpy installer instead of doing a manual install to be sure everything is in place, then if you're still having problems attach a full set of logs.
event-horizon
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:21 pm

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by event-horizon »

Thank you for the reply.
I'll just check with Webreader in my leisure time, does the Webreader works in your setup with no issues on UMS and PS3.

While working on the on demand streaming, can you duplicate the issue on your end, if so I can say my setup is good and infact it could be UMS/FFMPEG issue.

I just notices some ESPN 3 streams just stop on exact point corresponding to that stream. While looking at logs for that specific scenario I believe here's where issue lies.
DEBUG 2014-03-18 22:54:33.774 [New I/O worker #21] Setting margin to 2Mb
DEBUG 2014-03-18 22:55:31.607 [ffmpeg.exe-3-2] RTMP_ReadPacket, failed to read RTMP packet header
DEBUG 2014-03-18 22:55:53.925 [ffmpeg.exe-3-Cleanup] Stopping process: ffmpeg.exe-3

I went ahead and updated RTMPDump to latest version as well. Still error RTMP_ReadPacket, failed to read RTMP packet header is there, which causes subsequently to end the stream. Any thoughts on that please
infidel
Developer
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:37 am

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by infidel »

event-horizon wrote:does the Webreader works in your setup with no issues on UMS and PS3.
I don't have a PS3, but it works with my Sony Bluray as well as software clients, e.g. XBMC or Android. You can always browse UMS on XBMC for comparison (to enable upnp: System >> Services >> UPnP >> Allow control of XBMC via UPnP).

event-horizon wrote:While working on the on demand streaming, can you duplicate the issue on your end...
DEBUG 2014-03-18 22:55:31.607 [ffmpeg.exe-3-2] RTMP_ReadPacket, failed to read RTMP packet header
yes, this happens for me too sometimes (with ESPN, Hulu and other commercial providers) but I haven't been able to find the precise cause. It could either be
  • cdn/authorization issues i.e. the content server gives us the boot after a while, which could be either jumpy's fault and/or a librtmp issue.
  • a buffering glitch (UMS buffering code has some persistent issues).
event-horizon wrote:I went ahead and updated RTMPDump to latest version as well. Still error RTMP_ReadPacke
This won't affect ffmpeg, which is a static build using an internal librtmp. Rtmpdump was included with jumpy originally for transcoding via pmsencoder, but this isn't possible anymore due to incompatibilities.
event-horizon
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:21 pm

Re: JUMPY (0.3.1) and ESPN 3 streaming issues via XMBC

Post by event-horizon »

Thank you infidel for supporting me on this thread.
It is good to know UMS can be browsed in XBMC, coz my XMBC (only in computer) is currently flawless in regards to ESPN 3 stream. I wish if there is some sort of XBMC version for PS3. Jumpy still serve the purpose when you want that exciting sports events to see in the big screen.


I did multiple trials yesterday and that RTMP header error happens like 60-70% of the time. I don't think it is FFMEPG (Since I tries many version of it) but as you pointed out could be some sort of auth issue, I'm thinking this is when it happens for particular stream it usually tends to happen on exact point of time. At that time buffering goes to zero and streaming stops.

I just tried a ESPN 3 live stream no issues, even when nothing moving on the stream UMS buffer goes to zero but still streaming. I also tried various UMS buffer settings, I can take an educated guess to certain extent to say it is not related to UMS buffer either.

Can see content server stream issues since it does work all the time in XMBC and no change in stream which passing some of those auth points.

So it bottles down to transmission from XMBC to Jumpy for possible auth checks, but with on demand streams I have to say sometimes these auth tests gets passed with Jumpy with no issues. This could also be related to resume, rewind and fast forward of the stream related to chucking the stream. May be stream auths may not handle chunks but seems like XBMC handles them properly, but of course XBMC is directly working on the stream from internet without streaming it to another device.

I have to say barring all issues Jumpy is a fabulous piece of software to allow XBMC addons to work via UMS which in turn connect to other clients. In time I see there is place for improvement.

Thank you
Post Reply