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Attention Video Programming Library Infidels

By priestess (Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:04:18 AM EST) (all tags)

It's Ask Husi time!

So it looks like I'm going to have to spend most of next year writing some app that uses a lot of video, recording it from a web cam and playing it back all over the screen.

Not really done that kinda thing since it was a delta then run-length compression on a raw byte-stream many many years ago on a games console for a few cramped seconds of video.

Certainly the project will take longer than we have if I have to write my own video libraries again, but I'm sure there must be some around, no?

Ideally some GPLed ones frankly, the main reason I'm working for this charity is so all the code can be GPLed.

Certainly as cross-platform as possible. Gonna need to run on at least OS X and Windows, ideally Linux machines too.

Compression ratio's don't matter a whole bunch TBH, it'll be "download and go to sleep" amounts of data whatever happens and rarely to never directly streamed over the network.

But as I say, been years and years since I did any video programming at all so I don't really even know where to start looking. Anyone got any tips? Can pick the language we work in to fit the libaries we end up using. Someone a while back said there were some nice Java libraries, I'd even use java if I really really had to but would frankly rather use something higher level. Maybe learn some Ruby or something. Does Ruby have video libraries?

Anyone got any advice on where to start looking when I have to start looking next week?

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Attention Video Programming Library Infidels | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

These days by codemonkey uk (4.00 / 1) #1 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:20:33 AM EST

Video capture/playback is all OS service level stuff.

--- Thad ---
developer of ... ?

Which I guess makes it tricky to do crossplatform? by priestess (2.00 / 0) #2 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:26:24 AM EST

Or does it mean there's simple peasy libs in a nice ruby version of tk or something? That'd be the dream....

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: No idea by codemonkey uk (4.00 / 1) #4 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:31:04 AM EST

Not really looked at it in detail myself.

--- Thad ---
developer of ... ?
[ Parent ]

Don't know if it's the sort of thing you're after by hulver (4.00 / 1) #3 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:27:20 AM EST

http://www.theora.org/

Ogg for video.

I've never used it, or been involved in video in anyway.
--
smart, pretty, sane. pick two - georgeha

: Cheers by priestess (2.00 / 0) #5 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 07:36:53 AM EST

Might well help at least, though I don't really have time to do more than speed-read the FAQ at the moment.
Looks like I'd still have to figure out how to get from the webcam into theora formats. Ugh, it's gonna be like a week of nothing but research here isn't it.
Hey ho.
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xvid Works For Me by Rogerborg (2.00 / 0) #6 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 09:37:29 AM EST

http://www.xvid.org/

Piece of piss to use, although it's in C, mind.

-
Metus amatores matrum compescit, non clementia.

: C is okay by priestess (2.00 / 0) #9 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 09:52:57 AM EST

Though heaven knows it's been a while since I'd had to use it. Maybe I can just build some C plugins for a perl/ruby app or something.
Will look more closely when I'm less busy. Thanks.
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Web based? by johnny (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 09:44:01 AM EST

If yes, look into OpenLaszlo maybe?

http://www.openlaszlo123.org/?p=4

There are some more video specs in RFP state on the OpenLaszlo wiki. . .
Buy my books, dammit!

Flash by priestess (2.00 / 0) #8 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 09:51:48 AM EST

Yeah, the complete rewrite we're about to embark on is to get us away from Flash after the boss went loopy when Flast Media Server stopped doing their teeny licence and started charging thousands for each server install even though we'd only have like two clients max on it.

So I did my "Woudln't have happened if we'd used a proper free library" thing and now seem to have lumbered myself with the work of rewriting the whole thing using free tools.

Hey ho.

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not understanding your comment(?) by johnny (2.00 / 0) #10 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 11:40:04 AM EST

Openlaszlo compiles to flash, but if you have the flashplayer installed (& 98 percent of desktops do, or similar), then OpenLaslo applications "just work". The cost of the flashplayer is free, as in beer. Or am I missing something? (And of course, OpenLaszlo is open source and free.)

As for what other media players will emerge, your guess is as good as mine. I know there are some opensource flashplayer projects out there -- or at least one -- but don't know anything aobut it (them).

OpenLaszlo will soon compile to DHTML. But that won't take care of the "how do I play media files in browser" question. Flash just seems to be a fact of life in internet land. Even Dojo uses flash for local storage(!!).

By the way, here's blog you may find interesting. Sarah Allen is the main proponent of video APIs for openlaszlo & you'll find some discussion on her personal blog that may be germane to your investigation.
Buy my books, dammit!
[ Parent ]

Probably my skim-reading mistake by priestess (2.00 / 0) #11 Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 12:18:49 PM EST

Just so much work to do.

I saw it was talking about flash and just launched into the rant about how Adobe or Macromedia or whoever screwed us over by changing the licencing conditions for Flash Media Server.

Perhaps I shall give it a closer look tomorrow. Just about managed to finish off the code I was writing today and so will actually get into researching this new project rewrite tomorrow.

Lordy. Writing technical specs and implementation plans is so dull.

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Oh I see by priestess (2.00 / 0) #12 Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:31:02 PM EST

Red5 is an FOSS clone of Media Server. That might even rescue the old project instead of making us start from scratch you know.....

Hummm. Wonder if I can even adapt Red5 to do something it was annoying FMS wouldn't do: push more than one video stream into a single synchronised stream.

Might have to install Red5 then, see if I can at least compile it.

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Cool, I hope by johnny (4.00 / 1) #13 Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 07:52:56 PM EST

something good comes of it, and that if it does that I will get at least one geekoid brownie points among the hardcore hackers here. This is a rough crowd, street-credwise.
Buy my books, dammit!
[ Parent ]

: I doubt anyone other than you is watching now by priestess (2.00 / 0) #14 Fri Jun 30, 2006 at 07:50:12 AM EST

For what it's worth, I got Red5 installed an running on my OS X panther machine (despite Apple claiming I'd have to upgrade to Tiger to run Java1.5 the wankers) and it worked fine.
It even worked with our app as it stands after very little screwing around.
So thank's for that, probably we'll stick with Flash and use Red5 but I'm gonna look at OpenLaszlo for a bit this afternoon just to see if it's worth using that instead of using any macromedia stuff at all.
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Attention Video Programming Library Infidels | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback