Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Quick Search: in
ESS.tv Linux HOWTO
View unanswered posts
View posts from last 24 hours

 
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Documentation, Tips & Tricks
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
ciaran27
n00b
n00b


Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:19 pm    Post subject: ESS.tv Linux HOWTO Reply with quote

ESS in Gentoo
Screenshot

If you don't already know, Every Show Sucks is an online streaming television network. The network servers have a limited number of seats for public viewing, or with a $5 a month subscription you can get prefered access. After paying $50 a month for 70 channels of useless programming from the local cable provider, ESS is a welcome alternative.

The ESS streams are broadcast in Nullsoft Video, a streaming format developed by the creators of WinAmp. XMMS does not have built in support to play these streams, but adding MPlayer and the XMMPlayer plugin makes watching ESS in Gentoo easy.

You can use emerge to install all the needed software with this command:

Code:
echo "media-video/mplayer xmms win32codecs" >> /etc/portage/package.use
emerge mplayer xmms xmmplayer



After installing XMMS, MPlayer, and XMMPlayer, you need to download the appropriate VP3 and VP6 codecs HERE.

MD5SUM: d134aa8725e67af8c24a8df167289b86 vpcodecs.tar.bz2

Uncompress and copy them to the MPlayer codec directory.

Code:
tar jxvf vpcodecs.tar.bz2
cp codecs/* /usr/lib/win32


Lastly, download a copy of the modified ESS Playlist

Open the playlist in XMMS:

Code:
xmms ess.pls


You can now watch the ESS streams in XMMS. Unsubcribed users may have to wait for a public seat on a busy server. If you get a Server Full error on connect, keep trying or subscribe.

For all those future posts about how this should all be free, go complain to your ISP. The bandwidth needed to stream multiple channels of video to hundreds of users is not cheap. $5 a month for a subscription is well wirth the price with the current alternatives.

Enjoy :)


Last edited by ciaran27 on Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:54 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
destr0yr
Tux's lil' helper
Tux's lil' helper


Joined: 29 Nov 2003
Posts: 80
Location: Kelowna, BC.

PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 4:51 am    Post subject: Re: ESS.tv Linux HOWTO Reply with quote

ciaran27 wrote:

Code:
USE="xmms win32codecs" emerge mplayer xmms xmmplayer


Looks interesting... I'll have to try this out.

Regarding the quote above, wouldn't this make life easier down the road:
Code:

# echo "media-video/mplayer xmms win32codecs" >> /etc/portage/package.use

Since xmms and win32codecs are not valid USE flags for either xmms nor xmmplayer they're not really needed (correct me if I'm wrong)?!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
amdunlock
Guru
Guru


Joined: 24 Apr 2004
Posts: 409
Location: Darmstadt Germany

PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hi,

is this the only possibilty to watch american tv in europe, because i read, that the quality is very bad.

Greetings, Oliver
_________________
-2500+ @ 3200+ ---- 512MB-Ram watercooled Htf X Triple @ 3 x 5V - Abit AN7 s*cking microguru - Geforce 6800 - Audigy 2 -=Gentoo Stage 2004.2 @ ext3=-
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ciaran27
n00b
n00b


Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:35 pm    Post subject: ESS in europe Reply with quote

My suggestion is with the setup above, put one stream in the list and set xmms to repeat until you get on in a public seat. That will allow you to see what the stream quality is on your connection. Also go sign up at ess.tv and read the forums. There are people from outside the states that have posted their experiencs with the ess streams. I have a good friend in Ireland who watches ESS with me while chatting on skype. If we both start a stream at the same time we can go an hour or more without becomming more than a few seconds out of sync. You will also find that there are a few channels of european TV on ESS as well. I watch Red Dwarf and Fawlty Towers all the time :)

Thx for the input destr0yr, made the changes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
csab
Apprentice
Apprentice


Joined: 15 Apr 2005
Posts: 152
Location: Atlanta, GA

PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This looks very interesting. However very suspicious to me, too. Is this legal? There is nothing on the site about how royalties are paid. Aren't they just catching the live stream from TV and broadcast it? Also, the site is .tv, which means they registered it on Tuvalu and this makes easier to avoid control.

I can't even find on the website what shows are aired. It's like they don't want to advertise it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ssokolow
n00b
n00b


Joined: 20 Apr 2005
Posts: 22

PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Couldn't this be done using only MPlayer? The only potential benefit I see to using XMMS is that it would simplify the playlist handling.

I use Audacious for my music playing and, if it weren't for my Playstation emulator, GTKtalog, and one or two other non-XMMS apps, I'd have GTK 1.x hard-masked. (Recent versions of GMPlayer use GTK 2.x)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Hypexr
n00b
n00b


Joined: 10 Dec 2002
Posts: 12
Location: Fresno, CA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:17 am    Post subject: Sounds cool... I want to see! Reply with quote

I am guessing to get this working in a 64 bit environment I would need to create a 32 bit chrooted environment for the codec to work....?
_________________
Scott http://fatpenguinblog.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ssokolow
n00b
n00b


Joined: 20 Apr 2005
Posts: 22

PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:34 am    Post subject: Re: Sounds cool... I want to see! Reply with quote

Hypexr wrote:
I am guessing to get this working in a 64 bit environment I would need to create a 32 bit chrooted environment for the codec to work....?


If I understand the instructions correctly, you only need a 32-bit MPlayer. No chroot necessary if you can get one.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
slycordinator
Advocate
Advocate


Joined: 31 Jan 2004
Posts: 3065
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

csab wrote:
This looks very interesting. However very suspicious to me, too. Is this legal? There is nothing on the site about how royalties are paid. Aren't they just catching the live stream from TV and broadcast it? Also, the site is .tv, which means they registered it on Tuvalu and this makes easier to avoid control.

I can't even find on the website what shows are aired. It's like they don't want to advertise it.


From the site's FAQ
Quote:
Q: How can I help ESS?
A: We aren't comfortable accepting assistance on a widescale basis. Our fans help keep our site alive with donations, we don't feel we should depend on them for content as well. In addition, keeping our encoding process closed allows us to better improve our encoding profiles, efficiently fix episode errors and maintain quality control and consistency within our servers and our lineup.


Seems suspicous to me as well.

Seems like what they're doing is likely illegal and they're keeping it closed as well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ColdWind
Retired Dev
Retired Dev


Joined: 08 Dec 2005
Posts: 119
Location: Valencia, Spain

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone has tried with other app rather than mplayer and xmms?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
loxins
n00b
n00b


Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 19
Location: Iceland

PostPosted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks ciaran27 this works great. real easy and simple.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gridmark
n00b
n00b


Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 22
Location: Dallas

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To answer a few questions,

Using XMMplayer is just for the playlist. I've been watching ess.tv for months using just mplayer. But its a damn good idea since It's a pain to have to grep the playlist for the URL.
Just download the current playlist at http://ess.tv/ess.pls and grab the URL of the show you want to watch and dump it into mplayer

Code:

wget http://ess.tv/ess.pls
#Look through and find a stream you want
mplayer http://mrburns.ess.tv:18081 #For example

Easy as pie.

In addition to this, I was watching these on my amd64 box using the mplayer-bin ebuild which supports the win32 codecs.
Code:

emerge -av mplayer-bin
mplayer-bin http://mrburns.ess.tv:18081 #For example

_________________
If it aint broke, fix it till it is.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
fedekapo
Apprentice
Apprentice


Joined: 16 Jun 2003
Posts: 223
Location: Argentina

PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excelent!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nico_calais
l33t
l33t


Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Posts: 628
Location: Saint Julien en Genevois

PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

that's exactly what I'm doing with mplayer. I had first to re-emerge mplayer with the "live" flag.
I also edited the playlist to get a better view of it.
ex :
----------------
The Simpsons
----------------
http://willie.ess.tv:11411

It's just fine for me to use it that way.
_________________
"Unix IS user friendly... It's just selective about who its friends are." — Tollef Fog Heen tollef@add.no
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
someguy
Guru
Guru


Joined: 10 Jul 2003
Posts: 433
Location: (-_-) .::OH_WELL::. (-_-)

PostPosted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i work in the same datacenter that ess.tv is hosted in and our ipspace gets free access :-D
_________________
print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<>
)]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`
while [ 1 ] ; do echo "*" | telnet ip.of.print.er 9100 ; done
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ciaran27
n00b
n00b


Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 6:03 pm    Post subject: ESS Is to be no more :/ Reply with quote

Well, the cooperate swine has won out again. ESS is shutting down for good. Here is a copy of the mail sent to all subscribers:

##### Begin Mail #####

I apologize if you've received multiple copies of this message. Our server is struggling.

I'd like to open this e-mail by thanking you for supporting the ess.tv service. Our subscribers were the only reason that this service was able to survive as long as it did - we could not have done it without you.

Unfortunately, due to increasing pressure from various organizations, ESS will have to shut down operations this weekend. All subscriptions will be terminated and all of our streams will be taken offline. It is with great regret that we end this service that has provided nothing but enjoyment and niche-show awareness for this past year, but we do not have the financial backing to attempt to contest the claims made against us.

I will be handling refunds on a per-person basis. If you feel that ESS has not been worth your $5 for this month, then please send a message to support@ess.tv and I will arrange a refund. For those who do not ask for a refund, you have my thanks - it will be very difficult to close out this month's server bills if everyone asks for a refund. =(

Thank you again for supporting ESS. We'll miss you.

##### End Mail #####

Was great while it lasted. Thanks to Joshie, Ace, and the rest of the guys that made ESS for the rest of us to enjoy.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Lurker22
n00b
n00b


Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 6:51 am    Post subject: Re: Reply with quote

ESS May be gone but out of it rised a new station. That is Subscription Only. - Yes we know most of you are not willing to pay 5$ A month but it is out here for those members of ESS.TV. here is the Site if you need Recommendations Please Email me @ sourcestream@gmail.com. I find posting this for all those who use linux that liked that TV Service to be a good thing not as an Advertiser. Thank you have a great day!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Mgiese
Veteran
Veteran


Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 1607
Location: indiana

PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:11 pm    Post subject: Re: Reply with quote

Lurker22 wrote:
ESS May be gone but out of it rised a new station. That is Subscription Only. - Yes we know most of you are not willing to pay 5$ A month but it is out here for those members of ESS.TV. here is the Site if you need Recommendations Please Email me @ sourcestream@gmail.com. I find posting this for all those who use linux that liked that TV Service to be a good thing not as an Advertiser. Thank you have a great day!
grml to sad ... :(
_________________
I do not have a Superman complex, for I am God not Superman :D

Ryzen9 7950x ; Geforce1650 ; kernel 6.5 ; XFCE
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Documentation, Tips & Tricks All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum