MLB.TV in Linux

BostonPeng · 07-09-2012, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daftcat

jump (j=) parameter takes date as two digit year, e.g. mm/dd/yy or 07/08/12

Not sure why the original developer went with two digit year instead of four but I just kept it that way. I added an extra check and error message for this.

Two year dates! How did I miss seeing that, especially since it's pretty clear in line 94 of NEW-MLBPLAY. D'oh! Thanks for the reminder.

I have to say I love using VLC for watching games, even though I get some stutters (but that may be more about how busy the wifi is here). The one thing I can do with VLC that mplayer2 can't: Bump the volume past 100% so I can hear on these cheap, quiet earbuds I bought.

I already have LA set as my favorite team for audio and video so it looks like I shouldn't have to worry as to whether I select the home or away coverage.

I'll definitely look at the svn branch code. As far as the mlbhls issue goes, it built without problems, but there seems to be problems in using it. I posted a bug report there this am. This is the trackback I got when things went pear shaped:

Quote:

File "mlbplay.py", line 174, in <module>
available = mysched.getListings(cfg['speed'], cfg['blackout'])
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 665, in getListings
return self.getXmlListings(myspeed, blackout)
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 669, in getXmlListings
self.getData()
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 486, in getData
self.data = self.__xmlToPython()
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 480, in __xmlToPython
return self.__scheduleFromXml()
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 383, in __scheduleFromXml
fp = parse(self.__getSchedule())
File "/home/bpeng/mlbviewer2012/MLBviewer/mlbtv.py", line 324, in __getSchedule
raise MLBUrlError

That could be the same issue as the normal one for today. I re-enabled use_nexdef and got this:

Quote:

$ python mlbplay.py v=la j=07/06/12 n=1 nu=1
An error occurred locating the media URL:
Stream URL not found in reply. Stream may not be available yet.
$

Not having a NexDef stream for that game seems odd. If I enable NexDef in the config file and just run python mlbplay.py v=la j=07/06/12 it plays without a problem, although I don't know if it's NexDef or not.

BostonPeng · 07-09-2012, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daftcat

Good job with the blog. BTW, you can add video_follow=la and audio_follow=la to your config and you'll never need to worry about whether the Dodgers are the home or away team as mlbviewer and mlbplay will figure that out for you. The *_follow parameters essentially say, "always give me LA's broadcast regardless of home or away."

Also, if you need help with mlbhls, post what compile error(s) you were getting here and either myself or the mlbhls developer can help you through it. Even if you don't use the higher bandwidths, I like that mlbhls supports adaptive streaming. I tend to cap myself at home to 1200 (max_bps=1200000) and turn on adaptive streaming. This way, if Comcast ever gets congested, mlbhls will dynamically adjust the stream down to a lower speed until such time that it can bump back up to 1200. It might be just the thing to get video working at crowded Starbucks.

Grew up in LA so cheers to another Dodgers fan.

YEA! I don't have to worry which feed is selected to watch my Boys in Blue! Hot diggity damn! It looks like the only issue I'm having now is getting streams for NexDef, especially since I always have adaptive on in the config. I know one thing though, next time I'm online with a good connection I'm running python mlbplay.py v=la j=04/10/12 and enjoying the home opener, especially since I only have a week and a half or so left on my MLB.TV subscription.

chrisVV · 07-09-2012, 06:35 PM

I noticed today that mlbviewer crashes on start-up because if no games are available, is_adaptive is used in mlbviewer.py but not defined. Presumably the same will happen on Wednesday and Thursday and will stop people watching the all star game on archive.

The attached patch deals with it for me.

chrisVV · 07-09-2012, 06:37 PM

By the way the patch will report itself as off by a line or two. That's because there is another patch I apply for unrelated purposes.

chrisVV · 07-10-2012, 03:33 AM

Ah, I see I was a revision behind on the SVN repository and this has already been fixed.

BostonPeng · 07-10-2012, 06:46 AM

Thanks for the code Chris, even if it is already taken care of in svn. One of the things I love so much about the FOSS community is that anyone who sees a bug and can fix it can submit a patch. I lift my iced coffee in salute to you and all the smarter folks out there who use their brains to make things easier for the rest of us .

BostonPeng · 07-10-2012, 07:26 AM

I've officially developed a bad habit with mlbviewer. I've seen so much baseball in mplayer2 and VLC that I'm watching old Dodgers home openers in my web browser and hit F to make the video full screen. Except the league's video software treats F as Fast Forward. D'oh! I'm also noticing that the archive video doesn't include the opening day festivities, which is what I wanted to see in the first place. Missing in 2012 coverage, and in 2011 but that may be because the game was on ESPN. I really hope it's available for 2008 since that year was a big celebration for the team moving west. But one opening day at a time, and the coffee shop I'm in this am has much better wifi than my favorite Starbucks has. It makes me wish I could enjoy some coffee here more often.

fang2415 · 07-10-2012, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonPeng

I'm also noticing that the archive video doesn't include the opening day festivities, which is what I wanted to see in the first place. Missing in 2012 coverage, and in 2011 but that may be because the game was on ESPN. I really hope it's available for 2008 since that year was a big celebration for the team moving west. But one opening day at a time, and the coffee shop I'm in this am has much better wifi than my favorite Starbucks has. It makes me wish I could enjoy some coffee here more often.

You may be able to get around this by changing the -f (or -F) option in mlbhls -- the default is to a value close to the start of the game, but I think the stream usually starts earlier so you may be able change that option to pick up the stream from an earlier starting point.

Also, away feeds are only available to premium subscribers, so that may account for the "Stream URL not found in reply" error you saw earlier -- I'm on the non-premium plan and that's what I see when I try to access away feeds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonPeng

I've officially developed a bad habit with mlbviewer. I've seen so much baseball in mplayer2 and VLC that I'm watching old Dodgers home openers in my web browser and hit F to make the video full screen. Except the league's video software treats F as Fast Forward. D'oh!

Wait, wait: you've used mlbviewer and you can still stand going back to watching games in your browser? There's your problem right there.

BostonPeng · 07-10-2012, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fang2415

You may be able to get around this by changing the -f (or -F) option in mlbhls -- the default is to a value close to the start of the game, but I think the stream usually starts earlier so you may be able change that option to pick up the stream from an earlier starting point.

Thanks. I'll give this a try. When I fired up this year's home opener I got several minutes of "the game will begin shortly" for some stupid reason. I'm still having issues with getting mlbhls working, though. I always get a complaint about not being able to find the feed with nexdef enabled (part of why I was using my browser this am).

Quote:

Originally Posted by fang2415

Also, away feeds are only available to premium subscribers, so that may account for the "Stream URL not found in reply" error you saw earlier -- I'm on the non-premium plan and that's what I see when I try to access away feeds.

I'm on a two week free trial as a thanks for voting in the All-Star Game Final Vote, and I've had no trouble enjoying the games with the boys from the Ravine on the road. But then I'm also hitting the feed the day after the game so that may make a difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fang2415

Wait, wait: you've used mlbviewer and you can still stand going back to watching games in your browser? There's your problem right there.

LOL I haven't figured out how to get things like clickable innings yet, and I'm still torn between using mplayer2 and VLC. I was in my browser this am because I knew I'd be jumping to other opening day games once I saw the first pitch of one and that's easier to do in the browser, plus I'm doing some jumping forward and back and I haven't sene that easy to do in mlbviewer. Of course I keep forgetting the "j" command so I'm probably missing a lot of functions in mlbviewer. Since I'm losing my access in a week and a half I'm not worrying too much about probing every nook and cranny for functions I'll have to give up way too soon anyway.

BostonPeng · 07-10-2012, 11:52 AM

A followup on my mlbhls problem:
I enabled NexDef in the config file and tried to access the home opener but got nothing.

Quote:

$ python mlbplay.py v=la j=04/10/12 n=1 nu=1
An error occurred locating the media URL:
Stream URL not found in reply. Stream may not be available yet.
None
$

It doesn't matter if I have line 239 in mlbplay.py commented out or not. I also went back to our most recent win at home (having to go way too far back if you ask me) and got the same fail.

Quote:

$ python mlbplay.py v=la j=06/17/12 n=1 nu=1
An error occurred locating the media URL:
Stream URL not found in reply. Stream may not be available yet.
None
$

Anyone have a clue what I am doing wrong? Or is it that my trial doesn't include NexDef? I'm able to use NexDef online so I don't see how it would make a difference in mlbviewer.

daftcat · 07-10-2012, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BostonPeng

I've officially developed a bad habit with mlbviewer. I've seen so much baseball in mplayer2 and VLC that I'm watching old Dodgers home openers in my web browser and hit F to make the video full screen. Except the league's video software treats F as Fast Forward. D'oh! I'm also noticing that the archive video doesn't include the opening day festivities, which is what I wanted to see in the first place. Missing in 2012 coverage, and in 2011 but that may be because the game was on ESPN. I really hope it's available for 2008 since that year was a big celebration for the team moving west. But one opening day at a time, and the coffee shop I'm in this am has much better wifi than my favorite Starbucks has. It makes me wish I could enjoy some coffee here more often.

2008? You're going to have search the svn log to see what the last revision was in 2008. I have stopped trying to support previous seasons. From this year forward, there will be a mlbviewer version that supports the current season only. Going into next year, I will leave a 2012 download on Sourceforge and create a 2013 version based on whatever changes they throw at me in the pre-season.

BostonPeng · 07-11-2012, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daftcat

2008? You're going to have search the svn log to see what the last revision was in 2008. I have stopped trying to support previous seasons. From this year forward, there will be a mlbviewer version that supports the current season only. Going into next year, I will leave a 2012 download on Sourceforge and create a 2013 version based on whatever changes they throw at me in the pre-season.

Heh. I'm not going to try asking mlbviewer to fetch that one. I'm hoping the league has it available, but I haven't seen how far back they go. I'm amazed at how far back I want to see opening day games. One of these days I need to make sure I can see every game from Game 1, live as they happen regardless when the game starts on the least coast*.

-----
*-Sorry, my brain went back to an ongoing feud from back home in New Orleans regarding west/best/worst bank of the Mississippi River and the east/least/best bank. I left the area in 1989 but it wouldn't surprise me that the feud is still going on like the Hatfields and McCoys. For the record, the east bank is the best bank, but the left coast of the country is the best coast, even if I do live on the least coast. I love LA. 8)

Kady · 08-16-2012, 12:10 AM

I had been having problems with hesitations and stoppages in the mlb streams. At times it would just freeze and I would have to quit and restart mlbviewer. I think I have finally identified the problem and found a solution. I was using the latest stable version of mplayer2 from Gentoo portage. I discovered at www.mplayer2.org that the mplayer2 versions from many linux distributions are not really up to date, They recomend downloading a package (mplayer2-build) from their git repository. I followed their instructions and built mplayer2 in my home directory. It includes some key associated libraries (eg libav) which are statically linked. Using this version and some changes to .mlb/config, I have finally been able to watch an entire game without a single hesitation or freeze.

The key entries in my .mlb/config:

Code:

video_player=/home/<username>/src/mplayer2-build/mplayer/mplayer -lavdopts threads=1 -vo gl -cache 65536 -cache-min 1 -quiet
adaptive_stream=1
min_bps=500000
max_bps=4500000

I am not sure the adaptive_stream flag needs to be set. With much smaller cache sizes I was still getting brief hesitations. This version of mplayer2 seems quite stable even though it comes from the git. I have just watched one game with this setup, but I have not had such good performance before.

(Orioles 5, Red Sox 3 - Go Birds!!)

larshenric · 08-27-2012, 04:06 AM

Hi!
I'm very new here and tried to install mlbviewer following the "Alex Sleat's Installation Guide".

Unfortunately it didn't work, with the terminal telling me some errors. And I can't post the terminal text here, because it contains some internet adresses, which I'm not allowed to post when I#m new here... :-/

My Ubuntu version: 11.04
Help would be great! :-)
Lars

larshenric · 08-29-2012, 01:49 AM

what can I do to make somebody help me? or am I supposed to read all the 247 pages...?
PLEASE...!! :-)