ffmpegx problems with RM to AVI

[mgarman14]

I am trying to use ffmpegx to convert some real player (rm) media into avi so that i can watch it using quicktime. i have used this program in the past with success, but now am having difficulty. i am using 0.0.9y version, have all the binaries installed, along with completing the download and install of the Mac OSx 0.86 binaries from the Mplayer website. i have copied the codecs from the 0.86 install into the library of application support for ffmpegx as "reallib."

The problem arises when i try to open the rm file in ffmpegx. if comes up a "REAL" as usual, but it says there is no video and no audio. the file opens fine in real player, with audio and video, but not in ffmpegx. i know the problem is not with what i have installed, cause i have used all the appropriate Intel files, but what could i be missing? when i installed everything and went into the application support, there was no "reallib" file originally.

this has been very frustrating, as i have installed and reinstalled everything several times. i appreciate the help.

[tomlee59]

Perhaps the following earlier thread will help you out: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/real-media-converting-to-mpeg4-t319260.html

[mgarman14]

it was not helpful, unfortunately. when i try to open the file in ffmpegx, it comes up with "no video" and "no audio" on the right left side. it seems to be a problem in reading the file, not the conversion into an AVI. the rm file is not empty; when i open it in real player, it plays perfectly.

[Case]

rtsp://139.127.173.30:554/...

You are converting from an online source. The video content isn't local on your hard drive. The protocol and/or the server at the other end may hinder a smooth handling by MPlayer. Perhaps even by design.

My setup of ffmpegX does usually handle RM as it should. I couldn't get ffmpegX to handle any Real video from Upstate.edu either.

[mgarman14]

I can understand the server not working properly, but i have done this exact thing in the past without any trouble. could something have changed since the last time i did converted a video to cause this problem?

[tomlee59]

You are at the mercy of the content provider -- they can do things (either on purpose or by accident) that will prevent successful on-the-fly conversion. Handling the general case of converting streaming media can be a bit tricky, so rather than wondering why it no longer works right, perhaps a better question is why it used to work at all.

Your most reliable approach is to download the content onto your HD first, and then convert once the file's all there. If you still have problems, post back, and we'll commiserate.

[Case]

could something have changed ... to cause this problem?

I noticed this server now uses .ram files with URLs like
rtsp://server_ip_address:554/directory/filename.rm?cloakport=81,554
The last part of the URL suggest they do some trickery with server ports for whatever reason. (I think it it meant as fall-back: if port 554 fails, try port 81 -- that will make it go through most firewalls.) Maybe mplayer failed because it couldn't understand that last part of the URL.
When I tried to modify the .ram file to contain a URL like
rtsp://server_ip_address:81/directory/filename.rm
then ffmpegX was able to capture/convert the first 245 seconds. Maybe mplayer mistook a buffering pause for an end-of-stream, because the converted output file ended halfway a sentense.

A more reliable way to get the stream as a local file would be to capture it with a screen capture tool like iShowU, while playing in RealPlayer.

[mgarman14]

to tomlee:

how would i download the content? i have no problem doing that, i am just unsure how.

to case: how would iShowU work? since it is a screen capture, wouldn't that take forever and a lot more work than watching the video itself?

the reason i want to convert these are that i have quicktime pro, so i would be able to watch them at 2x speed (as we all know there is no 2xAV for the mac real player).

[tomlee59]

Case's suggestion is the most universally functional. iShowU will work in real time, so while you are watching the media, it will be capturing. The captured result will be watchable in quicktime right away, so there's no additional wait for a conversion.

If the content provider allows you to download the content to your HD, then all you have to do is perform the conversion you've been performing all along. However, not all providers allow you to do this, which is why iShowU was created.

[mgarman14]

well, it seems that iShowU is the best, but i might as well not use it cause i would be watchin the video anyways to use iShowU. ffmpegx allowed me to batch convert the files, so that was better for me so i could watch the videos faster. i am not looking to keep these videos, it's a "watch them, then delete them" scenario. thanks for the help though.

[tomlee59]

Your topic asked for help with conversion, so that's the advice you got. Had you simply said, "I just want to watch to the streams," you would have gotten the advice you were actually looking for.

The whole purpose of streaming media is so that you can watch it, just as if it were television. You watch it, then it's gone. That's what streaming is all about.

Now, to watch a Real Media stream, the easiest thing is to use a Real Media player. They are available for all the major OS's, including the Mac. See http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/internet_utilities/realplayer.html

All those conversions you did in the past were unnecessary.

HTH.

[mgarman14]

ok, obviously you misunderstood my topic. i wanted to convert them into AVI from RM so that i could watch them using quicktime at 2X. if i use iShowU, that will mean i will be playing the rm file anyway. ffmpegx allowed me to convert more than one file at a time. iShowU seems to only allow conversion of one at a time, or at least real player only allows you to watch one at a time (unless i am missing something here). using this system, it does not benefit me to convert them, it I have to open one, wait until it is done, then open another to convert.

i really only wanted to convert these files so that i could watch them at a faster rate. real player does not allow this. that is the reason for the conversion. plus, real player sucks, so i would have rather have used a different player.

[tomlee59]

That is important information not present in your earlier posts. To avoid wasting any more time attempting to guess what you want, let me see if I understand what you are actually looking to do:

You want to be able to batch-process multiple real media streams, so that at some later time, you can watch them at an accelerated rate. The time taken to perform the initial batch processing is not particularly important to you, I gather. You care mainly about being able to watch them at your convenience, and with a playback speed that you can control. The total time taken, end-to-end, for this entire process is not of signficance; it's only the playback time that really matters to you. You don't want/need to save the files per se, you just were converting to a QT-readable format because you like its playback speed control.

Have I got it right?

[mgarman14]

tomlee,

yes, that is what i mean to convey. sorry about the confusion earlier, as always when typing, everything makes sense in your own head and you sometimes figure that people should know what you are thinking. that is basically what i want.