How to capture video stream

[taggg]

Am trying to capture a one-hour movie from a site which requires a log-in, and then opens a new window in which to play the movie. The site will open in a browser or in Real Player, but not in Quicktime Player or other applications.

None of the usual downloaders work: RealPlayer; Safari; Firefox; DownThemAll; Video DownloadHelper; ADS video convertor.

Safari Activity Window indicates no download, no large file, nothing once the video starts loading in its own player (nor anything more than a few KB prior to that). The video does download somewhere, because it can then be played off-line as long as its window stays open. But I cannot find any file, visible or invisible on the Mac (iMac 2.8) -- have used Mac's finder; Find File; File Buddy.

I have tried capturing it onscreen, using iShow and other such applications. No matter which codec I use or which frame speed I use (everything between 15 and 60), I still get duplicated frames, missing frames, and occasional stutters (capturing with no compression or with compression). The site's movie window displays the Quicktime logo at start, but there is no indication of what codec or frame rate it is using.

Any clue how to find the file, or how to capture it onscreen without stutters?

Thanks!

[tomlee59]

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions. Here's my contribution, meager as it is: Under, say, Firefox, type "about:cache" as the URL. Play the video. Sometimes you have to play it all the way through in order for the cache list to update. Typically, under the "disk" category, you'll see one conspicuously large file -- that's the video. Click on the link associated with that file, and you'll frequently be led to the actual source's URL.

Of course, this method only has a chance of working if the video is actually held in the cache. But since your description seems to suggest that this one is, you may be in luck.

[taggg]

Thanks. The possible suspect is below. But these are just numbers or plaintext. If this is it (30751 bytes for a 25-minute b&w movie), how can I convert it into video?

I used File Juice and found a few dozen individual images, but no video; I think the site scatters the images and then has some means of reuniting them, to prevent me from capturing the video.

Alternately, I wish I could find a way to do screen capture without getting stuttering motion (see my first post).

Key: http://static.cache.l.google.com/safebrowsing/rd/goog-malware-shavar_a_9081-9120.9081-...08,9110-9120.:
Data size: 30751 bytes
Fetch count: 1
Last modified: 2009-02-10 09:45:55
Expires: 1969-12-31 19:00:00

[terryj]

Simplest way I would do it:
Use iShowU to "hijack" the browser player window
while the file plays in real time to DV Stream.
This way, you get 29.9 fps, AIFF audio, and a file
easily editable in just about any Quicktime based app.

Now the stuttering you experience, is most likely one of two things:

1. the file is rebuffering from a Streaming server ( Sounds like
a OS X Quicktime streaming server, as the QT logo pops up at the beginning)
and that as the data packets come in bursts,
iShowU is having problems "capturing" them and encoding them
due to bottle necks in your network.

First, I'd look at your Quicktime Streaming settings in SYstem Prefs-->Quicktime.
Check and see if you have the setting correctly set:
If you are doing this at your company ( a large network environment)
set it for Intranet/Lan. If at home on Cable modem, set it for a bit under
your fastest speed, ie. I keep mine set at 384kbps even though I typically get 512kbps.
Also, check your instant on settings: I usually keep mine
set at 2 bars away from Long Delay, allowing enough of the file to
be buffered before I begin capturing it. this should smooth out
the file if the problems are networked based. Also,
don't run any other Internet based apps ( ie., P2P) while capturing.

2. You are running into a Proceesor problem, in that the processor
isn't able to handle playback and capture and compress at the same time.
Your profile says "987" but I assume this is actually "933"?
or is it "1.87"?
In any event, you should endeavor to playback and capture
BUT NOT COMPRESS as the process is intensive.
This is why I use DV Stream, as it is generic and captures cleanly
without hiccups. From there, I can edit and then Compress
down to what I need using whatever's handy afterwards
(FCP, iMovie, FCE, Visualhub).

Try my suggestions and let us know the results.

[taggg]

I'm an iMac 2.8 ghz with 4GB RAM.

The video downloads (into scattered bits, I think: there is no large file anywhere) and can be played off-line.

The motion is very smooth. But not the captured motion. (It is French, so probably 25 fps, but I have tried everything between 15 and 50 fps; 25fps works best.) The stutters tend to occur at the same places (duplicate frames usually; sometimes missing frames.

DV Stream is Windows; I'm a Mac.

I'm home-based cable, but I don't know what speed I'm getting, and in an case, since the video is cached (somehow), is this relevant? (Quicktime's Streaming Speed is currently set to Automatic.)

iShow captures the video uncompressed (ie, it has a LOW CPU option which I use), then compresses it afterward, if you choose to do so. I was doing it also with NO compression (thus a 12GB file for 55 minutes). (But when I used Quicktime Player to convert this to DivX the result was much worse!)

Thanks for your suggestions. Keep them coming, please.

[rumplestiltskin]

DV Stream is the format of DV Camcorders. It isn't "Mac" or "PC". However, iMovieHD and earlier versions used DV Stream as its native format. Windows tends to take the DV Stream from the camcorder and dump it into an AVI container (simply to make things difficult for anyone wanting to use non-Microsoft software, I guess).

[terryj]

Yup rumple's right. more to read here.

So from your post:
video is 25fps
QT Streaming is set to automatic
iShowU is "hijacking the file" to an Uncompressed format,
in this case it should be DV Stream.

Check the DV Stream playback in QT player.
If it plays back fine ( you didn't say) then
you'll know the capture was fine.

So, what I would suggest using is since you want to end up in
DIVX format, I wouldn't use QT to encode it to DIVX.
I would use VisualHub or FilmRedux as it now is called
to create the DIVX avi file. or ffmpegx. either of those
apps have out the box settings that will produce a decent
DIVX file that should playback fine.

[taggg]

Thanks. But there is no way to open the file in QT. The URL for the site is "invalid." There is no URL for the video (truly!).

After logging in, one searches for a file, one clicks on the file, a new page opens (which can only be opened in the application one has logged in on -- ie, one can't start in Firefox and then in midstream switch to RealPlayer),
one clicks a button (java), and a new window opens which has no URL and in this window the video displays a QT logo and plays and downloads. It can be played offline in this window. But there is no downloaded file that anything can detect (File Buddy; Find File; File Juice; cache inspectors…).

No matter what frame setting I use in iShow, I get bumpy motion in the saved (uncompressed) -- duplicate freames or missing frames, usually at the same spots.

[rumplestiltskin]

Thanks. But there is no way to open the file in QT. The URL for the site is "invalid." There is no URL for the video (truly!).

Use QT to open the -captured- video that iShowU captured (not the stream). However, if even that is jumpy, you're probably out of luck.

[taggg]

Yes, that is the problem.
No matter at what frame-rate I capture the video, it plays (in QT) with stuttering motion.

[terryj]

then there is no way to properly capture it on the mac.

so the next thing you can try is capture it OUTSIDE of the Mac.
You have an iMac 2.8ghz, that accepts the following component
to display out "mirrored" video to SVideo.
You can purchase said component, output what plays
on your desktop to a DVD Recorder hooked up to your
iMac via the component, and record it directly to that,
in real time, as it plays.

other than that, your most likely SOL.