Difference between revisions of "Playing Videos and Music"

Streamlink Method

Sometimes, the media you want isn't accessible from a direct link. For example, Youtube and Twitch, live or not. Streamlink can process and re-stream those feeds into EmuVR.

Comparison to VLC method below:

• Easier to use.
• Streams will not start playing before you actually turn on the VCR in EmuVR.
• Supports more sources than VLC.
• Does not support playlists.
• Does not support local files from your disk.

Instructions:

• Download Streamlink from this page.
• For this example, we'll install it to C:\Streamlink.
• Create a new .str file in your \Games\Video directory. You can name it whatever you would like, but it must end with .str (be sure to enable file extensions or you might actually end up with an invisible "filename.str.txt")
• Open this new file with Notepad to add this line and save: http://127.0.0.1:8080
• Scan with Game Scanner as usual, to add the new file to your inventory as a VHS.
• Create a new .bat file and edit it with Notepad to add the following command, using a Youtube video as example:

"C:\Streamlink\streamlink.bat" --player-external-http --player-external-http-port 8080 --player-no-close https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXqt2J9iJOk 480p

• Replace the Youtube URL in the command above with any other supported source, like Twitch, as listed here.
• Before playing your new VHS in EmuVR, run the .bat file. (It must keep running in the background while you play EmuVR.)
• You can create multiple .bat files for different sources and switch between them for a same VHS.
• You can also use different ports (8080 in our example) for different .bat + .str and play each VHS simultaneously if you also run each .bat file simultaneously.

Check Streamlink's documentation to learn how to use it and which services are supported or not.

VLC Method

Sometimes, the media you want isn't accessible from a direct link. For example, Youtube and Twitch. Or perhaps you'd like to use your own media and play a series of videos or music without needing to swap VHS tapes for each episode. Maybe you have a bunch of shows and old commercials in a playlist that you'd like to watch to emulate a TV channel. While this functionality isn't supported in EmuVR, a workaround has been created by a user of the community using the popular media player VLC.

Comparison to Streamlink method above:

• Harder to setup and use.
• Streams will start playing as soon as you load VLC, even if you haven't turned on the VCR in EmuVR.
• Supports less sources than Streamlink].
• Support playlists.
• Support local files from your disk, joining them into a single VHS.

Instructions:

• If you don't already have it, download and install VLC.
• Create a new .str file in your \Games\Video directory. You can name it whatever you would like, but it must end with .str (be sure to enable file extensions or you might actually end up with an invisible "filename.str.txt")
• Open this new file with a text editor. Notepad will do.
• This is where things get tricky. In this file, you need to enter the following: http://127.0.0.1:8080/MYSTREAM.ts. The MYSTREAM can be whatever word you would like, but the rest of the link must match the example given. For these instructions, we will be using the URL http://127.0.0.1:8080/teststream.ts.
• Scan with Game Scanner as usual, to add the new file to your inventory.
• Open VLC.
• If using default hotkeys in VLC, press Control + S. Alternatively, you can open the proper menu via Media -> Stream.
• In the window that appears, add your media. These can be any format VLC supports.
• Once you've added some files, click Stream.
• Click Next. In the Destination Setup Window, click the dropdown that currently says File. Change this to HTTP. Click Add.
• Leave the port as 8080. Only change this if you know what you're doing or why you're doing it.
• Set the Path to /MYSTREAM.ts, or whatever you chose in place of MYSTREAM. In this case, we're going to use /teststream.ts.
• Click Next.
• Ensure Activate Transcoding is ticked. In the profile box, choose Video - H.264 + MP3 (TS).
• Choose Next. Then, choose Stream.

NOTE: If you only see one of the files you added in the stream queue, you may have to add all your files to a playlist as you would to normally play them, save the playlist (Ctrl+Y), then use that file in the Stream window instead.

You're done. You should now see the files you chose appear in you VLC playlist, and the timestamp will be moving. You may not see the video actually playing in VLC- this is normal, as long as the timestamp is moving your files are streaming. Open EmuVR and play your new stream VHS. It might take a few seconds to load, but you'll eventually see your video file playing on the TV.

Important Notes

• This method of streaming is likely not the most efficient, and exists only as a workaround to stream from places where a direct link isn't accessible, like Twitch or Youtube, or to play a large number of media files on one VHS without needing to swap them out.
• VLC must remain running, and the files must be playing in order for the stream to work. If you attempt to play the stream VHS without VLC running/playing, it will simply turn off without loading anything.
• If you decide you want to add more files to this playlist, you will need to do so via the Stream menu. Otherwise, VLC will just play the file as a regular file and your console in-game will shut off.
• You can save the playlist of streaming files with VLC to open it again later without needing to go through all the setup steps again.