ECS-TV Install Guide

Very Quick Install Guide

Ensure IPv6 is installed on yoru machine and that you have a gloabal address starting '2001:630:D0'. NO?
Install Mozilla Firefox browser.
Install VideoLan Client including browser plugins, note these may need to be copied to the plugins directory of your browser

Tuning In
    Live:
      Graphical: Type the address of the channel (eg. bbc1.zepler.tv) in the udp/multicast box
      Command Line: Type vlc udp://@channel

    Interactive:
      Click th ECS-TVi link and follow on screen instructions

Part 2 - Live Services

NOTE: LIVE services such as BBC Channels will not work on the wireless network as they are too bandwidth intensive, please use these from wired boxes only!
On linux boxes in labs, source CSLIB and then type ecstv to access services.

In this section we look at how to get tuned in to start watching ECS-TV Live Channels. Both Freeview and user provided content are included in the category. ECS-TV supports upto 1000 channels of content accessible directly via addressing or via on the of the control interfaces. All available channels are listed here.
It is highly recommended that whilst within the School of Electronics and Computer Science Buildings that the ECS-TV Remote be used to enable easy access to content.

Command Line Control

The following commands assume you have a command line with the vlc executable in the path, eg when you type vlc it launches. These commands show the basic vlc syntax enable easy debugging, note that advanced functionality is already built into the ECS-TV Remote.

Simple Tuning In:

For this example we are going to use BBC News 24 as our test channel. You can however use the address of any known material in these commands:

Default Options

Launches VLC in whichever mode is default and tunes the channel specified by the address:

DNS:
# vlc "udp://@news24.zepler.tv"
Raw Address
# vlc "udp://@[ff78:140:2001:630:d0:f000:feed:40]"

Interfaces

The following examples outline how to launch vlc with its many available interfaces:

NO Interfaces at all:
     # vlc -I dummy -V dummy -A dummy "udp://@news24.zepler.tv"
RC (command line interface)
     # vlc -I rc "udp://@news24.zepler.tv"
wxWidgets (defualt interface)
     # vlc -I wxWidgets "udp://@news24.zepler.tv"
nCursers (linux only) and why not!?!
     # vlc -I nCursers "udp://@news24.zepler.tv"

Verbose Output

Use Verbose output to debug any problems with vlc this may also help in finding any errors in the command options you are using.

# vlc -v "address"
or
# vlc -vv "address"
or
# vlc -vvv "address"

Advanced Options

With an overview of the command syntax now given other command can be easily picked if needed. These can normally be found in vlc help:

# vlc --help
or
# vlc --longhelp --advanced

Graphical Interface Control

The graphical interface does not provide such advanced options as the command line. The figure below explains the basics about tuning in to different types of streams.

From the File Menu, select Open Network Stream.
Type the address of your media in the relavent box:

ECS-TV Remote Control

This section outlines how to install and use the ECS-TV Remote on the Windows and Linux Platforms. Note:The linux machines in the ug-labs are already set up fully if you source CSLIB (see the ug homepage).

Installation

Windows XP (Normal)

Windows XP (Lab Machines)

Linux

Pre Install

Ensure java-1.5.0 or higher is installed and in your path.
Ensure VLC is installed in the default location (C:\program files\Videolan\VLC).

In the path means you can type 'java' in a console and this application will run.

Install:

Download the controller here.
Extract the files to your C:\ drive, this will create an ecstv_remote directory in C:\.
Download this file and this file to your Desktop.

Running:

Double click VLC_4_ECS-TV link, (this should start VLC)
Double click ecstv_remote.bat to start the controller.

Note: VLC must be run from the ECS-TV provided link for the remote to work.

Using the Remote

Note: Live broadcasts cannot be controlled in the Control Panel Section of the Remote.

When the remote starts you can pick a channel from the list of most popular freeview channels.
The VLC control panel allows you to interact with the streams performing operations such as pause and fast forward, as well as control the output volume.

Channel Listing - Find the number tap it in and press GO!

INFO: Interested in owning your own channel? click here
INFO: TV Like lectures will be only be controllable via the ECS-TV remote and not directly via the VLC interface.

Part 2 - Live Services