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[jsmith967]

Hello,

I often watch sporting events via SlingTV or a cable provider's login. This is through the browser. How can I capture these for later viewing? Also, like a real DVR, I'm looking to start watching a sporting event that is still going, say 30 minutes after a game starts, so that I can fast forward through the commercials. Any way to do this?

[RoderickGI]

I often watch sporting events via SlingTV or a cable provider's login. This is through the browser. How can I capture these for later viewing?

Streams are an issue. Mostly, you can't record a video input stream. In fact, the only video input streams MC handles are TV, using a tuner, and not from a separate box unless you are using "tuner" hardware that presents the stream as a TV source. I haven't used those and don't know too much about them. There are various discussions on the forum about using the SiliconDust HDHomerun devices. I believe in America you can get their products that support a video+audio stream from a cable service.

If MC is aware of the stream and play it in its internal player, then you get the options as per the YouTube example shown in the attached image. i.e. One of the options is to download the YouTube file and add it to the Library.

Also, like a real DVR, I'm looking to start watching a sporting event that is still going, say 30 minutes after a game starts, so that I can fast forward through the commercials. Any way to do this?

Well, start a recording any way you like, and then watch either the recording, which will be visible in MC, or play the channel it is on. In either case you can skip forward and backwards as you like, as MC will use the Time Shift files when watching the channel, or the recording files. I set my Time Shifting buffer to four hours so I can basically watch a whole program from them.

[jsmith967]

I see, thank you for the response.

I wonder if I open up the stream in JRiver web browser if it would allow me to record the stream that way. Would that "present the stream" as TV to JRiver? I suppose that since it will for Youtube, there is a possibility of it doing it for ESPN.

[RoderickGI]

You can download streams from YouTube because it has had special handling by JRiver. You can't actually record YouTube videos, just watch them, save a link to them, or download them.

You can do that for some other streaming sources, but it is a bit hit and miss, and depends on how the source works, I think. Most streaming video sources played in the browser inside MC just play in the browser, and don't even use the MC Player. As a simple check, if MC's Audio Path doesn't show what audio is being played, then the video is just being played in the browser.

I don't have SlingTV (can't get it in Australia anyway), so I don't know if MC could download the video or not, or play it in MC's Player. I would think not for a commercial streaming service. But try it.

Note: If you try to open a video stream by clicking on it in a browser window inside MC, and there is no popup asking what you want to do with the stream, cancel that and then hold the Ctrl key while clicking. Then MC will offer the options to "Show the web page", "Play the file inside the player", "Add the link to my library (no download)", and "Download the file and add it to my library".

PS: Some have said you can add a stream URL to a Playlist, and then it can be played by playing the Playlist.

Disclaimer: I don't have any commercial video services, so don't have lots of experience in this except for YouTube and a couple of other sites. Therefore, I could be wrong!