INTERACT FORUM

More => Old Versions => Media Center 12 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: Gl3nn on February 28, 2007, 08:54:33 am

Title: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: Gl3nn on February 28, 2007, 08:54:33 am
I think I already know the answer but...

One of my favorite local stations has just switched to a Real Player only format for streaming their content.  Don't ask me why, it worked great before.  Anyway, is there any way to make this work in MC12?

Very frustrating when they tell you to "just download the free player"...

Thanks.
Title: Re: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: thenoob1 on February 28, 2007, 01:33:36 pm
Yes but you need the K lite codec mega pack. There you find the Realalternative player which can handle this. But be carefull:
during the installation k lite selects the windows mpalternative as default..... deselect it and Mc12 will handle it.
Title: Re: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: marko on February 28, 2007, 07:07:22 pm
If you don't fancy Klite, go here and find standalone installers for alternatives for realplayer and quicktime
Final Builds Site --> http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/finalbuilds.htm  (scroll down)

:)
Title: Re: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: Gl3nn on March 01, 2007, 12:48:38 am
Thanks... but, wow, this stuff is kinda over my head.

It seems that "Real Alternative 1.51 Lite" is what I want since the stream is a .ra file.  But, what, exactly am I installing?  A driver/interpreter?  And do I need to somehow tell MC where it is and when to use it?

If there's a simple "how-to" somewhere you could point me to, I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks... and sorry for being a noob at this.

Title: Re: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: marko on March 01, 2007, 03:37:57 am
real alternative installs the real codecs needed to decode the stream plus the registry entries needed so that other programs, such as MC, can find and use them.

In laymans terms, you're installing realplayer without all the garbage that traditionally comes with full installer. All you need to do is install it, make sure MC is associated with the real file formats (tools > options > file associations) and then get MC to load the url that points to the stream and off you go.

That's the simple theory.
Sadly, it's often not as simple as all that.
Take the BBC website for example. They state that the only way to listen to their streams is by using their web-based stream player, but with a little detective work scanning the source code of the webpage it's possible to find the direct address for the stream and then enter that directly into MC (File > Open URL) and then you have BBC Radio 2 playing through MC :)

The best you can hope for is that you install the codecs, click the link, and MC opens and plays the thing. In my experience that's rarely the case though, and a little detective work is required more often than not.

happy hunting :)
Title: Re: Real-Player-Only Streaming Site
Post by: Gl3nn on March 02, 2007, 12:34:19 am
Thanks a lot for the explanation, Marko.  Will give it a try.