slingbox_capture

Slingbox Capture

Version v1p0b of kmttg introduced a new capability of being able to capture Slingbox video output directly on your local network (LAN). This can be useful for multiple reasons:

• Make a clip of a bug or feature while interacting with your Slingbox connected TiVo.
• Record a copy protected show that can't be downloaded directly from the TiVo.
• Make a small clip of small section of a recorded show.

NOTE: This capability is heavily based on a Perl script posted by user Slinguist at Place Shifting Enthusiasts Forum.

This Wiki describes how to configure kmttg to use this capability.

Step 1 - Installing Perl

You will need a free Perl installation to get started. Perl is a multi-platform scripting language and there are multiple Perl distributions available. I normally use ActivePerl.

Step 2 - Installing Perl module Crypt::Tea_JS

You will need to install a special Crypt::Tea_JS module that does not come standard with a Perl installation using the Perl Package Manager that comes with you Perl installation.

• Start Perl Package Manager
• View->All Packages
• Find and click on Crypt-Tea_JS
• Action->Install
• File->Run Marked Actions

Step 3 - Enable Slingbox tab in kmttg

Using kmttg v1p0b or later you can enable the Slingbox tab via kmttg configuration:

• File-Configure...
• Click on Visual tab
• Enable Show Slingbox capture tab option

Once you enable above option you will see a Slingbox tab in kmttg GUI.

Step 4 - Discovering and Setting Slingbox IP and port

On Slingbox tab in kmttg you will need to enter your Slingbox IP address and port.

You can find IP and port information for your Slingboxes by visiting: http://support.slingbox.com and the clicking on Details about your Slingbox: Open link.

Alternatively for newer Slingboxes with web based player, the easy way to find your Slingbox IP and port settings is as follows:

• Start the web based player the usual way (login if needed): http://newwatch.slingbox.com/#SettingsPageFacade/index
• Click on Settings
• Click on NETWORK DETAILS
• You can now see HOME IP Address and Network Port (typically 5201)

For older Slingboxes using the SlingPlayer software you can find IP & port settings as follows:

• Start SlingPlayer
• Choose Help-About My Slingbox
• Click on Information tab
• Find information you need: IP Address and Port (typically 5001)

Step 5 - Slingbox admin password

You need to provide your Slingbox admin password. For older Slingboxes this password is user configured. However for newer Slingbox 350/500 units the admin password is auto-generated by Slingbox and not normally visible or known by the user, but you can discover it as follows:

• Visit following URL(login if needed): https://newwatchsecure.slingbox.com/watch/slingAccounts/account_boxes_js
• Different browsers behave differently displaying the JavaScript contents of this page. For Firefox the contents are normally directly visible. For Internet Explorer choose Save-Save As to save the account_boxes_js.js file to your computer. Then open the file using a text editor such as Notepad or better.
• Look for adminPassword that goes with the admin username. For newer Slingbox 350/500 units this is a 15 digit mixed-case alphanumeric password. NOTE: If you have more than 1 Slingbox on your account then there will be more than 1 such entry, so make sure you are grabbing from the right Slingbox.
• Copy and paste the password to kmttg Slingbox password field.

Step 6 - Remaining kmttg settings

• For Perl executable provide the full path to perl.exe binary on Windows platform or perl binary on other platforms. This is the executable corresponding to your Perl installation.
• Set Slingbox capture file directory to a valid directory on your computer. This is where the Slingbox video capture files will be saved.
• File name - (Optional) If left empty then kmttg will use a unique time based file name, else uses the provided file name.
• For Slingbox model it's very important to choose the correct model since this affects which Perl script and options are used. NOTE: First generation Slingbox classic models won't work, but more recent Slingbox Solo or later models should work.
• Capture raw file - If enabled then the raw Slingbox output is captured to asf file without using ffmpeg to transcode audio to ac3 and remux to selected video container.

Capturing Slingbox output

Now that configuration is complete you can now use the kmttg Slingbox tab Start button to start a capture from your Slingbox. You have some control over the video resolution and bit rate that you wish to use for the capture.

• Video container to use - choose between mpegts (mpeg2 transport stream container) or matroska (mkv container). For Slingbox Pro box captures the H.264 that it puts out in TS container cannot be edited by VideoRedo TVSuite software, so choosing matroska container option allows generation of captures that can be edited with VideoRedo. NOTE: If Capture raw file setting is enabled then this setting is ignored as the output will be in Slingbox native asf container.
• Video resolution - choose between 1920x1080 or 640x480. NOTE: 1920x1080 only works for Slingbox 350/500 models. Slingbox Pro models will give you 640x480 resolution.
• Video bit rate (Kbps) - this applies to 1920x1080 resolution captures for Slingbox 350/500 models. If choosing 640x480 resolution this setting will not affect the resulting capture.

Click on Start button to start a capture.
Click on Stop button to stop the capture.

NOTE: During the capture kmttg pipes the video output from the Perl script through ffmpeg to remux to Transport Stream container and transcode audio to AC3 (video is copied, not transcoded).

Captured Video Files

Unless you specify a file name for File name field, kmttg uses file naming syntax that includes the current date down to nearest second as part of the name. An example file name is:

• slingbox_2013_06_16_07_44_01.ts
• Note that video is in H.264 format for these newer Slingbox models.

You should be able to play captured clips using VideoLAN VLC player and can edit clips using VideoRedo TVSuite.
You can play the files in Windows Media Player if you install the Haali Media Splitter and ffdshow tryout codecs.