IPTV Live Video Encoding & Streaming MPEG-TS

Stream from MPEG-TS from Dreambox-like DVB-S devices

MPEG-TS can be encapsulated in udp unicast/multicast, rtp or http format. Enter the source URL like

udp://0.0.0.0:1234 (mpeg-ts over udp unicast)
udp://224.0.0.1:1234 (mpeg-ts over udp multicast)
rtp://224.0.0.1:1234 (mpeg-ts over rtp multicast)
http://192.168.0.1/mpeg-ts (mpeg-ts over http)

MPEG-TS Source Stream Selection

If you are streaming from Single/Multi Program Transport Stream (SPTS/MPTS), it is possible to choose program / stream in the source you prefer to output. To do that, go to IPVTL advanced channel settings -> MPEG-TS Input and pick the stream by either Program Number or PID.

By default, the video stream with max video size and the audio stream with max channels in the source are selected to output.

If Program Number is entered, all streams in that program are selected to output. Or else PID is entered, only the specified stream is selected to output. That means you need to choose audio, video or subtitle streams on your own.

The following example shows stream list of a MPEG-TS source, and demonstrates how to select video, audio and subtitle stream from it.

Stream MPEG-TS with subtitles

IPVTL is able to pass through the following subtitles in MPEG-TS format:

• DVB/DVD subtitle
• DVB teletext
• Closed Captioning (CEA/EIA-608, CEA/EIA-708)

Closed caption is passed through automatically during transcoding. No extra steps required.

DVB subtitle and teletext stream is also passed through by default. You may also select subtitle you preferred using MPEG-TS Input settings above.

Stream MPEG-TS over UDP/RTP to OTT STB

Choose MPEG-TS over UDP in Target Format, and enter target UDP/RTP address (IP:Port) on receiver side. Both muticast and unicast addresses are allowed, for example udp://192.168.0.1:1234 (udp unicast), or rtp://224.0.0.1:1234 (rtp multicast).

OTT / STB devices usually require strict compliance to MPEG-TS standard, like constant bit rate (CBR) and accurate PCR period. To stream to those devices, make sure to enable CBR, and set proper values for both Video Bitrate and Mux Bitrate in channel settings. That will produce CBR stream compliant with DVB ETSI TR 101 290.

Note Mux Bitrate MUST be higher than <Video bitrate> + <Audio bitrate>. Take an example below, video bitrate is set to 1600Kbps, audio bitrate 128Kbps, while Mux bitrate is 2000Kbps.

MPEG-TS metadata is configurable in IPVTL advanced channel settings -> MPEG-TS Output, including program number, program name, PMT PID, audio/video PID and provider name.

For MPTS output instructions, see Advanced MPTS Config below.

Please understand UDP/RTP streaming works in local network only. It is not supposed to serve over the internet, as UDP transportation is not reliable. For distant stream delivery, consider SRT instead.

Tip: If there are multiple network interfaces on the host, you can choose which one to stream in a udp multicast address, by appending "localaddr" option. For example udp://224.0.0.1:1234?localaddr=192.168.0.1.

Stream MPEG-TS over HTTP on local host interface

First configure HTTP Port to be bound to your local network interface in Global Settings. The default port number is 9527. Change it if the port is occupied by other applications on your machine.

Then Choose MPEG-TS over HTTP in Target Format. The output URL format is http://host_IP:http_port/ipvt/###, for example http://192.168.1.1:9527/ipvt_ch1. The URL can then be fed to streaming servers, or played in streaming players like VLC.

Different http output channels run on different TCP ports (starting from base port 9527). Please make sure the ports are available for listening.

Note: Although MPEG-TS over HTTP streaming can work over internet, it is not designed to provide stream distribution to large scale end users directly. If you have such requirements, consider using a 3rd party media streaming servers, like Wowza server or Nginx (see below).

To secure HTTP output streams from being exposed to unexpected streamers, go to Global Settings and enter IP address ACL (access control list) rules. The ACL syntax supports both blacklist and whitelist, which is very like syntax in nginx:

# whitelist
deny all
allow 127.0.0.1/8

# blacklist
allow all
deny 1.2.3.4

Note: Use ACL rules with caution, as it affects web console interface as well.

Mux Multiple Sources into Single MPTS

To create MPTS (multi-program ts) output, first set up several channels, which will work as MPTS sources and share a same output address. Right now MPEG-TS over UDP and SRT formats are allowed to output MPTS.

After source channels ready, choose one of them as the main channel. Bind other source channels to the main channel, by entering the main channel ID in their Bind columns.

In main channel's MPEG-TS Output settings, add a program for each source channel (see above screen shot). For each program, enter your preferred program number and the source number. Be careful with the source number. It is count in sequence from 1, which is to map the bound source channel to the output program.

That's it. To start MPTS streaming, just start the main channel. All source bound channels will start as well, along with the main channel.

Tip: Before starting the main channel, you can start each source channel separatedly to check their validity.