Force HD feeds from abc/nbc/cbs.com

[diggitydug]

Hello -

I have several computers in my house, and none are able to play HD from any of the major stations (ABC, NBC, or CBS). In fact, even some of the higher quality SD streams seem to struggle. So after finding Replay Media Catcher, it turns out that my computer can handle decoding the streams just fine, there's just some MAJOR over-head associated with the Flash & web browser integration, or my connection isn't fast enough.

I used to be able to tell the full episode players that I wanted to watch the HD stream, and as such, Reply Media Catcher would download the HD stream. Recently all the stations have went to the new "dynamic" speed selectors that never seem to think my system and/or connection can play HD.

Here are a few examples of streams that for whatever reason that actually *did* download as HD, then below that, a few examples of the SD streams.

HD Examples
---------------
rtmp://67.148.47.61:80/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp37307.edgefcs.net<break>nbcu/nbc2/91c35477039c0c42339214b1f3b1de2c_1500

rtmp://67.148.71.46:1935/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp37307.edgefcs.net<break>nbcu/nbc2/21e9a6d7039c0c4207f427310ad37a2e_1500

SD Examples
--------------
rtmp://67.148.47.61:80/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp37307.edgefcs.net<break>mp4: nbcu/nbc-hls/496fed67039c0c426405ce405b73c067_0496.mp4

rtmp://63.235.28.207:80/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp37307.edgefcs.net<break>nbcu/nbc2/d9bdffd2039c0c427953113d290af4ae_0500

From these examples, it *looks like* the last four digits are the bit rate, but after trying a few manual URLs in RMC, it says the file's not found when I manually change the "0500" to "1500". I'm guessing that GUID before that number probably also needs to have a few characters changed.

Is anyone familiar with the way the stations generate these URLs? Or even better, do you know any way to change the data sent back to the server to make it *think* that my computer can handle the HD feeds?

Thanks,

Replacing the digits was working fine for CBS HD:
http://stream-recorder.com/forum/sho...48&postcount=6

The URLs may expire quickly though.

[diggitydug]

I'll give that a shot for CBS, does anyone have any experience with NBC or ABC?

Originally Posted by placebo

Try GetFLV
it gives you all choices of resolution formats

Have you tried it on ABS, NBC, CBS?

[placebo]

maybe we need some study cases with testpage urls.

+ first of all i need webpages which clearly state the screenable video resolutions. if someone here on this forum says "1020p", then i dont believe it unless he/she links me to the official webpage stating or indicating it. "HD" is a relative term and may be used differently by different companies. we're talking here of 3 different TV stations! Typically "HD" means "720p" in internet broadcastings, see Hulu or youtube: when they say (of If they say) "HD", then they mean "720p" and not "1024p" or higher.

+ and even terms such as "SD" and "HD" are not clear to the average user unless you study the 2 wikipedia articles in full-length, which would take maybe 2-3 hours.

+ terms such as "720p" or "1080i" or "1080p" are unclear to the average user too, so dont use them either. What everybody here understands is resolution dimensions such as "720x 480" or "1024x768" etc.

+ i need someone to propose a specific testpage url (something VERY current or recent). then i'll do a series of screenshots of GetFLV. ABC, NBC and CBS are officially supported websites by GetFLV: all their possible resolution formats!

+ and one of the rtmpdump fans (KSV, Ed999, Steven, chap, hyc, rtmpexplorer, ..) could post their findings too

+ in summary, @diggitydug,
1. name me a testpage url (video link)
2. name me the exact resolution format (dimensions, e.g. 480x600pixels) you want the video in
3. prove me that your video is being broadcasted in this resolution format (e.g. official webpage detailing on the different video dimensions). to be clear, you cannot demand "2048x1024"-videos if the highest quality on their servers doesnt go up until "800x600".
==> 4. i will prove then that GetFLV downloads your video in your specified dimensions.

ABC, NBC, CBS are a piece of cake for GetFLV, any resolution format, .. the problem is that the v9.0.0.3 version has a little bug: new users cant test the software ("your license has expired"-error message). i am sure that a working trial/demo mode of GetFLV will be reintroduced in v9.0.0.4+

good luck.

[placebo]

CBS streams in HD over the inernet, see cbs.com/hd.
ABC doesnt stream in HD over the internet, only on TV.
NBC doesnt stream in HD over the internet, only on TV, see nbc.com/Footer/HDTV/.

You cannot force HD feeds from NBC or ABC because they dont stream in HD.

very simple.