Install | Use | CUE-OUT | CUE-IN | SCTE-35 Tags | Sidecar SCTE35 | Byterange m3u8 | Playlists | Live hls | Bugs | Online SCTE-35 encoder

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Q. Is x9k3 production ready?

A. I believe so.

I have an x9k3 instance on my server that has been running for 530 Days nonstop.

• Output so far 13.6 TerraBytes
• Memory usage 3.5 MegaBytes.
• CPU usage 0.5%
• check it out: https://iodisco.com/bb/index.m3u8

Current Version: v.0.2.57

The only supported version is the current version. Keep up.

• Some of the new stuff:
  • x9k3 can now generate byterange m3u8 files with -b or --byterange
  • Playlists can now be used as input.
  • Segment start time is now always read, never calculated.
  • Segment duration verification for segments that exceed the target duration.
  • adbreak script to generate SCTE-35 Cues.
  • m3u8 files as input. Resegment and add SCTE-35 to an existing m3u8. -i INPUT, --input INPUT
  • continue an m3u8 file. Segments may be added to an existing m3u8, VOD or live. -c, --continue_m3u8
  • discontinuity tags may now be omitted. -n, --no_discontinuity
  • auto CUE-IN
  • live throttling can be disabled with the -N, --no_throttle flag

Heads Up

adbreak

• included with x9k3
• adbreak generates SCTE35 Cues for CUE-OUT and CUE-IN in a sidecar file.

$ adbreak -h
usage: adbreak [-h] [-d DURATION] [-p PTS] [-s SIDECAR]

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -d DURATION, --duration DURATION
                        set duration of ad break. [ default: 60.0 ]
  -p PTS, --pts PTS     set start pts for ad break. Not setting pts will
                        generate a Splice Immediate CUE-OUT. [ default: 0.0 ]
  -s SIDECAR, --sidecar SIDECAR
                        Sidecar file of SCTE-35 (pts,cue) pairs. [ default:
                        sidecar.txt ]

• Usage:

adbreak --pts 1234.567890 --duration 30 --sidecar sidecar.txt

• sidecar file has SCTE-35 Cues for CUE-OUT and CUE-IN

1234.56789,/DAlAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAABf+/+Bp9rxv4AKTLgAAEAAAAAhzvmvQ==
1264.56789,/DAgAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAAABf0/+BsiepgABAAAAAPh51T0=

• pass to x9k3

x9k3 -i input.ts -s sidecar.txt

Features

• SCTE-35 Cues in Mpegts Streams are Translated into HLS tags.
• SCTE-35 Cues can be added from a Sidecar File.
• Segments are Split on SCTE-35 Cues as needed.
• Segments Start on iframes.
• Supports h264 and h265 .
• Multi-protocol. Input sources may be Files, Http(s), Multicast, and Unicast UDP streams.
• Supports Live Streaming.
• amt-play uses x9k3.

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Requires

• python 3.6+ or pypy3
• threefive
• new_reader
• iframes

Install

• Use pip to install the the x9k3 lib and executable script x9k3 (will install threefive, new_reader and iframes too)

# python3

python3 -mpip install x9k3

# pypy3 

pypy3 -mpip install x9k3

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Details

• X-SCTE35, X-CUE, X-DATERANGE, or X-SPLICEPOINT HLS tags can be generated. set with the --hls_tag switch.

• reading from stdin now available

• Segments are cut on iframes.

• Segment time is 2 seconds or more, determined by GOP size. Can be set with the -t switch or by setting X9K3.args.time

• Segments are named seg1.ts seg2.ts etc...

• For SCTE-35, Video segments are cut at the the first iframe >= the splice point pts.

• If no pts time is present in the SCTE-35 cue, the segment is cut at the next iframe.

• SCTE-35 cues with a preroll are inserted at the splice point.

How to Use

cli

a@fu:~/x9k3-repo$ x9k3 -h
usage: x9k3 [-h] [-i INPUT] [-b] [-c] [-d] [-l] [-n] [-N] [-o OUTPUT_DIR] [-p]
            [-r] [-s SIDECAR_FILE] [-S] [-t TIME] [-T HLS_TAG]
            [-w WINDOW_SIZE] [-v]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

  -i INPUT, --input INPUT
                        The Input video can be mpegts or m3u8 with mpegts
                        segments, or a playlist with mpegts files and/or
                        mpegts m3u8 files. The input can be a local video,
                        http(s), udp, multicast or stdin.

  -b, --byterange       Flag for byterange hls [default:False]

  -c, --continue_m3u8   Resume writing index.m3u8 [default:False]

  -d, --delete          delete segments (enables --live) [default:False]

  -l, --live            Flag for a live event (enables sliding window m3u8)
                        [default:False]
  -n, --no_discontinuity
                        Flag to disable adding #EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY tags at
                        splice points [default:False]

  -N, --no-throttle     disable live throttling [default:False]

  -o OUTPUT_DIR, --output_dir OUTPUT_DIR
                        Directory for segments and index.m3u8(created if
                        needed) [default:'.']

  -p, --program_date_time
                        Flag to add Program Date Time tags to index.m3u8 (
                        enables --live) [default:False]

  -r, --replay          Flag for replay aka looping (enables --live,--delete)
                        [default:False]

  -s SIDECAR_FILE, --sidecar_file SIDECAR_FILE
                        Sidecar file of SCTE-35 (pts,cue) pairs.
                        [default:None]

  -S, --shulga          Flag to enable Shulga iframe detection mode
                        [default:False]

  -t TIME, --time TIME  Segment time in seconds [default:2]

  -T HLS_TAG, --hls_tag HLS_TAG
                        x_scte35, x_cue, x_daterange, or x_splicepoint
                        [default:x_cue]

  -w WINDOW_SIZE, --window_size WINDOW_SIZE
                        sliding window size (enables --live) [default:5]

  -v, --version         Show version

Example Usage

local file as input

   x9k3 -i video.mpegts

multicast stream as input with a live sliding window

x9k3 --live -i udp://@235.35.3.5:3535

Live mode works with a live source or static files.

• x9k3 will throttle segment creation to mimic a live stream.

x9k3 --live -i /some/video.ts

live sliding window and deleting expired segments

x9k3  -i udp://@235.35.3.5:3535 --delete

https stream for input, and writing segments to an output directory

• directory will be created if it does not exist.

  x9k3 -i https://so.slo.me/longb.ts --output_dir /home/a/variant0

https hls m3u8 for input, and inserting SCTE-35 from a sidecar file, and continuing from a previously create index.m3u8 in the output dir

  x9k3 -i https://slow.golf/longb.m3u8 --output_dir /home/a/variant0 -continue_m3u8 -s sidecar.txt

using stdin as input

cat video.ts | x9k3

live m3u8 file as input, add SCTE-35 from a sidecar file, change segment duration to 3 and output as live stream

x9k3 -i https://example.com/rendition.m3u8 -s sidecar.txt -t 3 -l

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Programmatically

Up and Running in three Lines

        from x9k3 import X9K3            # 1
        x9 = X9K3('/home/a/cool.ts')     # 2
        x9.decode()                      # 3

Writing Code with x9k3

• you can get a complete set of args and the defaults like this

from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()

>>>> {print(k,':',v) for k,v in vars(x9.args).items()}

input : <_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>
continue_m3u8 : False
delete : False
live : False
no_discontinuity : False
no_throttle : False
output_dir : .
program_date_time : False
replay : False
sidecar_file : None
shulga : False
time : 2
hls_tag : x_cue
window_size : 5
version : False

• or just

>>>> print(x9.args)

Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=False, no_discontinuity=False, no_throttle=False, output_dir='.', program_date_time=False, replay=False, sidecar_file=None, shulga=False, time=2, hls_tag='x_cue', window_size=5, version=False)

• Setting parameters

from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()

• input source

x9.args.input = "https://futzu.com/xaa.ts"   

• hls_tag can be x_scte35, x_cue, x_daterange, or x_splicepoint

x9.args.hls tag = x_cue 

• output directory default is "."

x9.args.output_dir="/home/a/stuff"

• live

x9.args.live = True

• replay (loop video) ( also sets live )

x9.args.replay = True

• delete segments when they expire ( also sets live )

x9.args.delete = True

• add program date time tags ( also sets live )

x9.args.program_date_time= True

• set window size for live mode ( requires live )

x9.args.window_size = 5 

• run

x9.decode()

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byterange

• with the cli tool
  • use full path to video file when creating byterange m3u8.

x9k3 -i /home/a/input.ts -b

• programmatically

from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()
x9.self.args.byterange = True
x9.decode()

• output

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:3
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:0
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY-SEQUENCE:0
#EXT-X-X9K3-VERSION:0.2.55
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:135548@0
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:137992@135548
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:134796@273540
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:140436@408336
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:130096@548772
msnbc1000.ts
<SNIP>

playlists

• playlists can be used as input

• playlist files must end in .playlist

• lines are video or video, sidecar

  • if video,sidecar, the sidecar file only applies to that video

• playlists can have mpegts video, mpegts m3u8, and playlists.

• example playlist

f10.ts,f10sidecar.txt # comments can be here
f17.ts
f60.ts
flat-striped.ts
# Comments can go here too.
flat.ts
input.ts
nmax.ts
nmx.ts,nmx-sidecar.txt
https://futzu.com/xaa.ts
https://example.com/index.m3u8,another-sidecar.txt

• using

 x9k3 -i out.playlist

Sidecar Files

load scte35 cues from a Sidecar file

Sidecar Cues will be handled the same as SCTE35 cues from a video stream.
line format for text file insert_pts, cue

pts is the insert time for the cue, A four second preroll is standard. cue can be base64,hex, int, or bytes

a@debian:~/x9k3$ cat sidecar.txt

38103.868589, /DAxAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAABdf+/+zHRtOn4Ae6DOAAAAAAAMAQpDVUVJsZ8xMjEqLYemJQ== 
38199.918911, /DAsAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAABef0/+zPACTQAAAAAADAEKQ1VFSbGfMTIxIxGolm0= 

    

x9k3 -i  noscte35.ts  -s sidecar.txt 

In Live Mode you can do dynamic cue injection with a Sidecar file

touch sidecar.txt

x9k3 -i vid.ts -s sidecar.txt -l 

# Open another terminal and printf cues into sidecar.txt

printf '38103.868589, /DAxAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAABdf+/+zHRtOn4Ae6DOAAAAAAAMAQpDVUVJsZ8xMjEqLYemJQ==\n' > sidecar.txt

Sidecar files can now accept 0 as the PTS insert time for Splice Immediate.

Specify 0 as the insert time, the cue will be insert at the start of the next segment. Using 0 only works in live mode

printf '0,/DAhAAAAAAAAAP/wEAUAAAAJf78A/gASZvAACQAAAACokv3z\n' > sidecar.txt

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A CUE-OUT can be terminated early using a sidecar file.

In the middle of a CUE-OUT send a splice insert with the out_of_network_indicator flag not set and the splice immediate flag set. Do the steps above , and then do this

printf '0,/DAcAAAAAAAAAP/wCwUAAAABfx8AAAEAAAAA3r8DiQ==\n' > sidecar.txt

It will cause the CUE-OUT to end at the next segment start.

#EXT-X-CUE-OUT 13.4
./seg5.ts:	start:112.966667	end:114.966667	duration:2.233334
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 2.233334/13.4
./seg6.ts:	start:114.966667	end:116.966667	duration:2.1
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 4.333334/13.4
./seg7.ts:	start:116.966667	end:118.966667	duration:2.0
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 6.333334/13.4
./seg8.ts:	start:117.0	        end:119.0	duration:0.033333
#EXT-X-CUE-IN None
./seg9.ts:	start:119.3	        end:121.3	duration:2.3

Using 0 only works in live mode

---

CUES

CUE-OUT

A CUE-OUT is defined as:

• A Splice Insert Command with:

  • the out_of_network_indicator set to True
  • a break_duration.

• A Time Signal Command and a Segmentation Descriptor with:

  • a segmentation_duration
  • a segmentation_type_id of:
    • 0x22: "Break Start",
    • 0x30: "Provider Advertisement Start",
    • 0x32: "Distributor Advertisement Start",
    • 0x34: "Provider Placement Opportunity Start",
    • 0x36: "Distributor Placement Opportunity Start",
    • 0x44: "Provider Ad Block Start",
    • 0x46: "Distributor Ad Block Start",

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CUE-IN

A CUE-IN is defined as:

• A Splice Insert Command

  • with the out_of_network_indicator set to False

• A Time Signal Command and a Segmentation Descriptor with:

  • a segmentation_type_id of:

    • 0x23: "Break End",
    • 0x31: "Provider Advertisement End",
    • 0x33: "Distributor Advertisement End",
    • 0x35: "Provider Placement Opportunity End",
    • 0x37: "Distributor Placement Opportunity End",
    • 0x45: "Provider Ad Block End",
    • 0x47: "Distributor Ad Block End",

• For CUE-OUT and CUE-IN, only the first Segmentation Descriptor will be used

---

Supported HLS Tags

• #EXT-X-CUE
• #EXT-X-DATERANGE
• #EXT-X-SCTE35
• #EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT

x_cue

• CUE-OUT

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT:242.0
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts

• CUE-OUT-CONT

#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT:4.796145/242.0
#EXTINF:2.12,

• CUE-IN

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-CUE-IN
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_scte35

• CUE-OUT

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=" ,CUE-OUT=YES 
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts

• CUE-OUT-CONT

#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=" ,CUE-OUT=CONT
#EXTINF:2.12,
seg33.ts

• CUE-IN

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAqAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAAKWf0//4rZw2AABAAAACgAIQ1VFSQAAAAAtegE5" ,CUE-IN=YES 
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_daterange

• CUE-OUT

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="1",START-DATE="2022-10-14T17:36:58.321731Z",PLANNED-DURATION=242.0,SCTE35-OUT=0xfc302f00000000000000fff01405000002967fefffe16a1ab87e014c562000010000000a00084355454900000000ebf5a2a7
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts

• CUE-IN

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="2",END-DATE="2022-10-14T17:36:58.666073Z",SCTE35-IN=0xfc302a00000000000000fff00f05000002967f4fffe2b670d800010000000a000
843554549000000002d7a0139
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_splicepoint

• CUE-OUT

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT-SCTE35:/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts

• CUE-IN

#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT-SCTE35:/DAqAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAAKWf0//4rZw2AABAAAACgAIQ1VFSQAAAAAtegE5
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

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VOD

• x9k3 defaults to VOD style playlist generation.
• All segment are listed in the m3u8 file.

Live

• Activated by the --live, --delete, or --replay switch or by setting X9K3.live=True

--live

• Like VOD except:
  • M3u8 manifests are regenerated every time a segment is written
  • Segment creation is throttled when using non-live sources to simulate live streaming. ( like ffmpeg's "-re" )
  • default Sliding Window size is 5, it can be changed with the -w switch or by setting X9k3.window.size

--delete

• implies --live
• deletes segments when they move out of the sliding window of the m3u8.

--replay

• implies --live
• implies --delete
• loops a video file and throttles segment creation to fake a live stream.

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