Many sites are IE (internet explorer) only as far as online video
compatibility is concerned:
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/03/open_source_reportingwhich_onl.html
How can you save the video as a file from the sites rather than
streaming it? In particular, there is an NBC windows media player
video I am trying to view. I don't have IE, only Firefox and Opera.
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/windows/ask-lifehacker-save-streaming-media-152967.php
there are several programs that can save streams for you. i can't
remember the one i used (long time ago, when i needed it), but
hidownload is one.
http://www.streamingstar.com/hidownload.htm . 50 day
trial.
another link:
http://all-streaming-media.com/record-video-stream/HiDownl...
by salehdidit on 02/06/06 06:04 PM
mms:// URLs are definitely (and frequently) not always available via
http. mms is not an http-like protocol (and, I believe, is often served
from some Microsoft audio/video content server, and /not/ IIS).
You can save these streams using mplayer with the -dumpstream option or
with a special program called mimms.
There are probably other programs available, but those are the two I
use.
by plumpy on 02/06/06 06:07 PM
The best way of saving these MMS streams is with a program called
FlashGet. Theoretically, it's shareware, but it doesn't seem to ever
ask me to register or pay for it in any way. It's available online at
http://www.amazesoft.com/ for download, Windows only.
With the software installed, you merely copy the MMS stream address and
then paste it into Flashget's "get file" command. The program will save
the stream as a WMV file (MMS and WMV are Microsoft's proprietary file
formats) and you can watch it over and over to your heart's content.
You can also use the software to download other files more quickly, as
it opens up several connections with the hosting server instead of just
one (I'm not too geeky, so I don't know how it works exactly, but it
just DOES.)
Sometimes you have to be a bit crafty when figuring out a stream's
address - but normally, opening up the file in Windows Media Player and
then viewing its properties will show you the address; alternately, if
you're having trouble finding the address, do a "Save As" of the stream
you want to download, then open up the file it saves with notepad.
Inside will be another MMS address; you can then plug this into
FlashGet.
by Benjamin on 02/06/06 06:12 PM
I've had the most success with Streambox VCR:
http://www.afterdawn.com/software/audio_software/audio_too...
Works very well for WMV, Real, MP3, etc.
by SubFuze on 02/06/06 07:35 PM
I've used streambox with very pleasant results in the past. The
download, which you may find by Googling "Streambox" comes with
wultiple versions, one of which is bound to work on your system. It's
free! Apparently, in Finland, it is now illegal to download streaming
media. I found the English version of the software on a German site.
Sound oxymoronic?
Keep in mind I haven't tried the techniques mentioned above, but I tend
to go with what has always worked for me, and that's StreamBox (also
known as Streambox VCR [Suite]).
by Scottrageous Web Design on 02/06/06 08:11 PM
Related, but might not work for this situation (I've only really used
this for .wav files).
If you know the name of the file you can create a basic HTML file and
then open it in your browser. All you really need to do is add a link
to a TXT file
Example: <a href=
http://www.example.zyx/demo.wav">Demo</a>
and save it with a .htm extension. Open in your browser, right click
"save as ..." and your done.
by Kanntara on 02/06/06 10:06 PM
there's an alternative solution ! (and it works with
real-wmv-streaming)
http://www.metagames-fr.com/Article125_Le-STREAMING-sur-PC...
It works using winpcap lib to capture traffic!
Unfortunately this web site is in French only, but since I'm a French
dude, i can help you if you do not understand everything!
by Kev on 02/07/06 01:45 AM
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. I found VideoLAN VLC media
player as the best solution (though not so intuitive to begin with) for
downloading streaming content. Once installed, use 'open capture
device' and 'stream output' options, and in 'settings' use the
destination URL, and dump raw input (by default it saves it in the VLC
program folder). The rawdump can then be opened with WM Player etc.
Signed,
Catching.. caught the stream
by jas on 02/07/06 03:47 PM
Though I may be a bit late, I have another alternative that no one else
has mentioned so far.
To capture the MMS protocol, I use SDP (
http://sdp.ppona.com). It's a
free and fairly simple program to record video sent in WMV format. For
other formats, such as RealMedia, I recommend NetTransport
(
http://www.xi-soft.com), which used to be free but unfortunately no
longer seems to be.
Finding the correct URLs to feed into these programs can be a bit of a
pain. One way that works for me is to forsake subtlety and use a packet
sniffer like Ethereal (
http://www.ethereal.com). I set it to capture
mode, then load the appropriate web page with my browser and check the
packet records for the GET request containing the real URL of the
streaming movie. Another method that usually works for MMS is to view
the HTML source of the page where the movie displays, search for the
tag and find the tag nearby. Copy the "value" attribute of this tag,
paste it into your web browser's address bar, and then view the source
of the resulting page, which should contain an mms:// URL that SDP can
use.
by Ebonmuse on 02/07/06 05:28 PM
The best stream catcher I am aware of is NetTransport from Xi Soft.
It's shareware that is functionally nagware, so you should buy it but
it doesn't self-terminate it keeps reminding you to purchase. It will
grab most streams including HTTP/S, MMS and RTSP and use download
acceleration (multiple stream segments). Also can function as a decent
download manager. It can be found at:
http://www.net-xfer.com/default.htm
by DanRP on 02/08/06 11:28 AM
The simplest and most user-friendly way I've found to save streamed
content is WM Recorder. (They have a REAL version, too.) It's not free,
but I found the software was so simple and elegently designed that I
was happy to pay for it!
http://www.wmrecorder.com/
by jeffbridges on 02/15/06 06:26 PM
