Playlists from the command-line
The web interface creates Playlist directories and files in the Playlists directory where the streaming server was installed. Each playlist directory will have files with the name of the playlist, and the following extensions:
.playlist
This file is the primary playlist file. Inside the file the individual files in the playlist will be listed followed by their weight (for weighted random playback).
.err
This file is will log any errors with the playlist. It is a useful file to analyze when trouble occurs with a playlist.
.log
This file is the playlist log file. If you have enabled logging on the playlist, this file will log activity.
.current
This file contains the name of the currently playing file. It can be useful when creating custom interfaces to Playlist broadcaster via web applications.
.upcoming
This file contains the name of the file that will play next. It can be useful when creating custom interfaces to Playlist broadcaster via web applications.
The web administration front-end calls PlaylistBroadcaster. It can also be called from the command-line. The command-line options for PlaylistBroadcaster are:
usage: PlaylistBroadcaster [-v] [-h] [-p] [-c] [-a] [-t] [-i destAddress]
[-e filename] [-f] [-d] [-l] [-s broadcastNum] filename
-v: Display version
-h: Display help
-p: Verify a broadcast description file and movie list.
-c: Show the current movie in the log file.
-a: Announce the broadcast to the server.
-t: Send the broadcast over TCP to the server.
-i: Specify the destination ip address. Over-rides config file value.
-e: Log errors to filename.
-f: Force a new SDP file to be created even if one already exists.
-d: Run attached to the terminal.
-l: List running currently broadcasts.
-s: Stop a running broadcast.
filename: Broadcast description filename.
For example, this config file:
playlist_file /Users/joeuser/Documents/test.playlist
play_mode sequential_looped
destination_ip_address 127.0.0.1
destination_base_port 9000
sdp_file /Library/QuickTimeStreaming/Movies/test.sdp
logging disabled
Combined with this playlist file:
*PLAY-LIST*
"/Library/QuickTimeStreaming/Movies/Eisenhower_Kennedy.mp4" 5
Can be started up from the command-line with the command:
sudo PlaylistBroadcaster -f -d test.config
Note: Running attached to a terminal session (with the -d flag) is a good way to troubleshoot problems with Playlists. The PlaylistBroadcaster command could be called by server cron jobs for scheduled broadcasting.