x9k3 0.1.91

A SCTE-35 Aware HLS Segmenter

Install | Use | CUE-OUT | CUE-IN | SCTE-35 Tags | Sidecar SCTE35 | Live | Bugs

---

x9k3 ABR is coming!

HLS + SCTE35 = x9k3

x9k3 is a HLS segmenter with SCTE-35 parsing and cue injection.

Latest is v.0.1.91

• 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.
• Supports h264 and h265 .
• Multi-protocol. Input sources may be Files, Http(s), Multicast, and Udp streams.
• Supports Live Streaming.
• amt-play uses x9k3.

---

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

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

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

using stdin as input

cat video.ts | x9k3

Cli tool

a@debian:~/build/x9k3$ x9k3 -h
usage: x9k3 [-h] [-i INPUT] [-o OUTPUT_DIR] [-s SIDECAR] [-t TIME]
            [-T HLS_TAG] [-w WINDOW_SIZE] [-d] [-l] [-r] [-S] [-v] [-p]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -i INPUT, --input INPUT  
                        Input source, like "/home/a/vid.ts" or
                        "udp://@235.35.3.5:3535" or "https://futzu.com/xaa.ts"
                                             
  -o OUTPUT_DIR, --output_dir OUTPUT_DIR
                        Directory for segments and index.m3u8 ( created if it
                        does not exist )
  -s SIDECAR, --sidecar SIDECAR
                        Sidecar file of scte35 cues. each line contains PTS,
                        Cue
  -t TIME, --time TIME  Segment time in seconds ( default is 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(default:5)
  -d, --delete          delete segments ( enables --live )
  -l, --live            Flag for a live event ( enables sliding window m3u8 )
  -r, --replay          Flag for replay (looping) ( enables --live and
                        --delete )
  -S, --shulga          Flag to enable Shulga iframe detection mode
  -v, --version         Show version
  -p, --program_date_time
                        Flag to add Program Date Time tags to index.m3u8 (
                        enables --live)

Programmatically

x9 = X9K3("https://iodisco.com/fu.ts")
x9.run()

Setting parameters

• create an instance.

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 )

self.args.program_date_time= True

• set window size for live mode ( requires live )

x9.args.window_size = 5 

• run

x9.run()

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

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:
    • 0x10: "Program Start",
    • 0x20: "Chapter Start"
    • 0x22: "Break Start",
    • 0x30: "Provider Advertisement Start",
    • 0x32: "Distributor Advertisement Start",
    • 0x34: "Provider Placement Opportunity Start",
    • 0x36: "Distributor Placement Opportunity Start",
    • 0x3C: "Provider Promo Start",
    • 0x3E: "Distributor Promo Start",
    • 0x44: "Provider Ad Block Start",
    • 0x46: "Distributor Ad Block Start",

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:
    • 0x11: "Program End",
    • 0x21: "Chapter End",
    • 0x23: "Break End",
    • 0x31: "Provider Advertisement End",
    • 0x33: "Distributor Advertisement End",
    • 0x35: "Provider Placement Opportunity End",
    • 0x37: "Distributor Placement Opportunity End",
    • 0x3D: "Provider Promo End",
    • 0x3F: "Distributor Promo 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

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.