x9k3 0.2.35

A SCTE-35 Aware HLS Segmenter

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

---

HLS + SCTE35 = x9k3

x9k3 is a HLS segmenter with SCTE-35 injection and parsing, powered by threefive.

---

Heads Up

Segment duration is open to interpretation... wait, let me explain.

threefive and ffmpeg may report different durations for segments.
threefive use absolute PTS values and always start on an iframe.
In the tables below, four segments are compared.
Reported start and reported duration are values returned from the tool.
Calculate duration is (next segment start - this segment start)

• threefive (what x9k3 uses)

segment	reported start	reported duration	calculated duration
seg0.ts	3164.376089	2.0	2.0
seg1.ts	3166.376089	2.0	2.0
seg2.ts	3168.376089	2.0	2.0
seg3.ts	3170.376089	2.0	2.0

• ffmpeg

segment	reported start	reported duration	calculated duration
seg0.ts	3164.376089	2.0	0.361333
seg1.ts	3164.737422	3.64	2.047999
seg2.ts	3166.785422	3.59	3.59
seg3.ts	3170.376089	2.0	0.356000

What does it all mean?

I don't know.

---

Current Version:

v.0.2.35

test	command	score	previous
cyclomatic complexity	radon cc -s -a x9k3.py	A (2.769230)	A (2.818181)
pylint	pylint x9k3.py	9.97 / 10	9.94 / 10

• Some of the new stuff:
  • m3u8 files as input. Resegment and add SCTE-35 to an existing m3u8. -i INPUT, --input INPUT
  • 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

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.

---

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

All x9k3 options

switch	description
-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 or https://example.com/not_a_master.m3u8 [default: stdin]
-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

a@fu:~/x9k3-repo$ x9k3 -h

usage: x9k3 [-h] [-i INPUT] [-c] [-d] [-l] [-n] [-o OUTPUT_DIR] [-p] [-r]
            [-s SIDECAR_FILE] [-S] [-t TIME] [-T HLS_TAG] [-w WINDOW_SIZE]
            [-v]


options:

  -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 or
                        https://example.com/not_a_master.m3u8 [default: stdin]

  -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]

  -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

Cli tool

New Option, -c or --continue_m3u8 Continue an existing index.m3u8. (Only works with x9k3 generated m3u8 files)

a@fu:~/x9k3-repo$ x9k3 -h

usage: x9k3 [-h] [-i INPUT] [-c] [-d] [-l] [-n] [-o OUTPUT_DIR] [-p] [-r]
            [-s SIDECAR_FILE] [-S] [-t TIME] [-T HLS_TAG] [-w WINDOW_SIZE]
            [-v]


options:

  -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 or
                        https://example.com/not_a_master.m3u8 [default: stdin]

  -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]

  -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

Programmatically (writing code with x9k3)

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

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()

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

from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()
print(x9.args)

Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=False, no_discontinuity=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)

• argue can also be called to get the defaults

>>>> from x9k3 import X9K3, argue
>>>> args = argue()

>>>> args
Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=False, no_discontinuity=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)

>>>> args.replay =True
>>>> args.live = True
>>>> args.time = 6
>>>> args.window_size = 10

>>>> args
Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=True, no_discontinuity=False, output_dir='.', program_date_time=False, replay=True, sidecar_file=None, shulga=False, time=6, hls_tag='x_cue', window_size=10, version=False)

>>>> x9 = X9K3()
>>>> x9.args = args

>>>> x9.args
Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=True, no_discontinuity=False, output_dir='.', program_date_time=False, replay=True, sidecar_file=None, shulga=False, time=6, hls_tag='x_cue', window_size=10, version=False)

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:
    • 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",

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

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.