Chrome Capture for Channels

kennyb3653 · July 5, 2023, 5:44pm

Thank you, Seems to work. I've been asking about this for a week with no success.

Gregg_K · July 5, 2023, 6:03pm

This would be great, but I'm getting an error:
Get "chrome://127.0.0.1:5589/stream/msnbc":unsupported protocol scheme "chrome"
I've tried a few different clients, all with same results. Any ideas?

kennyb3653 · July 5, 2023, 6:37pm

chrome://127.0.0.1:5589/stream?url=https://www.nbc.com/live?brand=msnbc%26callsign=msnbc

tyler.seip792 · July 6, 2023, 1:43am

Boy am I really hoping I can get this to work, but the directions are NOT friendly to those outside of the coding world... I am sure there is a hole in my setup somewhere... if anyone has a suggestion please let me know! I'm so lost!

I have the server on one old 2011 iMac, and the chrome and chrome capture terminal code running on another Mac (up to date) in the network.

This is all I am tying right now:
#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="MSNBC", MSNBC
chrome://192.168.86.22:5589/stream/msnbc

but I get "The connection to the tuner was lost" error and this in the terminal window:

[2023/07/05 21:33:53.749] GET /stream/msnbc from ::ffff:192.168.86.220 responded 500 in 1.726 ms
[2023/07/05 21:34:44.854] failed to start browser page https://www.nbc.com/live?brand=msnbc&callsign=msnbc Error: An executablePath or channel must be specified for puppeteer-core
at assert (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-core/lib/cjs/puppeteer/util/assert.js:28:15)
at ChromeLauncher.computeLaunchArguments (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-core/lib/cjs/puppeteer/node/ChromeLauncher.js:96:36)
at ChromeLauncher.launch (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-core/lib/cjs/puppeteer/node/ProductLauncher.js:83:39)
at ChromeLauncher.launch (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-core/lib/cjs/puppeteer/node/ChromeLauncher.js:51:22)
at PuppeteerNode.launch (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-core/lib/cjs/puppeteer/node/PuppeteerNode.js:151:105)
at Object.launch (/snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/main.js)
at /snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-stream/dist/PuppeteerStream.js:83:34
at Generator.next ()
at /snapshot/chrome-capture-for-channels/node_modules/puppeteer-stream/dist/PuppeteerStream.js:31:71
at new Promise ()
[2023/07/05 21:34:44.855] GET /stream/msnbc from ::ffff:192.168.86.220 responded 500 in 1.305 ms

mike_here · July 6, 2023, 2:02am

Here is the entry I use for MSNBC. The difference is the URL. I'm using the full version of the entry instead of the short URL. I had issues with the short versions, but have not had any issues using full URL.

chrome://x.x.x.x:5589/stream?url=https://www.nbc.com/live?brand=msnbc&callsign=msnbc

kennyb3653 · July 6, 2023, 2:35am

change & to %26

krazijoe · July 6, 2023, 4:31am

hjd:

Let me add to this terrific guide. For those on Macs who want to autostart without Platypus or anything else:

Go to ~/Library/LaunchAgents on your Mac and create a file called com.getchannels.chrome.capture.plist and put the following in it:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.getchannels.chrome.capture</string>
    <key>UserName</key>
    <string>yourusername</string>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/path/to/chrome-capture-for-channels</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/chrome-capture-for-channels/chromecapture.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/chrome-capture-for-channels/chromecapture.log</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/opt/homebrew/bin/node</string>
      <string>/path/to/chrome-capture-for-channels/main.js</string>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>
Substitute your own username for yourusername and the right path to Chrome Capture for Channels for /path/to/chrome-capture-for-channels in the various places.

Then run:
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.getchannels.chrome.capture.plist
Remove / stop the service with:
launchctl remove com.getchannels.chrome.capture
Logs will be in chromecapture.log in the main Chrome Capture for Channels directory.

Enjoy.

I am trying to set this up but I apparently have no idea what I am doing as all I get is an error
"Load failed: 5: Input/output error
Try running launchctl bootstrap as root for richer errors."

I am using the all in one package for OSX. I am on a Mac Mini M2.

ert · July 6, 2023, 9:22am

Is it already running ?
Try

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.getchannels.chrome.capture.plist

Then

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.getchannels.chrome.capture.plist

babsonnexus · July 6, 2023, 11:40am

Delete everything you have done, start over, and do this:

Confirm each step along the way in a checkbox fashion. Don't do any of the "optional" steps. Be sure to review "Troubleshooting / Common Issues" and attempt those. If none of this resolves your issue, tell us where in the entire process it failed for you.

mike_here · July 6, 2023, 2:26pm

This issue reminds me of an issue from a long time ago. When watching CNBC using Chrome Capture for Channels, when the program goes to a commercial, the video playing in the Channels App (Android) the video freezes (not always, but often). Sometimes it recovers after a few minutes but the audio continues to play without issue. I've only observed this while watching live, not recorded content on CNBC. The source is the NBC website.

When I look at Chrome on the server, it's still playing without issue, so it appears that the Channels App is causing the video to freeze.

I am using the Experimental TV Everywhere MPEG-TS Rewriter feature. All apps are the latest versions.

krazijoe · July 6, 2023, 3:33pm

Not sure what the issue is, but I am using the OSX Package so I will just get it started manually on login. Or at least try lol...

scottuf · July 6, 2023, 3:52pm

Are you running this on an M1 or M2 Mac? Homebrew installed to /opt on M1/2 and to /usr/local on Intel Macs so you may need to correct that in the file.

When I get home tonight I can paste mine for Intel if you think it would help.

krazijoe · July 6, 2023, 4:06pm

M2, I am not going to mess around with any files, so I don't even know if I am doing the install right. It works the way I am using it now, which is just running the all in one ARM64 package.

djw · July 6, 2023, 5:04pm

I find that I cannot interact with the browser in any form (to authenticate to YTTV or NBC) when running through the CC4C docker chrome instance from another workstation. For instance with either the debug? or /stream? component

http://[ip address]:5589/debug?url=https://www.google.com

of

http://[ip address]:5589/stream?url=https://www.nbc.com/live?brand=msnbc%26callsign=msnbc

"This will give you a slow but partially interactive window to work in to do the login steps the same as Windows or Mac below."

Painfully slow but mostly no clicks or keyboard entry are recognized. My server running CC4C is cli only. The otherwise CC4C is working for anything not requiring the authentication (initial) interaction.

Wonder if debug mode could have a better interaction or priority?

Second question - if we ever get around authentication through the debug mode on the docker container, is there a way to make the authentications persist upon killing/starting the container?

djw · July 6, 2023, 6:07pm

the dot (.) seems to be missing. Also copy and paste do not seem to work. Lots of keystrokes needed to get past authentication do not seem to pass through when remotely running the docker CC4C in debug mode.

Also can't click (or enter) for the authentication at nbc.com/live.

Ahwman · July 6, 2023, 6:55pm

Same problem on my end.

Rufus_Arizona · July 6, 2023, 7:02pm

Forgive the dumb question, GTFan, but how do you "kill" the instance (on a Mac M1)? I downloaded 1.08 and upgraded to 1.10 and I am getting the same issue around EADDRINUSE.

cyberskier · July 6, 2023, 7:59pm

One way is to open the Activity Monitor app, search for "Chrome Capture" in the box at the top right, and force quit. That works for me in many instances, but there are times where that process isn't running, and I still get the error.

babsonnexus · July 6, 2023, 8:28pm

Previously noted issue:

Gregg_K · July 6, 2023, 10:29pm

So I did some more testing. I tested with the docker version, the node version and the exe version all with the same results. If I use chrome://localhost:5589/stream/windy for example I keep getting the same error unsupported protocol scheme. My channels is running on a windows 11 machine btw. If I change the chrome to http://localhost: then I can see the program open up chrome on the server and start playing. However now I have a different problem in that I can hear sound, but I can't see video in the player. On the server the chrome is opened and is playing the video properly. I have tried on a few different machines with the same results. Loading the exe on a different computer and opening up a video stream with VLC I do get the video and audio. What else can I try to get this to work properly? Why is the chrome:// not working and the http:// is?