FFMPEG DESKTOP STREAMING NO LAG?

[Alex Reed]

Hey Alex,

Is it possible to stream your windows desktop using ffmpeg? I have been able to get this to work to a degree. However, there is always lag and I am not able to make it work with the h.264 codec where it looks clear.

[Alex Goodyear]

Hi Alex R

This has been covered to some degree before, see https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!searchin/piwall-users/x11grab/piwall-users/DOmITM5YWt0/m1ZTeJzJpFcJ but I wouldn't attempt to use a Raspberry Pi as the encoding machine, it simply doesn't have enough grunt. You can reduce the resolution, increase the frame rate and use a specific codec but to get the best results use an Nvidia graphics card with game streaming hardware encoding built in ;-)

Regards,

Alex G.

[Alex Reed]

Hey Alex,

What could be used as an alternative to x11grab as an input device aka "virtual webcam" for windows machines that is free? I have tried uscreencapture as an input device but there is always a 1-2 second delay. 

What software could you recommend as the input device that would make the desktop streaming in realtime where there is no delay. Is this even possible or due to it being streamed over a network there is always going to be some sort of a delay.

Thanks,

Alex R

[Alex Goodyear]

Hi Alex R,

We use Linux based systems where X11grab works without any delays, you could try this page for some Windows specific advice https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Capture/Desktop

Some people have said that the Windows version of VLC can stream their desktop but we don't used this and will be less useful than you Googling for help on this topic yourself.

Alex G.

[Eric Todd]

Hi Alex,

From Ubuntu 14.04, the command:

avconv -re -video_size 2560x1600 -f x11grab -r 4 -i 0.0 -f avi -an udp://239.0.1.23:1234

yields this error:

[x11grab @ 0x104c280] Could not open X display.
0.0: Input/output error

Have you seen this before? Do my av libraries just need to be updated or does x11grab maybe not work on Ubuntu? Any ideas? (thanks in advance)