Setting up VLC Videowall - 6 screen
setup
Version 1
Date: 10 - 12 - 2013
Version Control
Owner
Benno Bark
Version History
Version
Number
Revision
Date
(dd/mm/yy
yy)
Contributor’s Name
Revision Description
1.0
10-12-2013
Benno Bark
Creation
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NOTE
Hardware used:
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6x Dell TFT panels
3x Dell OptiPlex SX-280 as streaming nodes
1x switch netgear switch
1x Dell OptiPlex 990 as streaming server
(optional) 1x Amplifier with speakers
4x DVI splitters (DVI  DVI - VGA)
Software Used:
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VLC 2.1.2 Rincewind
Windows 7 (streaming server)
Windows XP (streaming nodes)
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: : Basic Infra structure
1.
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: : Batch scripts Server Side: Starting stream
2.
startstream.bat - This bat file opens VLC, loads a
file (in this case a VLC playlist) and start streaming
on the ip address 239.255.255.255:1234
This bat file should be located on the server side.
Corresponds with step:
: : Batch scripts - starting a stream
3.
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: : Batch scripts Client Side: Play.cmd
4.
play.cmd - On the nodes that receive streams,
I've placed one file which is a CMD file in the C:\.
This file actually starts VLC and opens the stream
239.255.255.255.
Windows 7 code (x64):
Windows XP (i386):
Make sure that the account on the server has the
relevant permissions to acess the play.cmd file
Corresponds with step:
: : Batch scripts Server Side: open stream
5.
openstream.bat - This file actually calls 3
other bat files (3 clients, 3 bat files) that
opens VLC on the remote clients.
openstream.bat calls 1.bat,2.bat and 3.bat.
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: : Batch scripts Server Side: Open Stream
6.
an example of one of the files being called
by openstream.bat. Please note that you
need to install psexec (google it) in the
batch file directory to be able to start
play.cmd remotely
remember, play.cmd starts vlc on the client
: : Batch scripts Server Side: Starting stream
7.
startstream.bat - This bat file opens VLC,
loads a file (in this case a VLC playlist) and
start streaming on the ip address
239.255.255.255:1234
Corresponds with step:
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: : Batch scripts Server Side: Close VLC on clients
8.
9.
10.
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11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
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: : Configuring VLC Server side - Start streaming
17. In VLC, go to "Media/Stream"
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18. In the console that opens, select
"File/Add"
19. Browse to the video file or playlist
that you would like to stream.
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20. Press the "Stream" button.
21. In the window that opens, choose
"Next"
22. From the pull down menu, Choose
"UDP (Legacy)" followed by "Add"
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23. in the window that opens, set the
following:
IP Address: 239.255.255.255.255
Port: 1234
24. Select the tickbox "Transcoding",
select the H.264 + MP3 profile and
press "Next"
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25. Select the tick box… and press
"Stream".
Your server is now broadcasting
the video stream into your network.
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: : Configuring VLC Client Side - Configuring Video Wall Filter
26. The following steps need to be
done on each individual node
receiving the video stream.
In the VLC client, go to:
"Tools/Preferences"
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27. In the console that opens, left
bottom, select the "All" radio
button.
28. Under the video section, select
"Filters" and select the "Wall
video filter" tick box and choose
"Save"
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29. then, locate under the filter section
the "Image wall" filter.
30. For the next step, you need to
know which node is controlling
which screens. in my setup:
Node 1: Screen 0 and 1
Node 2: Screen 3 and 4
Node 3: Screen 2 and 5
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31. Under the "Image Wall" filter (step
29) select the number and rows
your video wall has. In this case it
has 3 columns and 2 rows.
By setting the columns and rows,
VLC divides the complete stream
into sections
Select which windows you would
like to display. screen 0 and 1 in
this case. (See step 30)
32. Press "Save" and restart the VLC
client.
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: : Configuring VLC Client Side - Opening Network Stream
33. After you’ve set the individual
nodes, its time to open the stream.
In the VLC Client, go to: "Open
Network Stream"
34. as the network URL, type:
udp://@239.255.255.255:1234
and press "Play"
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35. and voila, your client is now
displaying the windows requested.
its now a matter of dragging them
to the correct window and
maximize.
End Of Document
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