Software installation

Galicaster is based on Open Source technologies.

The recommended OS for this release is Ubuntu 10.10
The installation process consists of five steps: installing dependencies, checking configuration, downloading software, configuring and running.

1.- Install dependencies.

Galicaster requires the following software to be installed:

Gstreamer
python-setuptools and pip
iCalendar
pyCurl
Capture card configuration tools

$ sudo apt-get install \
    gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-alsa gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse \
    gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps gstreamer0.10-plugins-good \
    gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse
$ sudo apt-get install python-pip python-setuptools
$ sudo pip install icalendar
$ sudo apt-get install python-pycurl
$ sudo apt-get install v4l-conf ivtv-utils guvcview

In ubuntu 11.04 and above, installing v4l-utils is recommended instead of ivtv-utils.

2.- Check configuration.

Launch the following commands from a shell to verify that all dependencies are installed:

$ python --version
Python 2.6.6

$ python -c "import pygtk; pygtk.require('2.0')"
$ python -c "import pygst; pygst.require('0.10')"
$ python -c "import pycurl"
$ python -c "import icalendar"

$ gst-launch-0.10 videotestsrc num-buffers=25 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=800,height=600,framerate=24/1 ! ffmpegcolorspace ! xvimagesink
$ gst-launch-0.10 videotestsrc num-buffers=25 ! video/x-raw-yuv,width=800,height=600,framerate=24/1 ! ffmpegcolorspace ! x264enc pass=5 quantizer=22 speed-preset=4 profile=1 ! queue ! avimux ! filesink location=out.avi
$ file out.avi
out.avi: RIFF (little-endian) data, AVI, 800 x 600, ~24 fps, video: H.264 X.264 or H.264
$ rm out.avi

3.- Download software

Download the software from this site.
Uncompress it using tar:

$ tar xzf galicaster-1.0.0-rc.tgz
$ cd galicaster-1.0.0-rc

4.- Configure Galicaster

Galicaster configuration is in the file conf.ini.

The simplest way to get started with Galicaster is dowloading any of the pre-existing conf.ini files for any of the reference configurations proposed:

This is the structure of the conf.ini file:

Section basic
- repository: absolute path to the working folder. If not specified, a Repository directory in the user's home will be used.
- admin: enables admin mode (True|False)
  - False: By default, the user will only be allowed to make recordings. Galicaster will operate as a GClass
  - True: Apart from recording, the user can edit metadata, play and manage the recordings. Galicaster will behave as a GMobile
- Example:
```
[basic]
repository = /mnt/videos/Repository
admin = True
```

Section screen
- right: Name of the video device in the track list to be shown in the right screen (None to deactivate).
- left: Name of the video device in the track list to be shown in the left screen (None to deactivate).
- cursor: Shows or hides the pointe. Useful if using a tactile screen (True|False)
- Example:
```
[screen]
right = Epiphan
left = Hauppagge
cursor = True
```

Section ingest

The data to connect Galicaster to an Opencast-Matterhorn server.

Example:

[ingest]
active = True
default = True
username = matterhorn_system_account
host = http://admin.matterhorn.es:8080
password = CHANGE_ME
workflow = full

Section trackN
- A section for each device used in the capturer. Each section is set according to the device type: hauppauge, pulse, v4l2 or vga2usb:
  - hauppauge: Audio and Video device.
    - Admitted values:
      - name: Name assigned to the device.
      - device: Device type: hauppage
      - flavor: Matterhorn "flavor" associated to the track. (presenter|presentation|other)
      - location: Device's mount point of the MPEG output
      - loc2: Device's mount point of the RAW output
      - loc3: Device's mount point of the PCM output
      - file: The file name where the track will be recorded.
      - active: Whether the device will be played and recorded. (True|False)
    - Example:
      [track1] name = Hauppagge loc2 = /dev/hauprevideo loc3 = /dev/haupreaudio location = /dev/haucamera file = CAMERA.mpg device = hauppage flavor = presenter active = False
  - pulse: Audio device.
    - Admitted values:
      - name: Name assigned to the device.
      - device: Device type: pulse
      - flavor: Matterhorn "flavor" associated to the track. (presenter|presentation|other)
      - location: PulseAudio source name. Use default to select the same Input as the Sound Control
        
        to list PulseAudio devices run:
        
        $ pactl list | grep "Source" -A 5
        
        and use "Name:" as the location field.
      - file: The file name where the track will be recorded.
      - active: Whether the device will be played and recorded. (True|False)
      - vumeter: Activates data sending to the program's vumeter. (True|False) Only one device should be activated.
      - amplification: Gstreamer amplification value: < 1 decreases and > 1 increases volume. Values between 1 and 2 are commonly used.
    - Example:
      [track3] name = AudioSource vumeter = Active location = default file = sound.mp3 device = pulse flavor = presenter active = False amplification = 2.0
  - v4l2: Video device
    - Admitted values:
      - name: Name assigned to the device.
      - device: Device type: v4l2
      - flavor: Matterhorn "flavor" associated to the track. (presenter|presentation|other)
      - location: Device's mount point in the system (e.g. /dev/video0).
      - file: The file name where the track will be recorded.
      - active: Whether the device will be played and recorded. (True|False)
      - caps: GStreamer cappabilities of the device (mimetype=video/TYPE, framerate=X/Y,width=A,height=B)
        TYPE: (jpeg|x-raw-int)
        Use GVUCView tool to know wich capabilities are compatible with your device
        For more information http://pygstdocs.berlios.de/pygst-tutorial/capabilities.html
      - Videocrop: Margin in pixels to be cutted. Useful to set a 4:3 proportion on a HD webcam.videocrop-top, videocrop-bottom, videocrop-left, videocrop-right (optional).
    - Example:
      [track4] name = Webcam location = /dev/webcam file = WEBCAM.avi device = v4l2 flavor = presenter active = False caps = image/jpeg,framerate=25/1,width=1280,height=720 videocrop-left = 160 videocrop-right = 160
  - vga2usb: Video device
    - Admitted values:
      - name: Name assigned to the device.
      - device: Device type: vga2usb
      - flavor: Matterhorn "flavor" associated to the track. (presenter|presentation|other)
      - location: Device's mount point in the system (e.g. /dev/video0).
      - file: The file name where the track will be recorded.
      - active: Whether the device will be played and recorded. (True|False)
      - drivertype: Wheter the device use a v4l or a v4l2 interface to guarantee compatibility (v4l|v4l2)
    - Example:
      [track2] name = Epiphan active = True location = /dev/screen file = SCREEN.avi device = vga2usb flavor = presentation

5.- Running

Galicaster Class is launched with the command:

$ ./classexec

In the F.A.Q. section you can see some common questions about Galicaster.