1.2.0 Software installation

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 \
    python python-gtk2 python-gst0.10 libgtk2.0-0 libgstreamer0.10-0 \
    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
$ sudo apt-get install python-pip python-setuptools
$ sudo pip install icalendar
$ sudo apt-get install python-pycurl
$ sudo apt-get install v4l-conf v4l-utils guvcview

2.- Check configuration.

Run the following commands in a shell in order to verify that all dependencies are installed:

$ python --version
Python 2.7.3

$ 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

By downloading, you agree to the non-commercial license. (Commercial licenses also available under request)

Download the software from this site.

Uncompress it using tar:

$ wget http://webfiler.teltek.es/webfiler/galicaster/galicaster-1.2.3.tar.gz
$ tar xzf galicaster-1.2.3.tar.gz
$ cd galicaster-1.2.3

Recommendation: Move galicaster-1.2.2 folder to a familiar location

4.- Configure Galicaster

Galicaster configuration is in the files conf-dist.ini and conf.ini.
*Any duplicated value in conf.ini will prevail over the one in conf-dist.ini.

All the application parameters can be set up in these files, such as:

• Operation mode of the application: I.e. whether Galicaster will work as Galicaster Class, designed to be used in a classroom environment, or as Galicaster Mobile, a portable recording station.
• Devices used in the capturer, and their configuration.
• Server information to ingest.
• User privileges to control the recorder.

The simplest way to get started with Galicaster is dowloading any of the pre-existing files for any of the reference configurations proposed: leaving conf-dist.ini unchanged as a reference, and making any modification you need in conf.ini:

• Operation Mode
  • Galicaster Class - Only recording area
  • Galicaster Mobile - All areas accessible
• Profiles
  • PAL/NTSC Video Capture - Profile
  • WebCam USB - Profile
  • HD video capture - Profile

In the Section 1.2.0 Galicaster Configuration you will find a description of all the sections of the conf.ini file.

5.- Opencast Matterhorn Connection

One of the key features of Galicaster is its connection to the publishing platform. If you are using Matterhorn as your media publishing and distribution system, you need to configure Galicaster to work as a Capture Agent and connect it to your core machine. Here are some tips to do so:

• Your Galicaster unit needs access to your Matterhorn Core network.
• Use a valid host URL. It may be a fully-qualified name or simply an IP address.
• If your Matterhorn Core is not running in the default port (80), then you need to explicitly include it in the URL (i.e. http://<host_name_or_ip>:8080).
• The use of the http:// prefix is mandatory.
• You need to use a Matterhorn account which authenticates via Digest (usually, this account is set up in the config.properties file in your Matterhorn server). A regular account will not work.
• Remember to activate the connection in Galicaster (in the configuration file, section ingest, value active).
• A wrong workflow will cause an error in Matterhorn. Please make sure you use a workflow name that exists in the machine you connect Galicaster to.
• Workflow parameters are available but optional. A unexisting or wrong parameter won't affect the process, a mistaken value will be considered as "False".
• Check your Galicaster unit is registered as a Capture Agent in the Admin Tools section of your Matterhorn installation.
  • The log (in /tmp/galicaster.log) will record any problem occurring on the connection to the Matterhorn server.

If your Galicaster is registered as a Capture Agent you should be able to receive the recording schedule, if any, and ingest any recordings in Galicaster to the Matterhorn Core. If this is not so, please review all the steps above and try again. The logs in Matterhorn and Galicaster will give you the hints to know what is failing.

6.- Run Galicaster

Galicaster Class is launched with the command:

$ ./run_galicaster.py

The User Guide section contains the Galicaster user manual. Should you have any questions, please visit the F.A.Q. section, where some common questions are already answered.

Galicaster Debian Package [Experimental]

To install Galicaster using the .deb package, download it and run the following command in a shell:

sudo dpkg -i galicaster_1.2.3_all.deb

In addition dpkg may ask you to run the following command into install additional packages that are required:

sudo apt-get -f install

Alternatively, open a file browser and double-click on the .deb file, which will install the galicaster package and it's dependencies using the Ubuntu Software Center.

Note: The Ubuntu Software Center shows a warning because Galicaster does not strictly following the .deb standards. You can safely ignore it and continue the installation.

The package installs Galicaster in /usr/share/galicaster, and the configuration files are stored at /usr/share/galicaster/conf-dist.ini, /etc/galicaster/conf.ini and /etc/galicaster/profiles.

To remove the package, run the following command in a shell:

sudo dpkg -r galicaster

The files at /etc/galicaster won't be removed, thus preserving your configuration. If you want to delete that too, run:

sudo rm /etc/galicaster/profiles/*.*
sudo dpkg --purge galicaster