syncplay

Name
Email
Subject
Comment *
File	Select/drop/paste files here
* = required field	[▶ Show post options & limits] Confused? See the FAQ.

Options	Do not bump (you can also write sage in the email field) Spoiler images (this replaces the thumbnails of your images with question marks) Hide country (this board displays your country when you post if this is unchecked)
Password	(For file and post deletion.)
Allowed file types:jpg, jpeg, gif, png, webm, mp4 Max filesize is 8 MB. Max image dimensions are 10000 x 10000. You may upload 5 per post.

File: 1438187537805.webm (7.63 MB, 500x281, 500:281, 1436890156047.webm)

syncplay Nyx 07/29/15 (Wed) 16:32:17 732b3c No.34

What is it?

Syncplay is a program that allows you to watch movies in time with other people. It's like streaming but it's not hampered by latency, because the file is held in everyone's computer. It works across all platforms and with all popular movie players.

Why use it?

Syncplay has numerous advantages over streaming. For one, it allows everyone to watch an HD version of the movie in perfect sync regardless of their internet connection. For another, it doesn't use flash, which is riddled with security holes.

How do I use it?

Syncplay requires a server to run, and I believe the server must be on a linux machine. I can probably get my friend to let us use their server, but I think it would be better if we got someone from the community to host an all-8ch server. It's not complicated at all.

FOR STREAMERS:

1. publish a torrent containing all the movies you want to show, about 5 hours before the stream starts

2. run syncplay with the appropriate settings, log into the server and create a room for your movie night

3. all done

FOR WATCHERS:

1. download the torrent before the stream starts

2. run syncplay with the appropriate settings, log into the server and the room for the stream

3. all done

If you agree with me that we should use syncplay instead of livestreamer.net or something, head over to syncplay.pl and get started. Webm not related.

Nyx 07/29/15 (Wed) 16:33:19 732b3c No.35

>>34

Also, if nobody wants to host a server, we can use the public servers.

Mal-2!!Og0mSxxrDg 07/29/15 (Wed) 17:04:29 f9a338 No.36

I see several problems with this:

• There is a set of people (primarily students using campus networks, but also some people behind various firewalls) who cannot torrent at all, but can receive a live stream.

• Some ISPs severely throttle torrents.

• Even if you can torrent, the two-way nature of torrenting means you send data back out as well as receiving it, which is a problem for those on heavily asymmetric connections and metered connections (they essentially get charged double). It also exposes everyone in the group to potential legal sanction, rather than just the streamer, because everyone becomes a participant in the distribution.

• You would have to torrent the whole set, whether you intend to stay for the entire session or not. That's wasted data, a significant concern for people who are on metered plans.

• It's not amenable to last-minute changes. For example, last week we abandoned the second playing of The Dark Knight Rises after about 45 minutes, and swapped in Amazon Women on the Moon. This could not have happened if it were anything but a live stream. I also like to sometimes offer up a voting list for the last movie, meaning I don't know myself what it will be until maybe 15 minutes before it goes on. If using the torrent and sync method, I would have to include every candidate movie in the torrent, which would bloat it tremendously and to little purpose. (Note: August 8, I re-ran They Live as pre-show, and tacked on Monty Python's The Meaning of Life at the end. Neither would have been possible without a true live stream.)

• It's not fire-and-forget. With a streaming site, you just tell people where to be, and when. Having to torrent something first requires forethought, and many people will decide it's not worth the effort – or it may be too late, especially if they don't find out until just before it starts, or partway through. Having to wait for the torrent to complete before jumping in would be a deal-breaker there.

Mind you, if you decide to use this method anyhow, you can still promote it here even though technically it is not a live stream. You're going to lose a certain portion of the viewer base due to the problems I have mentioned though. Whether this is more or less than the number I lose due to the bandwidth required to stay on a live stream, I could not tell you.

Post last edited at 08/09/15 (Sun) 22:15:33

Nyx 08/02/15 (Sun) 08:20:47 da4779 No.54

You can get the movie beforehand and sync it with the stream. It's simple and you get all the beneficies you have listed without any additional software. I've being doing that on the stream last night and laughed when people were saying that the stream was lagging.