Overview

This application can be seen more like a plugin which enables your device to open "sop://" (Sopcast) links from within any other application.

Features

• Add support for "sop:// links" to your device.
• You can use your favorite video player.
• You can use a video player that support aspect ratio stretching.
• Some streams have the audio out of sync. You can use a video player that is able to fix this problem.
• Works with links. Just click on a sop:// link and the application will do the rest for you.
• Safe auto-stop. In case that there is no video player currently playing the stream the app will stop by itself after a few minutes.

Requirements

• Fast internet connection (Ethernet the best, WiFi or LTE recommended, 4G may work).
• Good and stable data signal.
• Minimum 2 GB of RAM.
• 10 MB free internal memory space.
• A good quality stream (The app will attempt to open any stream regardless of its quality, stability or how good it is).
• A good and compatible video player. (If you get an error saying something like "this stream can't be played" then you should try a different video player)

Functionality

Sop to Http will create a local http:// stream that can be played with your favorite video player.

How to use

To use this app you need a sop link. This is something like: sop://broker.sopcast.com:3912/123456
Enter the sop link in the channel box (Alternatively you can enter only the last digits from the sop link) and touch start. If the stream is good it will say that is buffering and after a few seconds you should be prompted to chose one of the installed video players.

If only the channel ID (last digits from the sop link) is entered then you need to choose one of the 4 servers. The channel ID is specific to a server (It will work only to one server).

You can edit the servers in preferences. By default the servers are set like follows:

F.A.Q.

• Audio is not synchronized with video.

  This is because the header of the stream is not created correctly. In some cases, stopping and starting the stream again may help. You can also try using a video player that allow to manually adjust the synchronization of the audio stream..

• There is image but no sound when playing the stream.

  This is not an issue with this app. The problem is either with the stream or the video player you are using. One situation can be that the audio stream is encoded in AC3 and your video player does not support AC3 decoding.

• How do I reset the default video player.

  You can edit the default video player from app menu. If no default is set in app menu then this is an Android setting problem. You need to go to settings - apps and select the actual default video player app then look at "open by default" and change it accordingly.

• I receive "Stream is offline".

  This means that the stream is offline. Many streams are online for just a short period of time so it is normal to get this message allot if you are trying to play old streams. In very rare situations it can also means that the stream limit is reached or is not available in your country.

• I receive "Timeout" allot.

  There is a setting in preferences "Connection timeout", try to increase the value and see if it helps.

• The countdown window pop up every three minutes while I watch a stream.

  Go in preferences and disable Monitor video player. Some video players may not be compatible with this option.

• The video player suddenly stops but the stream looks good.

  This app can not control the video player therefore the bug is only in the video player most likely in the ffmpeg library used by the video player. You can contact the developer of the video player that you are using if you want this to be fixed.
  This applies also if the video player crashes, freezes or any other abnormal behavior. Meanwhile you can activate Auto restart video player in preferences.

• It does not work all the time.

  As far as I know the app works all the time. Probably the cause is somewhere else like: bad streams, offline streams, servers problems, network problems...

Tips

• During streaming it is recommended if possible to not move around with the phone.
• When using MX Player try also the HW+ decoder. On some devices this may improve video stability.
• You can use swipe gestures on status: Swipe up/down to show/hide buttons. Swipe to right to hide the status.

Notes

• This app have absolutely no control over any streams or servers. If a stream is offline or a server is busy then there is nothing that this app can do.
• Sopcast servers may have user limit and in the rare situations when this limit is reached, you will not be able to connect to server and you will receive the same message as when the stream is offline. This happens on any type of sopcast client.
• The streaming is done using a p2p network. This means that the stability of the stream is influenced by how many peers(people visualizing the stream) are at the same time. The more, the better. The number of peers changes every second and when they are not sufficient, you will miss receiving one or more packets. This, depending of the video player you are using, may have various results like: freezing, stopping or even crashing some video players. This is not a bug in this app or servers or network. The bug is in the video player because it can't handle p2p streams and if you would like to have this fixed you should contact the developer of the video player you are using.

API

If you are a developer and have an app that uses sop links you can find useful information on the API documentation page:
http://www.devaward.com/soptohttp/documentation/api

Report a bug

Send all bug reports to e-mail . Please make sure to describe it in detail.
Thank you for your help!