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videos without ads?

J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
matters, but I use WinXP.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
 
J

Jeff Strickland

Flightless Bird
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:i4bqu2$4pk$1@news.eternal-september.org...
> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
> matters, but I use WinXP.)
>
> Thank you!
>
> Jo-Anne
>
>
>


They give the videos away for free, so they generate revenue through the ads
they put up. So, no you cannot view the videos without first enduring the
advertising.
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
> matters, but I use WinXP.)


So are we supposed to know how that video content is getting delivered
to you? My guess (based on a complete lack of an example) is that you
are viewing streamed video. In that case, and in most situations that
I've seen with interspersed ad content in them, their server-side
program delivering that content is scheduled to deliver alternate (ad)
content at specific breakpoints in the main stream. Those breakpoints
can be as specific times or triggered by the client-side scripted viewer
on an event, like you moving the progress bar to move forward or
backware in the playing of the streamed video. The main stream is
interrupted and a secondary stream is spewed out to you. The only way
that I know of getting just the main stream is to use a video capturing
utility. It will connect to ALL the streams from that source. One
stream will be the main one for the video. The other streams will be
the interrupting ad stream or other streams shown on that web page. You
then decide which captured stream to keep and which ones to delete
(since they are saved in files on your host).

I currently use Replay Media Catcher. It isn't free (but I got it free
by using their TrialPay scheme and then immediately terminating the
trial that I used to qualify getting RMC for free). Another is jaksta
(not free, either). Both of these will capture the streamed videos
proferred by the web site. The main video will be one stream and the ad
content is another stream. You'll probably get stuck having to download
all of them but you can delete the ad-streamed content after the
capture.

However, due to pseudo-legal pressure (threats of lawsuits, not actual
lawsuits) from stream providers regarding protected content, RMC dropped
its support for RTMPE (encrypted RTMP protocol). I believe jaksta used
to support RTMPE but perhaps no longer. Despite that this protocol is
merely used to encrypt the streamed content, many stream providers think
of RTMPE as a cheap means of DRM (digital rights management) to protect
their content and prevent users from stealing it. RTMPE is *not* a
copyright enforcement scheme but it is often used as such. SWF
certification is supposed to get used *with* RTMPE for copyright
protection, not just RTMPE along.

http://www.applian.com/replay-media-catcher/support/secure-rtmp-measures.php
http://www.jaksta.com/faq/What-is-SWF-Verification.htm

As a consequence, many video capture utilities either don't have support
for RTMPE or have dropped support for it. There was a "Hulu catcher"
free capture utility (StreamTransport, free, and supposedly works with
more stream sites than just Hulu) that still had RTMPE support but this
guy won't survive the first time a stream provider decides to task him
in court to prove he has the right to support that scheme to undo the
encryption employed in a stream. Webhosters don't like to get targeted
for supporting the proliferation of illegal content, and this guy
already had one webhoster deny his use of their service and he had to
move. If the stream provider is using RTMPE, it is likely that you only
get to view the video as the stream provider wants you to see it.

Discussion about StreamTransport:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt....46cf379493c/8c83cb5d081a8fb1#8c83cb5d081a8fb1

The good video capture programs cost money. Other than StreamTransport,
another free option is to install RealPlayer (free) and use its
"Download & Recording" BHO (browser helper object) to see if it can
capture a video. It doesn't always work but it will works for many
videos. Although I have RMC, I also have RealPlayer with with D&R
add-on configured to popup a balloon when my mouse cursor is hovering
over a video to download it. I don't capture videos to steal them (I
can just back to view them later) but playing a local file eliminates
all the jitter and pausing experienced when playing streamed videos.
It's infuriating to watch an online seminar while having to endure Max
Headroom-like jitters or intermittent pauses to download more of the
stream because the server is overly busy or the network is choked. I
might also find a video that I don't have time to view right now but
want to see later and perhaps while offline of Internet.
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:i4bup1$pgh$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>
> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:i4bqu2$4pk$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
>> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>> matters, but I use WinXP.)
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>>
>>
>>

>
> They give the videos away for free, so they generate revenue through the
> ads they put up. So, no you cannot view the videos without first enduring
> the advertising.
>
>
>

Thank you, Jeff. I don't mind some advertising, but the formerly quiet sites
where I've viewed webcams at work are now shoving ads not only on the main
viewing screen but alongside it and at a secondary screen below it. All of
them have screamingly loud and ongoing ads. The ones alongside the screen
continue throughout, with constant movement.

Jo-Anne
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
Thank you for your response, VanguardLH,

I have no idea how the video content is being delivered, though streaming
seems likely. In most cases, the ads start shortly after the webcam view
comes into focus. They're within that view and in some cases alongside it
and in another view under it, and some of them are loud and disturbing.

What I'm trying to view are wildlife webcams, some of which come with sound.
When that sound is covered over by loud human voices, it makes the whole
effort pointless. I've taken to turning off the sound. Not a great solution,
but I guess it's the best I'm likely to be able to do.

Two examples:
http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/nabc-webcam.html
http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html

Jo-Anne


"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:i4c372$s02$1@news.albasani.net...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
>> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>> matters, but I use WinXP.)

>
> So are we supposed to know how that video content is getting delivered
> to you? My guess (based on a complete lack of an example) is that you
> are viewing streamed video. In that case, and in most situations that
> I've seen with interspersed ad content in them, their server-side
> program delivering that content is scheduled to deliver alternate (ad)
> content at specific breakpoints in the main stream. Those breakpoints
> can be as specific times or triggered by the client-side scripted viewer
> on an event, like you moving the progress bar to move forward or
> backware in the playing of the streamed video. The main stream is
> interrupted and a secondary stream is spewed out to you. The only way
> that I know of getting just the main stream is to use a video capturing
> utility. It will connect to ALL the streams from that source. One
> stream will be the main one for the video. The other streams will be
> the interrupting ad stream or other streams shown on that web page. You
> then decide which captured stream to keep and which ones to delete
> (since they are saved in files on your host).
>
> I currently use Replay Media Catcher. It isn't free (but I got it free
> by using their TrialPay scheme and then immediately terminating the
> trial that I used to qualify getting RMC for free). Another is jaksta
> (not free, either). Both of these will capture the streamed videos
> proferred by the web site. The main video will be one stream and the ad
> content is another stream. You'll probably get stuck having to download
> all of them but you can delete the ad-streamed content after the
> capture.
>
> However, due to pseudo-legal pressure (threats of lawsuits, not actual
> lawsuits) from stream providers regarding protected content, RMC dropped
> its support for RTMPE (encrypted RTMP protocol). I believe jaksta used
> to support RTMPE but perhaps no longer. Despite that this protocol is
> merely used to encrypt the streamed content, many stream providers think
> of RTMPE as a cheap means of DRM (digital rights management) to protect
> their content and prevent users from stealing it. RTMPE is *not* a
> copyright enforcement scheme but it is often used as such. SWF
> certification is supposed to get used *with* RTMPE for copyright
> protection, not just RTMPE along.
>
> http://www.applian.com/replay-media-catcher/support/secure-rtmp-measures.php
> http://www.jaksta.com/faq/What-is-SWF-Verification.htm
>
> As a consequence, many video capture utilities either don't have support
> for RTMPE or have dropped support for it. There was a "Hulu catcher"
> free capture utility (StreamTransport, free, and supposedly works with
> more stream sites than just Hulu) that still had RTMPE support but this
> guy won't survive the first time a stream provider decides to task him
> in court to prove he has the right to support that scheme to undo the
> encryption employed in a stream. Webhosters don't like to get targeted
> for supporting the proliferation of illegal content, and this guy
> already had one webhoster deny his use of their service and he had to
> move. If the stream provider is using RTMPE, it is likely that you only
> get to view the video as the stream provider wants you to see it.
>
> Discussion about StreamTransport:
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt....46cf379493c/8c83cb5d081a8fb1#8c83cb5d081a8fb1
>
> The good video capture programs cost money. Other than StreamTransport,
> another free option is to install RealPlayer (free) and use its
> "Download & Recording" BHO (browser helper object) to see if it can
> capture a video. It doesn't always work but it will works for many
> videos. Although I have RMC, I also have RealPlayer with with D&R
> add-on configured to popup a balloon when my mouse cursor is hovering
> over a video to download it. I don't capture videos to steal them (I
> can just back to view them later) but playing a local file eliminates
> all the jitter and pausing experienced when playing streamed videos.
> It's infuriating to watch an online seminar while having to endure Max
> Headroom-like jitters or intermittent pauses to download more of the
> stream because the server is overly busy or the network is choked. I
> might also find a video that I don't have time to view right now but
> want to see later and perhaps while offline of Internet.
 
J

Jeff Strickland

Flightless Bird
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:i4cen2$j7l$1@news.eternal-september.org...
> "Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:i4bup1$pgh$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>
>> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:i4bqu2$4pk$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the
>>> ads? Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>>> matters, but I use WinXP.)
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne
>>>
>>>
>>>

>>
>> They give the videos away for free, so they generate revenue through the
>> ads they put up. So, no you cannot view the videos without first enduring
>> the advertising.
>>
>>
>>

> Thank you, Jeff. I don't mind some advertising, but the formerly quiet
> sites where I've viewed webcams at work are now shoving ads not only on
> the main viewing screen but alongside it and at a secondary screen below
> it. All of them have screamingly loud and ongoing ads. The ones alongside
> the screen continue throughout, with constant movement.
>



Oh well.

Nobody works for free for very long. They create revenue by making you watch
an ad before filling your request. When you select a program on hulu.com
that Hulu sends you for free, you can be sure that Hulu is selling ad space
to somebody. Think of commercial television, ABC, CBS, NBC, et al, all send
you free programming that they sell advertising spots that you have to
endure at various points throughout the program. If you tune in to HBO, then
you get zero commercials, but you pay a fee upfront to view the content, and
you pay the fee for the RIGHT TO VIEW, if you elect to not view, you still
pay the fee.
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

> Thank you for your response, VanguardLH,
>
> I have no idea how the video content is being delivered, though streaming
> seems likely. In most cases, the ads start shortly after the webcam view
> comes into focus. They're within that view and in some cases alongside it
> and in another view under it, and some of them are loud and disturbing.
>
> What I'm trying to view are wildlife webcams, some of which come with sound.
> When that sound is covered over by loud human voices, it makes the whole
> effort pointless. I've taken to turning off the sound. Not a great solution,
> but I guess it's the best I'm likely to be able to do.
>
> Two examples:
> http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/nabc-webcam.html
> http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html
>
> Jo-Anne
>
> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
> news:i4c372$s02$1@news.albasani.net...
>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>
>>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the ads?
>>> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>>> matters, but I use WinXP.)

>>
>> So are we supposed to know how that video content is getting delivered
>> to you? My guess (based on a complete lack of an example) is that you
>> are viewing streamed video. In that case, and in most situations that
>> I've seen with interspersed ad content in them, their server-side
>> program delivering that content is scheduled to deliver alternate (ad)
>> content at specific breakpoints in the main stream. Those breakpoints
>> can be as specific times or triggered by the client-side scripted viewer
>> on an event, like you moving the progress bar to move forward or
>> backware in the playing of the streamed video. The main stream is
>> interrupted and a secondary stream is spewed out to you. The only way
>> that I know of getting just the main stream is to use a video capturing
>> utility. It will connect to ALL the streams from that source. One
>> stream will be the main one for the video. The other streams will be
>> the interrupting ad stream or other streams shown on that web page. You
>> then decide which captured stream to keep and which ones to delete
>> (since they are saved in files on your host).
>>
>> I currently use Replay Media Catcher. It isn't free (but I got it free
>> by using their TrialPay scheme and then immediately terminating the
>> trial that I used to qualify getting RMC for free). Another is jaksta
>> (not free, either). Both of these will capture the streamed videos
>> proferred by the web site. The main video will be one stream and the ad
>> content is another stream. You'll probably get stuck having to download
>> all of them but you can delete the ad-streamed content after the
>> capture.
>>
>> However, due to pseudo-legal pressure (threats of lawsuits, not actual
>> lawsuits) from stream providers regarding protected content, RMC dropped
>> its support for RTMPE (encrypted RTMP protocol). I believe jaksta used
>> to support RTMPE but perhaps no longer. Despite that this protocol is
>> merely used to encrypt the streamed content, many stream providers think
>> of RTMPE as a cheap means of DRM (digital rights management) to protect
>> their content and prevent users from stealing it. RTMPE is *not* a
>> copyright enforcement scheme but it is often used as such. SWF
>> certification is supposed to get used *with* RTMPE for copyright
>> protection, not just RTMPE along.
>>
>> http://www.applian.com/replay-media-catcher/support/secure-rtmp-measures.php
>> http://www.jaksta.com/faq/What-is-SWF-Verification.htm
>>
>> As a consequence, many video capture utilities either don't have support
>> for RTMPE or have dropped support for it. There was a "Hulu catcher"
>> free capture utility (StreamTransport, free, and supposedly works with
>> more stream sites than just Hulu) that still had RTMPE support but this
>> guy won't survive the first time a stream provider decides to task him
>> in court to prove he has the right to support that scheme to undo the
>> encryption employed in a stream. Webhosters don't like to get targeted
>> for supporting the proliferation of illegal content, and this guy
>> already had one webhoster deny his use of their service and he had to
>> move. If the stream provider is using RTMPE, it is likely that you only
>> get to view the video as the stream provider wants you to see it.
>>
>> Discussion about StreamTransport:
>> http://groups.google.com/group/alt....46cf379493c/8c83cb5d081a8fb1#8c83cb5d081a8fb1
>>
>> The good video capture programs cost money. Other than StreamTransport,
>> another free option is to install RealPlayer (free) and use its
>> "Download & Recording" BHO (browser helper object) to see if it can
>> capture a video. It doesn't always work but it will works for many
>> videos. Although I have RMC, I also have RealPlayer with with D&R
>> add-on configured to popup a balloon when my mouse cursor is hovering
>> over a video to download it. I don't capture videos to steal them (I
>> can just back to view them later) but playing a local file eliminates
>> all the jitter and pausing experienced when playing streamed videos.
>> It's infuriating to watch an online seminar while having to endure Max
>> Headroom-like jitters or intermittent pauses to download more of the
>> stream because the server is overly busy or the network is choked. I
>> might also find a video that I don't have time to view right now but
>> want to see later and perhaps while offline of Internet.


I only tried the 2nd site (with the owl video). They won't show the
video to me because I block any content from some ad content sources and
they happen to use some of them. Blocking ads can mean a site becomes
unusable because they can see if you ever retrieved their ad content.
If you don't retrieve it, they can choose to cripple or disable their
content to you. That they choose to block their content because I
choose to block the ad content means I wouldn't bother visiting that
site. They are way too pushy in attempting to deliver their ad content
which makes suspicious what is the real purpose of that site.

Some of the "web cam" content comes from feedburner.com. That is an
advertising content provider. Oh yeah, live web cams from an
advertiser. Feedburner is one of the ad sources that I block. Since I
block that ad content, the site decides not to proffer their streamed
content.

This site also hides behind a private registration at GoDaddy. That is,
the registrant doesn't want to be identified for the domain that they
registered and hides behind GoDaddy. IANA requires that the registrant
be accurately recorded in the domain registration. Registrars get
around this to charge for private domain registrations by accepting the
role of the primary contact for a domain registration. It's a loophole
that IANA refuses to address. That site is also using click-through
services to track what you are doing while visiting there. They also
try to use tracking cookies to monitor your surfing. They desparately
want you to vote on being their "friend" at their Facebook site.

So why not subscribe to the RSS feed - if you don't care that it comes
through feedburner, an advertising source? Might they deliver canned
videos that way that you can watch at your leisure? After all, you
really don't know if the web cam they claim is actually a live video,
and what do you care if you are seeing what the owl does now or viewing
it some hours later? If you subscribe to the videos by e-mail, you are
doling out a valid e-mail address to feedburner. Feedburner is an ad
content service provider operated by Google.

Since the video is streamed Flash content, and if it doesn't use RTMPE
to deliver it, then you could use the Download & Record BHO in
RealPlayer to see if you can record the video to later view the video
whenever you feel like.

Until you decide to test if a video capture utility will work to
eliminate the ads, you're stuck with the content that the site wants to
deliver to you. If you don't like that content, don't go there, see if
you can capture and keep only what you want, or complain to the site.
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:i4cg4a$73m$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>
> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:i4cen2$j7l$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>> "Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:i4bup1$pgh$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>>
>>> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-Anne@nowhere.com> wrote in message
>>> news:i4bqu2$4pk$1@news.eternal-september.org...
>>>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the
>>>> ads? Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>>>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>>>> matters, but I use WinXP.)
>>>>
>>>> Thank you!
>>>>
>>>> Jo-Anne
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> They give the videos away for free, so they generate revenue through the
>>> ads they put up. So, no you cannot view the videos without first
>>> enduring the advertising.
>>>
>>>
>>>

>> Thank you, Jeff. I don't mind some advertising, but the formerly quiet
>> sites where I've viewed webcams at work are now shoving ads not only on
>> the main viewing screen but alongside it and at a secondary screen below
>> it. All of them have screamingly loud and ongoing ads. The ones alongside
>> the screen continue throughout, with constant movement.
>>

>
>
> Oh well.
>
> Nobody works for free for very long. They create revenue by making you
> watch an ad before filling your request. When you select a program on
> hulu.com that Hulu sends you for free, you can be sure that Hulu is
> selling ad space to somebody. Think of commercial television, ABC, CBS,
> NBC, et al, all send you free programming that they sell advertising spots
> that you have to endure at various points throughout the program. If you
> tune in to HBO, then you get zero commercials, but you pay a fee upfront
> to view the content, and you pay the fee for the RIGHT TO VIEW, if you
> elect to not view, you still pay the fee.
>
>
>
>

I wonder if the internet is headed in the direction of paying for NOT
getting ads. Of course, that's the way cable TV started out--and now you pay
lots and get tons of ads...
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:i4cide$i5c$1@news.albasani.net...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> Thank you for your response, VanguardLH,
>>
>> I have no idea how the video content is being delivered, though streaming
>> seems likely. In most cases, the ads start shortly after the webcam view
>> comes into focus. They're within that view and in some cases alongside it
>> and in another view under it, and some of them are loud and disturbing.
>>
>> What I'm trying to view are wildlife webcams, some of which come with
>> sound.
>> When that sound is covered over by loud human voices, it makes the whole
>> effort pointless. I've taken to turning off the sound. Not a great
>> solution,
>> but I guess it's the best I'm likely to be able to do.
>>
>> Two examples:
>> http://www.bear.org/website/visit-us/nabc-webcam.html
>> http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>>
>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>> news:i4c372$s02$1@news.albasani.net...
>>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>>
>>>> Is there a way to view videos and webcams in IE7 and IE8 without the
>>>> ads?
>>>> Some of my favorite webcam sites have started showing ads that are
>>>> exceptionally obnoxious for both viewing and listening. (Not sure if it
>>>> matters, but I use WinXP.)
>>>
>>> So are we supposed to know how that video content is getting delivered
>>> to you? My guess (based on a complete lack of an example) is that you
>>> are viewing streamed video. In that case, and in most situations that
>>> I've seen with interspersed ad content in them, their server-side
>>> program delivering that content is scheduled to deliver alternate (ad)
>>> content at specific breakpoints in the main stream. Those breakpoints
>>> can be as specific times or triggered by the client-side scripted viewer
>>> on an event, like you moving the progress bar to move forward or
>>> backware in the playing of the streamed video. The main stream is
>>> interrupted and a secondary stream is spewed out to you. The only way
>>> that I know of getting just the main stream is to use a video capturing
>>> utility. It will connect to ALL the streams from that source. One
>>> stream will be the main one for the video. The other streams will be
>>> the interrupting ad stream or other streams shown on that web page. You
>>> then decide which captured stream to keep and which ones to delete
>>> (since they are saved in files on your host).
>>>
>>> I currently use Replay Media Catcher. It isn't free (but I got it free
>>> by using their TrialPay scheme and then immediately terminating the
>>> trial that I used to qualify getting RMC for free). Another is jaksta
>>> (not free, either). Both of these will capture the streamed videos
>>> proferred by the web site. The main video will be one stream and the ad
>>> content is another stream. You'll probably get stuck having to download
>>> all of them but you can delete the ad-streamed content after the
>>> capture.
>>>
>>> However, due to pseudo-legal pressure (threats of lawsuits, not actual
>>> lawsuits) from stream providers regarding protected content, RMC dropped
>>> its support for RTMPE (encrypted RTMP protocol). I believe jaksta used
>>> to support RTMPE but perhaps no longer. Despite that this protocol is
>>> merely used to encrypt the streamed content, many stream providers think
>>> of RTMPE as a cheap means of DRM (digital rights management) to protect
>>> their content and prevent users from stealing it. RTMPE is *not* a
>>> copyright enforcement scheme but it is often used as such. SWF
>>> certification is supposed to get used *with* RTMPE for copyright
>>> protection, not just RTMPE along.
>>>
>>> http://www.applian.com/replay-media-catcher/support/secure-rtmp-measures.php
>>> http://www.jaksta.com/faq/What-is-SWF-Verification.htm
>>>
>>> As a consequence, many video capture utilities either don't have support
>>> for RTMPE or have dropped support for it. There was a "Hulu catcher"
>>> free capture utility (StreamTransport, free, and supposedly works with
>>> more stream sites than just Hulu) that still had RTMPE support but this
>>> guy won't survive the first time a stream provider decides to task him
>>> in court to prove he has the right to support that scheme to undo the
>>> encryption employed in a stream. Webhosters don't like to get targeted
>>> for supporting the proliferation of illegal content, and this guy
>>> already had one webhoster deny his use of their service and he had to
>>> move. If the stream provider is using RTMPE, it is likely that you only
>>> get to view the video as the stream provider wants you to see it.
>>>
>>> Discussion about StreamTransport:
>>> http://groups.google.com/group/alt....46cf379493c/8c83cb5d081a8fb1#8c83cb5d081a8fb1
>>>
>>> The good video capture programs cost money. Other than StreamTransport,
>>> another free option is to install RealPlayer (free) and use its
>>> "Download & Recording" BHO (browser helper object) to see if it can
>>> capture a video. It doesn't always work but it will works for many
>>> videos. Although I have RMC, I also have RealPlayer with with D&R
>>> add-on configured to popup a balloon when my mouse cursor is hovering
>>> over a video to download it. I don't capture videos to steal them (I
>>> can just back to view them later) but playing a local file eliminates
>>> all the jitter and pausing experienced when playing streamed videos.
>>> It's infuriating to watch an online seminar while having to endure Max
>>> Headroom-like jitters or intermittent pauses to download more of the
>>> stream because the server is overly busy or the network is choked. I
>>> might also find a video that I don't have time to view right now but
>>> want to see later and perhaps while offline of Internet.

>
> I only tried the 2nd site (with the owl video). They won't show the
> video to me because I block any content from some ad content sources and
> they happen to use some of them. Blocking ads can mean a site becomes
> unusable because they can see if you ever retrieved their ad content.
> If you don't retrieve it, they can choose to cripple or disable their
> content to you. That they choose to block their content because I
> choose to block the ad content means I wouldn't bother visiting that
> site. They are way too pushy in attempting to deliver their ad content
> which makes suspicious what is the real purpose of that site.
>
> Some of the "web cam" content comes from feedburner.com. That is an
> advertising content provider. Oh yeah, live web cams from an
> advertiser. Feedburner is one of the ad sources that I block. Since I
> block that ad content, the site decides not to proffer their streamed
> content.
>
> This site also hides behind a private registration at GoDaddy. That is,
> the registrant doesn't want to be identified for the domain that they
> registered and hides behind GoDaddy. IANA requires that the registrant
> be accurately recorded in the domain registration. Registrars get
> around this to charge for private domain registrations by accepting the
> role of the primary contact for a domain registration. It's a loophole
> that IANA refuses to address. That site is also using click-through
> services to track what you are doing while visiting there. They also
> try to use tracking cookies to monitor your surfing. They desparately
> want you to vote on being their "friend" at their Facebook site.
>
> So why not subscribe to the RSS feed - if you don't care that it comes
> through feedburner, an advertising source? Might they deliver canned
> videos that way that you can watch at your leisure? After all, you
> really don't know if the web cam they claim is actually a live video,
> and what do you care if you are seeing what the owl does now or viewing
> it some hours later? If you subscribe to the videos by e-mail, you are
> doling out a valid e-mail address to feedburner. Feedburner is an ad
> content service provider operated by Google.
>
> Since the video is streamed Flash content, and if it doesn't use RTMPE
> to deliver it, then you could use the Download & Record BHO in
> RealPlayer to see if you can record the video to later view the video
> whenever you feel like.
>
> Until you decide to test if a video capture utility will work to
> eliminate the ads, you're stuck with the content that the site wants to
> deliver to you. If you don't like that content, don't go there, see if
> you can capture and keep only what you want, or complain to the site.



I thought of complaining to the guy who is doing the owl webcam and to the
bear organization for the bear webcam, but I couldn't find any way of
contacting them. Maybe I'll stick to the San Diego zoo's webcams and a South
African wild animal cam that don't have ads.
 
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