Skip to content
/ x9k3 Public

The Official X9k3 repo: x9k3 is an ABR HLS SCTE-35 Injector and Segmenter. Of course it's powered by threefive.

License

BSD-3-Clause license
7 stars 2 forks Branches Tags Activity
Star
Notifications You must be signed in to change notification settings

superkabuki/x9k3

BranchesTags

Folders and files

NameName
Last commit message
Last commit date

Latest commit

 

History

148 Commits
bin
bin
 
 
x9k3
x9k3
 
 
LICENSE
LICENSE
 
 
Makefile
Makefile
 
 
README.md
README.md
 
 
setup.py
setup.py
 
 
tuesday.md
tuesday.md
 
 

Repository files navigation

x9k3

x9k3 Injects SCTE-35 Into HLS

x9k3 News

  • I'm trying add support for injesting SRT streams. I have SRT working with threefive.the issue I'm having with x9k3 is disconnecting and reconnecting takes about 5 seconds longer that I want it to, and I'm ironing that out. SRT support for input videos is now working.

  • Expect a new release with SRT support by February. x9k3 v1.0.13 was released 01/31/2026.

  • python 3.14 makes changes to the default multiprocessing spawn method, I fixed that in x9k3 on 01/14/2026.

  • x9k3 runs perfectly on python3, but x9k3 runs best on pypy3. It's all about the JIT man.

    Adrian

Current Version: v1.0.13 (01/31/2026)

Features

  • All SCTE-35 HLS Tags are Supported.
  • Add SCTE-35 Tags to ABR HLS
  • Segment MPEGTS streams into HLS and transfer SCTE-35 or add new SCTE-35 Tags
  • SCTE-35 Cues in Mpegts Streams are Translated into HLS tags.
  • SCTE-35 Cues can be added from a Sidecar File.
  • Segments are Split on SCTE-35 Cues as needed.
  • Segments Start on iframes.
  • Supports h264 and h265 .
  • Multi-protocol. Input sources may be Files, Http(s), Multicast, SRT, or Unicast UDP streams.
  • Supports Live Streaming.

Documentation

Q.

What`s up with all the releases?

A.

Whenever I figure something out or fix a bug, I make a new release. I'm not going to make you wait for a bug fix. This way, releases are incremental, rather than brand new software. Unless I have a really really good reason not to, I maintain backwards compatibilty and the interface, and by interface I mean function and method calls and such. New releases are designed to work with your existing code.
Sometimes I just make a stupid mistake doing the build and have to do a new one.

Install

  • Use pip to install the x9k3 lib and the executable scripts x9k3, adbreak3, and adinterval3.
# python3

python3 -mpip install x9k3

# pypy3 

pypy3 -mpip install x9k3
  • Both OpenBSD and Debian now require '--break-system-packages' to be appended to the pip install command if you are not using a venv.

⇪ top

Details

  • X-SCTE35, X-CUE, X-DATERANGE, or X-SPLICEPOINT HLS tags can be generated. set with the --hls_tag switch.

  • reading from stdin now available

  • Segments are cut on iframes.

  • Segment time is 2 seconds or more, determined by GOP size. Can be set with the -t switch or by setting X9K3.args.time

  • Segments are named seg1.ts seg2.ts etc...

  • For SCTE-35, Video segments are cut at the the first iframe >= the splice point pts.

  • If no pts time is present in the SCTE-35 cue, the segment is cut at the next iframe.

  • SCTE-35 cues with a preroll are inserted at the splice point.

  • x9k3 can continue an existing m3u8 file. You can switch or resume streams, x9k3 handles the details.

How to Use

cli

do the simplest thing that can possibly work

  • There are a lot of command line switches available, but you do not have to use them all.

Try it like this first

x9k3 -i video.ts -o output_dir

later you can add as many switches as you like.

Switches

a@fu:~/x9k3$ x9k3 --help

usage: x9k3 [-h] [-i INPUT] [-b] [-c] [-d] [-l] [-n]
            [-no_adrian_is_cool_tags_at_splice_points_because_I_suck] [-N]
            [-o OUTPUT_DIR] [-e] [-p] [-r] [-s SIDECAR_FILE] [-S] [-t TIME]
            [-T HLS_TAG] [-w WINDOW_SIZE] [-v]

optional arguments:

  -h, --help            show this help message and exit

  -i INPUT, --input INPUT
                        The Input video can be mpegts or m3u8 with mpegts
                        segments, or a playlist with mpegts files and/or
                        mpegts m3u8 files. The input can be a local video,
                        http(s), udp, multicast or stdin.

  -b, --byterange       Flag for byterange hls [default:False]

  -c, --continue_m3u8   Resume writing index.m3u8 [default:False]

  -d, --delete          delete segments (enables --live) [default:False]

  -l, --live            Flag for a live event (enables sliding window m3u8)
                        [default:False]

  -n, --no_discontinuity                 
                        Flag to disable adding #EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY tags at
                        splice points [default:False]

  -no_adrian_is_cool_tags_at_splice_points_because_I_suck
                        Flag to disable adding #EXT-X-ADRIAN-IS-COOL tags at
                        splice points [default:False]

  -N, --no-throttle,             
                        Flag to disable live throttling [default:False]

  -o OUTPUT_DIR, --output_dir OUTPUT_DIR
                        Directory for segments and index.m3u8(created if
                        needed) [default:'.']

  -e, --exclude_mpegts  Flag to exclude parsing SCTE-35 from MPEGTS.
                        [default:False]

  -p, --program_date_time
                        Flag to add Program Date Time tags to index.m3u8  [default:False]

  -r, --replay          Flag for replay aka looping (enables --live,--delete)
                        [default:False]

  -s SIDECAR_FILE, --sidecar_file SIDECAR_FILE
                        Sidecar file of SCTE-35 (pts,cue) pairs.
                        [default:None]

  -S, --shulga          Flag to enable Shulga iframe detection mode
                        [default:False]

  -t TIME, --time TIME  Segment time in seconds [default:2]

  -T HLS_TAG, --hls_tag HLS_TAG
                        x_scte35, x_cue, x_daterange, or x_splicepoint
                        [default:x_cue]

  -w WINDOW_SIZE, --window_size WINDOW_SIZE
                        sliding window size (enables --live) [default:5]

  -v, --version         Show version

Example Usage

local file as input

   x9k3 -i video.mpegts

multicast stream as input with a live sliding window

x9k3 --live -i udp://@235.35.3.5:3535 -o output_dir

Live mode works with a live source or static files.

  • x9k3 will throttle segment creation to mimic a live stream.
x9k3 --live -i /some/video.ts -o output_dir

live sliding window and deleting expired segments

x9k3  -i udp://@235.35.3.5:3535 --delete -o output_dir

https stream for input, and writing segments to an output directory

  • directory will be created if it does not exist.
  x9k3 -i https://so.slo.me/longb.ts --output_dir /home/a/variant0

https hls m3u8 for input, and inserting SCTE-35 from a sidecar file, and continuing from a previously create index.m3u8 in the output dir

  x9k3 -i https://slow.golf/longb.m3u8 --output_dir /home/a/variant0 -continue_m3u8 -s sidecar.txt

using stdin as input

cat video.ts | x9k3   -o output_dir

live m3u8 file as input, add SCTE-35 from a sidecar file, change segment duration to 3 and output as live stream

x9k3 -i https://example.com/rendition.m3u8 -s sidecar.txt -t 3 -l -o output-dir

⇪ top

Programmatically

Up and Running in three Lines

        from x9k3 import X9K3            # 1
        x9 = X9K3('/home/a/cool.ts')     # 2
        x9.decode()                      # 3

Writing Code with x9k3

  • you can get a complete set of args and the defaults like this
from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()

>>>> {print(k,':',v) for k,v in vars(x9.args).items()}

input : <_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>
continue_m3u8 : False
delete : False
live : False
no_discontinuity : False
no_throttle : False
output_dir : .
program_date_time : False
replay : False
sidecar_file : None
shulga : False
time : 2
hls_tag : x_cue
window_size : 5
version : False
  • or just
>>>> print(x9.args)

Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, continue_m3u8=False, delete=False, live=False, no_discontinuity=False, no_throttle=False, output_dir='.', program_date_time=False, replay=False, sidecar_file=None, shulga=False, time=2, hls_tag='x_cue', window_size=5, version=False)
  • Setting parameters
from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()
  • input source
x9.args.input = "https://futzu.com/xaa.ts"
  • hls_tag can be x_scte35, x_cue, x_daterange, or x_splicepoint
x9.args.hls tag = x_cue
  • output directory default is "."
x9.args.output_dir="/home/a/stuff"
  • live
x9.args.live = True
  • replay (loop video) ( also sets live )
x9.args.replay = True
  • delete segments when they expire ( also sets live )
x9.args.delete = True
  • add program date time tags ( also sets live )
x9.args.program_date_time= True
  • set window size for live mode ( requires live )
x9.args.window_size = 5
  • run
x9.decode()

⇪ top

HLS as input

  • x9k3 can use HLS manifests as input.
  • HLS Must be MPEGTS with audio and video together in the segment.
  • No audio only or separate audio.
  • Existing HLS SCTE-35 Tags in input manifests will be dropped.
  • ABR HLS has additional restrictions

Byterange

  • with the cli tool
    • use full path to video file when creating byterange m3u8.
x9k3 -i /home/a/input.ts -b
  • programmatically
from x9k3 import X9K3
x9 = X9K3()
x9.self.args.byterange = True
x9.decode()
  • output
#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:3
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:0
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY-SEQUENCE:0
#EXT-X-X9K3-VERSION:0.2.55
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:135548@0
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:137992@135548
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:134796@273540
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:140436@408336
msnbc1000.ts
#EXTINF:2.000000,
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:130096@548772
msnbc1000.ts
<SNIP>

⇪ top

ABR HLS

Here's how it works.

  • When x9k3 detects a master.m3u8 as input, it starts up an ABR instance.
  • The ABR instance parses the master.m3u8 and finds rendtitions.
  • For each rendition an x9k3 process is started.
  • The ABR process also parses the SCTE-35 sidecar file and writes a sidecar file for each rendition.
  • The master.m3u8 is written to the output_dir.
  • Rendition segments and manifest files are written to output_dir/0, output_dir/1, etc.
  • any args passed in are set for all rendtions.
image

The terms and condtions.

  • HLS version 3 support only
  • Use a Sidecar file for SCTE-35
  • Only MPEGTS segments
  • Audio and Video MUST be in the same stream.
  • No separate Audio tracks
  • No Audio only
  • No WebVTT
  • Pass a local master.m3u8 as input for x9k3
x9k3 -i ~/o21/master.m3u8 -t 3 -l -s sidecar.txt
  • ABR works well over a network, if you have the bandwidth to download all renditions simultaneously.
    • If you don't have the bandwidth, the renditions will get out of sync.
    • The throttle time is a good indicator. throttle must be greater than half of target duration for all renditions.
    • throttle time is shown in the x9k3 output
./0/seg0.ts:   start: 0.160   end: 10.000   duration: 9.840  # <-- duration   
throttling 8.22                        # <--- throttle time        throttle time > (duration / 2) GOOD


./2/seg0.ts:   start: 0.160   end: 10.000   duration: 9.840  # <-- duration  
throttling 4.23                       # <--- throttle time          throttle time < (duration / 2)  BAD

ABR in Code

Python 3.9.16 (7.3.11+dfsg-2+deb12u3, Dec 30 2024, 22:36:23)
[PyPy 7.3.11 with GCC 12.2.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>> from x9k3 import argue
>>>> from x9k3.x9mp import do
>>>> url = 'https://demo.unified-streaming.com/k8s/live/scte35.isml/.m3u8'
>>>> args = argue()
>>>> args.input=url
>>>> do(args)
  • imports
from x9k3 import argue
from x9k3.x9mp import do
  • define source
 url = 'https://demo.unified-streaming.com/k8s/live/scte35.isml/.m3u8'
args = argue()
  • args is the Namespace returned by the standard library's argparser.
  • These are same options as the cli x9k3.
args
Namespace(input=<_io.BufferedReader name='<stdin>'>, byterange=False, continue_m3u8=False,
  delete=False, live=False, no_discontinuity=False, no_adrian_is_cool_tags_at_splice_points_because_I_suck=False,
  no_throttle=False, output_dir='.', exclude_mpegts=False,program_date_time=False, replay=False, sidecar_file=None,
  shulga=False, time=2, hls_tag='x_cue', window_size=5, version=False)
  • use dot notation to set what you need
args.input=url
  • call do(args)
from x9k3.x9mp import do
  • That's it.

⇪ top

Playlists

  • playlists can be used as input

  • playlist files must end in .playlist

  • lines are video or video, sidecar

    • if video,sidecar, the sidecar file only applies to that video

  • playlists can have mpegts video, mpegts m3u8, and playlists.

  • example playlist

f10.ts,f10sidecar.txt # comments can be here
f17.ts
f60.ts
flat-striped.ts
# Comments can go here too.
flat.ts
input.ts
nmax.ts
nmx.ts,nmx-sidecar.txt
https://futzu.com/xaa.ts
https://example.com/index.m3u8,another-sidecar.txt
  • using
 x9k3 -i out.playlist

⇪ top

Sidecar Files

load scte35 cues from a Sidecar file

Sidecar Cues will be handled the same as SCTE35 cues from a video stream.
line format for text file insert_pts, cue

pts is the insert time for the cue, A four second preroll is standard. cue can be base64,hex, int, or bytes

a@debian:~/x9k3$ cat sidecar.txt

38103.868589, /DAxAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAABdf+/+zHRtOn4Ae6DOAAAAAAAMAQpDVUVJsZ8xMjEqLYemJQ== 
38199.918911, /DAsAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAABef0/+zPACTQAAAAAADAEKQ1VFSbGfMTIxIxGolm0= 

    
x9k3 -i  noscte35.ts  -s sidecar.txt

adbreak3 writes to sidecar files for you.

In Live Mode you can do dynamic cue injection with a Sidecar file

touch sidecar.txt

x9k3 -i vid.ts -s sidecar.txt -l 

# Open another terminal and printf cues into sidecar.txt

printf '38103.868589, /DAxAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAABdf+/+zHRtOn4Ae6DOAAAAAAAMAQpDVUVJsZ8xMjEqLYemJQ==\n' > sidecar.txt

adbreak3 also does dynamic injection.

Sidecar files can now accept 0 as the PTS insert time for Splice Immediate.

Specify 0 as the insert time, the cue will be insert at the start of the next segment. Using 0 only works in live mode

printf '0,/DAhAAAAAAAAAP/wEAUAAAAJf78A/gASZvAACQAAAACokv3z\n' > sidecar.txt

⇪ top

A CUE-OUT can be terminated early using a sidecar file.

In the middle of a CUE-OUT send a splice insert with the out_of_network_indicator flag not set and the splice immediate flag set. Do the steps above , and then do this

printf '0,/DAcAAAAAAAAAP/wCwUAAAABfx8AAAEAAAAA3r8DiQ==\n' > sidecar.txt

It will cause the CUE-OUT to end at the next segment start.

#EXT-X-CUE-OUT 13.4
./seg5.ts:	start:112.966667	end:114.966667	duration:2.233334
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 2.233334/13.4
./seg6.ts:	start:114.966667	end:116.966667	duration:2.1
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 4.333334/13.4
./seg7.ts:	start:116.966667	end:118.966667	duration:2.0
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT 6.333334/13.4
./seg8.ts:	start:117.0	        end:119.0	duration:0.033333
#EXT-X-CUE-IN None
./seg9.ts:	start:119.3	        end:121.3	duration:2.3

Using 0 only works in live mode ⇪ top

Cues

CUE-OUT

A CUE-OUT is defined as:

  • A Splice Insert Command with:

    • the out_of_network_indicator set to True
    • a break_duration.

  • A Time Signal Command and a Segmentation Descriptor with:

    • a segmentation_duration
    • a segmentation_type_id of:
      • 0x22: "Break Start",
      • 0x30: "Provider Advertisement Start",
      • 0x32: "Distributor Advertisement Start",
      • 0x34: "Provider Placement Opportunity Start",
      • 0x36: "Distributor Placement Opportunity Start",
      • 0x44: "Provider Ad Block Start",
      • 0x46: "Distributor Ad Block Start",

⇪ top

CUE-IN

A CUE-IN is defined as:

  • A Splice Insert Command

    • with the out_of_network_indicator set to False

  • A Time Signal Command and a Segmentation Descriptor with:

    • a segmentation_type_id of:

      • 0x23: "Break End",
      • 0x31: "Provider Advertisement End",
      • 0x33: "Distributor Advertisement End",
      • 0x35: "Provider Placement Opportunity End",
      • 0x37: "Distributor Placement Opportunity End",
      • 0x45: "Provider Ad Block End",
      • 0x47: "Distributor Ad Block End",

  • For CUE-OUT and CUE-IN, only the first Segmentation Descriptor will be used

⇪ top

Supported HLS Tags

  • #EXT-X-CUE
  • #EXT-X-DATERANGE
  • #EXT-X-SCTE35
  • #EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT

x_cue

  • CUE-OUT
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT:242.0
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts
  • CUE-OUT-CONT
#EXT-X-CUE-OUT-CONT:4.796145/242.0
#EXTINF:2.12,
  • CUE-IN
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-CUE-IN
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_scte35

  • CUE-OUT
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=" ,CUE-OUT=YES 
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts
  • CUE-OUT-CONT
#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=" ,CUE-OUT=CONT
#EXTINF:2.12,
seg33.ts
  • CUE-IN
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SCTE35:CUE="/DAqAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAAKWf0//4rZw2AABAAAACgAIQ1VFSQAAAAAtegE5" ,CUE-IN=YES 
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_daterange

  • CUE-OUT
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="1",START-DATE="2022-10-14T17:36:58.321731Z",PLANNED-DURATION=242.0,SCTE35-OUT=0xfc302f00000000000000fff01405000002967fefffe16a1ab87e014c562000010000000a00084355454900000000ebf5a2a7
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts
  • CUE-IN
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="2",END-DATE="2022-10-14T17:36:58.666073Z",SCTE35-IN=0xfc302a00000000000000fff00f05000002967f4fffe2b670d800010000000a000
843554549000000002d7a0139
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

x_splicepoint

  • CUE-OUT
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT-SCTE35:/DAvAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAAKWf+//4WoauH4BTFYgAAEAAAAKAAhDVUVJAAAAAOv1oqc=
#EXTINF:4.796145,
seg32.ts
  • CUE-IN
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY
#EXT-X-SPLICEPOINT-SCTE35:/DAqAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAAKWf0//4rZw2AABAAAACgAIQ1VFSQAAAAAtegE5
#EXTINF:5.020145,
seg145.ts

⇪ top

VOD

  • x9k3 defaults to VOD style playlist generation.
  • All segment are listed in the m3u8 file.

Live

  • Activated by the --live, --delete, or --replay switch or by setting X9K3.live=True

--live

  • Like VOD except:
    • M3u8 manifests are regenerated every time a segment is written
    • Segment creation is throttled when using non-live sources to simulate live streaming. ( like ffmpeg's "-re" )
    • default Sliding Window size is 5, it can be changed with the -w switch or by setting X9k3.window.size

--delete

  • implies --live
  • deletes segments when they move out of the sliding window of the m3u8.

--replay

  • implies --live
  • implies --delete
  • loops a video file and throttles segment creation to fake a live stream.

⇪ top

adbreak3

  • included with x9k3
  • adbreak3 is a cli tool to generate SCTE-35 for sidecar files.
  • by default adbreak3 generates 2 SCTE35 Cues with Splice Inserts for CUE-OUT and CUE-IN and writes it to a sidecar file.
a@fu:~$ adbreak3 -h
usage: adbreak3 [-h] [-d DURATION] [-e EVENT_ID] [-i] [-o] [-p PTS] [-P] [-s SIDECAR] [-v]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -d DURATION, --duration DURATION
                        Set duration of ad break. [ default: 60.0 ]
  -e EVENT_ID, --event-id EVENT_ID
                        Set event id for ad break. [ default: 1 ]
  -i, --cue-in-only     Only make a cue-in SCTE-35 cue [ default: False ]
  -o, --cue-out-only    Only make a cue-out SCTE-35 cue [ default: False ]
  -p PTS, --pts PTS     Set start pts for ad break. Not setting pts will generate a Splice Immediate CUE-OUT. [default: 0.0 ]
  -P, --preroll         Add SCTE data four seconds before splice point. Used with MPEGTS. [ default: False ]
  -s SIDECAR, --sidecar SIDECAR
                        Sidecar file of SCTE-35 (pts,cue) pairs. [ default: sidecar.txt ]
  -v, --version         Show version
  • Usage:
a@fu:~$ adbreak3 --pts 1234.567890 --duration 30 --sidecar sidecar.txt

Writing to sidecar file: sidecar.txt

		CUE-OUT   PTS:1234.567889   Id:1   Duration: 30.0
		CUE-IN    PTS:1264.567889   Id:2
  • Sidecar file has SCTE-35 Cues for CUE-OUT and CUE-IN
a@fu:~$ cat sidecar.txt 
1234.56789,/DAlAAAAAAAAAP/wFAUAAABNf+/+Bp9rxv4AKTLgAE0AAAAAFz4v5A==
1264.56789,/DAgAAAAAAAAAP/wDwUAAABOf0/+BsiepgBOAAAAABSgtGA=
  • Pass to x9k3
x9k3 -i input.ts -s sidecar.txt

Super Cool Feature: adbreak3 can be used in real time to add SCTE-35 on the fly to live HLS manifest.

image

About

The Official X9k3 repo: x9k3 is an ABR HLS SCTE-35 Injector and Segmenter. Of course it's powered by threefive.

Topics

hls splice ads python3 mpegts boobs sidecar scte35 scte scte-35 threefive adrianofdoom scte104 scte-35-hls spliceinfosection x9k3 lefthandofgod gurkhan

Resources

Readme

License

BSD-3-Clause license
Activity

Stars

7 stars

Watchers

0 watching

Forks

2 forks
Report repository

Releases

No releases published

Packages

No packages published

Languages