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mpv-acestream

Small LUA script that adds AceStream protocol handler to mpv player.

How it works

It simply reads mpv input filename/URL argument and if it is an AceStream URL in the form acestream://content-id, it will send a request to AceStream engine HTTP API to get the relative stream. Obviously it will only work if AceStream engine has been already started and is running on your system.

To work with it, open the mpv pseudo-GUI, just select an AceStream link you found over the internet (it should be acestream://content-id format), and drag and drop it inside the GUI. The stream should start if the broadcaster is online.

To start the stream from an hyperlink inside your browser, ensure it points to a resource in the following format: acestream://content-id. Click on the link and you should be asked to open it with an application. Choose mpv and remember the choice.

If you have only the content ID without the protocol prefix acestream://, just open the terminal and run:

mpv acestream://content-id

Installation

Place mpv-acestream.lua file in scripts folder under mpv config directory.

• Unix-like systems: /home/your-username/.config/mpv/scripts/
• Windows: C:\users\your-username\AppData\Roaming\mpv\scripts

For more informations, read here.

User-made repository

• Arch Linux: AUR package

Script configuration

The script should work out of the box and usually you don't need to modify anything. But you may need to change the AceStream HTTP engine port if you set it differently from the default 6878 number in AceStream configuration.

Open mpv-acestream.lua and change aceStreamPort value in the upper part of the text. For example, if you changed port to 12345, modify port variable like the following:

local aceStreamPort = 12345

mpv configuration

mpv configuration options are read from mpv.conf text file placed under:

• Unix-like systems: /home/your-username/.config/mpv/
• Windows: C:\users\your-username\AppData\Roaming\mpv

Optimal config for Ace streaming

Some streams might cause playback issues like artifacts or automatic back/forward seeking. To reduce them you can disable the cache adding a custom profile inside mpv.conf:

[acestream]
rebase-start-time=no
cache=no
cache-pause-wait=3
audio-buffer=0
stream-buffer-size=4k

And use this profile specifying it from command line: mpv --profile=acestream acestream://content-id

Do not use this options as the default config because you won't be able to seek in normal playback watching video files.

If the upper profile don't work, try the following:

[acestream]
rebase-start-time=no
cache=no
cache-pause-wait=3
audio-buffer=0
stream-buffer-size=4k
vd-lavc-threads=1
demuxer-lavf-o-add=fflags=+nobuffer
demuxer-lavf-probe-info=nostreams
demuxer-lavf-analyzeduration=0.1
video-sync=audio
interpolation=no

F.A.Q.

I still can't open AceStream hyperlinks from an internet browser

For Firefox, you should be asked to open it with an app, but usually mpv will not be shown inside the list. If so, browse your filesystem and select the mpv executable installed on your distibution (it is usually placed at /usr/bin/mpv). If Firefox still does not open the link and will also not prompt the opening popup, go in Preferences, locate Applications section and modify acestream entry by setting mpv as the default application.

For Chrome/Chromium, AceStream protocol has to be registered on your system to be opened properly. This depends on your distribution and your desktop environment.

On Plasma 5, create the following text file /usr/share/kservices5/acestream.protocol:

[Protocol]
exec=/usr/bin/mpv %u
protocol=acestream
input=none
output=none
helper=true
listing=false
reading=false
writing=false
makedir=false
deleting=false