Archive TV Station

A 24/7 TV station that broadcasts Archive.org content with OBS Studio integration, automatic scheduling, commercial breaks, and a satirical news ticker.

Built for the markpines collection - rare Ron Wood footage and rock history archives.

Features

• Video Browser - Search and browse 1,344 videos from Archive.org
• Playlist Management - Create playlists and generate broadcast schedules
• OBS Integration - WebSocket control for seamless video playback
• Commercial Breaks - Automatic breaks between videos with custom video support
• News Ticker (Chyron) - Scrolling satirical headlines from The Onion
• Twitch/YouTube Streaming - One-click streaming to your platform
• Download Manager - Queue and manage video downloads
• Schedule Generator - Auto-generate schedules with configurable commercial intervals

Quick Start

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/archive_tv.git
cd archive_tv
make setup

# Start the web UI and API
make dev

# Open http://localhost:5173

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 20.0.0
• pnpm >= 9.0.0
• OBS Studio 28+ (includes WebSocket server)

Installation

# Install dependencies and sync video metadata
make setup

This syncs metadata for 1,344 videos from Archive.org (~2 minutes). Video files download on-demand.

Usage

1. Browse Videos

Open http://localhost:5173 to browse and search videos.

2. Create a Playlist

1. Navigate to Playlists in the web UI
2. Create a new playlist
3. Add videos from the browse page

3. Generate a Schedule

# Via API
curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/api/schedules \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My Schedule",
    "playlistId": "your-playlist-id",
    "config": {
      "commercialInterval": 30,
      "commercialDuration": 60
    }
  }'

4. Setup OBS

See docs/OBS_SETUP.md for detailed instructions.

Quick setup:

1. Enable WebSocket Server in OBS (Tools → WebSocket Server Settings)
2. Create a Main scene with a Video Player media source
3. Optionally add a Chyron text source for news ticker

5. Run the Station

# Set your schedule ID and start
SCHEDULE_ID=your-schedule-id make station

6. Start Streaming

The station will play videos through OBS. To stream to Twitch/YouTube:

1. Configure your stream key in OBS Settings → Stream
2. Set AUTO_STREAM=true in .env, or
3. Use the web UI at http://localhost:5173/station

Architecture

archive_tv/
├── packages/
│   ├── database/         # SQLite + Drizzle ORM
│   ├── archive-client/   # Archive.org API client
│   ├── downloader/       # Video download manager
│   ├── scheduler/        # Playlist + schedule generation
│   ├── obs-controller/   # OBS WebSocket integration
│   └── chyron/           # Headline scraper (The Onion)
├── apps/
│   ├── server/           # Hono REST API (port 3001)
│   ├── web/              # React SPA (port 5173)
│   └── station-runner/   # Orchestration daemon
└── data/
    ├── archive-tv.db     # SQLite database
    └── videos/           # Downloaded videos

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env and configure:

# Server
PORT=3001
DB_PATH=./data/archive-tv.db

# OBS Connection
OBS_HOST=localhost
OBS_PORT=4455
OBS_PASSWORD=your-password

# OBS Sources (must match your OBS setup)
OBS_MAIN_SCENE=Main
OBS_MEDIA_SOURCE=Video Player

# Commercial Video (optional)
COMMERCIAL_VIDEO_PATH=/path/to/commercial.mkv

# Chyron (optional)
CHYRON_SOURCE_NAME=Chyron
CHYRON_INTERVAL=10

API Reference

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/videos	List/search videos
GET	/api/videos/:id	Video detail
POST	/api/downloads	Queue download
GET	/api/playlists	List playlists
POST	/api/playlists	Create playlist
POST	/api/schedules	Generate schedule
GET	/api/chyron/headlines	Get headlines
POST	/api/station/stream/start	Start streaming

See full API documentation in docs/API.md.

Development

# Start dev servers
make dev

# Run tests
make test

# Lint and format
make lint
make format

# Build all packages
make build

Documentation

• OBS Setup Guide - Complete OBS configuration
• API Documentation - REST API reference
• Architecture - System design

Troubleshooting

OBS Connection Failed

• Ensure OBS is running with WebSocket server enabled
• Check port 4455 is not blocked
• Verify password matches (if set)

Video Won't Play

• Ensure video is downloaded: ls data/videos/
• Check media source name matches exactly: "Video Player"
• Review OBS logs: View → Logs

Chyron Not Showing

• Source name must match exactly (case-sensitive)
• Ensure headlines exist: curl http://localhost:3001/api/chyron/headlines
• Load classic headlines: curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/api/chyron/load-classics

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js 20+
• Package Manager: pnpm + Turborepo
• Database: SQLite + Drizzle ORM
• API: Hono
• Frontend: React + Vite + Tailwind CSS + React Query
• OBS: obs-websocket-js v5
• Streaming: Twitch/YouTube via OBS

License

MIT

Credits

• Video content from Archive.org markpines collection
• Headlines inspired by The Onion