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Documentation Index

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PC Caster is a small, self-contained Python project. All components live in the same folder with no build step required beyond running run.bat once to install dependencies and generate icons. The Roku channel source is bundled alongside the Python code and is zipped and sideloaded automatically the first time you cast.

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Files and folders

File / FolderPurpose
pc_caster.pyMain application — Tkinter GUI, device discovery (SSDP), casting orchestration
stream_finder.py.m3u8 stream detection — HTML scrape + Playwright headless browser sniff
hls_proxy.pyLocal HLS proxy — Chrome TLS impersonation, Referer injection, playlist rewriting
roku_deploy.pyRoku channel build (zip), sideload (HTTP Digest), and ECP launch
logger.pyRotating log file setup, uncaught exception hook
make_icons.pyGenerates app and channel icons from the source design
requirements.txtPython dependency list (requests, playwright, curl_cffi, Pillow)
run.batFirst-run setup script: pip install, playwright install, icon gen, launch
PC Caster.vbsWindowless launcher using pythonw.exe — no console window
Create Desktop Shortcut.batCreates a branded Desktop shortcut (run once)
roku_receiver/Source for the PC Caster Roku channel (BrightScript + SceneGraph)
roku_receiver/manifestRoku channel manifest (title, version, icons, splash)
roku_receiver/source/main.brsRoku entry point — ECP deep-link and /input message loop
roku_receiver/components/MainScene.brsVideo playback logic — plays the proxy URL via roSGNode VideoNode
roku_receiver/components/MainScene.xmlSceneGraph scene layout
roku_receiver/images/HD and SD channel icons plus splash screens
assets/Generated icons: app_icon.ico, app_icon.png, app_glyph.png
pc_caster.logRuntime log (auto-created, self-trimming to ~256 KB)

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Module dependency diagram

The four Python modules all report into the main application. No module imports another except through pc_caster.py. 
pc_caster.py
  ├── stream_finder.py   (playwright, requests)
  ├── hls_proxy.py       (curl_cffi, http.server)
  ├── roku_deploy.py     (requests, zipfile)
  └── logger.py          (logging.handlers)

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Key module details

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pc_caster.py — Main app

Builds the Tkinter GUI (GitHub-dark colour palette), runs SSDP device discovery on a background thread, manages the config file at ~/.pc_caster.json, and coordinates casting. Calls HlsProxy.start() before every HLS cast and passes the proxied URL to roku_deploy.launch(). Also polls the clipboard every 800 ms to auto-paste HTTP URLs into the URL field.

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hls_proxy.py — Local HLS proxy

Starts a ThreadingHTTPServer on 0.0.0.0:8011. For every request it decodes the base64-encoded real URL and Referer from the query string, re-fetches the resource using curl_cffi impersonating Chrome’s TLS/JA3 fingerprint, and injects Referer and Origin headers. If the response is an .m3u8 playlist (#EXTM3U), every URI inside it is rewritten to route back through the proxy so segments also carry the Referer. Binary .ts segments are passed through as video/mp2t. The ensure_firewall_rule() function adds the Windows Firewall inbound rule via a one-shot UAC-elevated PowerShell command.

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stream_finder.py — .m3u8 finder

Opens a real Chromium browser via Playwright and intercepts all network requests. Captures any URL containing .m3u8 along with the Referer the page’s player used. The find_streams_interactive() function runs until cancelled or the 240-second timeout is reached, emitting discovered streams via a callback so the live scanner modal can display them as they appear.

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roku_deploy.py — Channel build + sideload

Zips the roku_receiver/ folder into an in-memory archive and POSTs it to http://<roku-ip>/plugin_install using HTTP Digest authentication (the Roku developer interface). After a successful install, launch() sends an ECP POST /launch/<channel-id> to start the channel, then immediately pushes the proxy URL via POST /input so the channel begins playback without the user touching the remote.

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logger.py — Rotating log

Attaches a RotatingFileHandler to the pccaster logger at INFO level. The log file is pc_caster.log next to the source, capped at 256 KB with 2 backup rollovers. Also installs a sys.excepthook that writes uncaught exceptions to the log — critical for diagnosing crashes in the windowless launcher.
To add support for a new device type, implement a cast function in pc_caster.py following the pattern of _cast_roku() or _cast_firetv(). Register the device type in _scan_worker() and add a branch in _cast_worker() to dispatch to it.

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