[Python] How to restream IPTV playlist with Nginx RTMP, FFmpeg, and Python without recording,...

I have an IPTV playlist from a provider that allows only one user to connect and watch. I want to restream this playlist through my own server without recording it and in a lightweight manner. I’m using Nginx RTMP, FFmpeg, and Python TCP for the setup, but I keep getting an HTTP 403 error when trying to access the stream.

Here’s a summary of my setup:

Nginx RTMP: Used for streaming.

FFmpeg: Used to handle the video stream.

Python TCP: Trying to handle the connection between my server and the IPTV source.

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import sys
import socket
import threading
import requests
import time

def accept_connections(server_socket, clients, clients_lock):
"""
Continuously accept new client connections, perform a minimal read of the
client's HTTP request, send back a valid HTTP/1.1 response header, and
add the socket to the broadcast list.
"""
while True:
client_socket, addr = server_socket.accept()
print(f"[+] New client connected from {addr}")
threading.Thread(
target=handle_client,
args=(client_socket, addr, clients, clients_lock),
daemon=True
).start()

def handle_client(client_socket, addr, clients, clients_lock):
"""
Read the client's HTTP request minimally, send back a proper HTTP/1.1 200 OK header,
and then add the socket to our broadcast list.
"""
try:
# Read until we reach the end of the request headers
request_data = b""
while b"\r\n\r\n" not in request_data:
chunk = client_socket.recv(1024)
if not chunk:
break
request_data += chunk

# Send a proper HTTP response header to satisfy clients like curl
response_header = (
"HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n"
"Content-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n"
"Connection: close\r\n"
"\r\n"
)
client_socket.sendall(response_header.encode("utf-8"))

with clients_lock:
clients.append(client_socket)
print(f"[+] Client from {addr} is ready to receive stream.")
except Exception as e:
print(f"[!] Error handling client {addr}: {e}")
client_socket.close()

def read_from_source_and_broadcast(source_url, clients, clients_lock):
"""
Continuously connect to the source URL (following redirects) using custom headers
so that it mimics a curl-like request. In case of connection errors (e.g. connection reset),
wait a bit and then try again.

For each successful connection, stream data in chunks and broadcast each chunk
to all connected clients.
"""
# Set custom headers to mimic curl
headers = {
"User-Agent": "curl/8.5.0",
"Accept": "*/*"
}

while True:
try:
print(f"[+] Fetching from source URL (with redirects): {source_url}")
with requests.get(source_url, stream=True, allow_redirects=True, headers=headers) as resp:
if resp.status_code >= 400:
print(f"[!] Got HTTP {resp.status_code} from the source. Retrying in 5 seconds.")
time.sleep(5)
continue

# Stream data and broadcast each chunk
for chunk in resp.iter_content(chunk_size=4096):
if not chunk:
continue
with clients_lock:
for c in clients[:]:
try:
c.sendall(chunk)
except Exception as e:
print(f"[!] A client disconnected or send failed: {e}")
c.close()
clients.remove(c)
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
print(f"[!] Source connection error, retrying in 5 seconds: {e}")
time.sleep(5)

def main():
if len(sys.argv) != 3:
print(f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} <source_url> <port>")
sys.exit(1)

source_url = sys.argv[1]
port = int(sys.argv[2])

# Create a TCP socket to listen for incoming connections
server_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
server_socket.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
server_socket.bind(("0.0.0.0", port))
server_socket.listen(5)
print(f"[+] Listening on port {port}...")

# List of currently connected client sockets
clients = []
clients_lock = threading.Lock()

# Start a thread to accept incoming client connections
t_accept = threading.Thread(
target=accept_connections,
args=(server_socket, clients, clients_lock),
daemon=True
)
t_accept.start()

# Continuously read from the source URL and broadcast to connected clients
read_from_source_and_broadcast(source_url, clients, clients_lock)

if __name__ == "__main__":
main()


When i write command python3 proxy_server.py 'http://channelurl' 9999 I getting error.

[+] Listening on port 9999...
[+] Fetching from source URL (with redirects): http://ate91060.cdn-akm.me:80/dc31a19e5a6a/fc5e38e28e/325973
[!] Got HTTP 403 from the source. Retrying in 5 seconds.
^CTraceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/namepirate58/nginx-1.23.1/proxy_server.py", line 127, in <module>
main()
File "/home/namepirate58/nginx-1.23.1/proxy_server.py", line 124, in main
read_from_source_and_broadcast(source_url, clients, clients_lock)
File "/home/namepirate58/nginx-1.23.1/proxy_server.py", line 77, in read_from_source_and_broadcast
time.sleep(5)
KeyboardInterrupt

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