Guide: And They Said It Was Impossible - Video Recording And Streaming On Your iPhone!
So, both Jesse James and Tiny Dancer have picked on the iPhone, saying you can't record and upload video from the iPhone, but I'm here to tell you, it's just not true! You can record video and even stream it live!
Want evidence? Here's a video I streamed live of Jay Brannan singing Housewife at a concert last month in Orlando with my iPhone 3G:
So what's the trick? Well it's quite simple, really - you have to jailbreak your iPhone.
Wait! Don't leave! It's simple! No, really!
You want proof? Well fine. I'll give you proof. I'll guide you through the steps. That's right - by then end of this article, you'll know exactly how to jailbreak your iPhone so you too can stream live video using your brand new jailbroken iPhone and Qik! Not only that but you'll have the added bonus of being able to install many more applications that Apple hasn't deemed worthy enough to grace its App Store (including an application that lets you turn your iPhone into a wireless access point, without paying the $40/month more to AT&T)
Hit the jump for the guide!
Here's what you'll need:
- An iPhone. (If you don't have one, get one. What are you doing reading this without an iPhone?)
- A Mac or Windows PC (sorry Linux folks. BTW this guide will focus on the Mac side, but the same steps will also work on Windows.)
- iPhone Dev-Team's PwnageTool, latest release. You can find it by following the links on iPhone Dev-Team's page (left side, Software -> "Official Torrents." Pick your flavour - Windows or Mac.)
- There's no fourth component. Move along. See? Told you this thing was simple.
Alright, now you're set! Let's get down to jailbreaking that iPhone, shall we? First, let's get the unpleasantness out of the way:
Homotron.net is in no way responsible if you brick your iPhone during this process. You're doing this out of your own free will, and we accept no responsibility for anything that happens if you follow this guide. Follow at your own risk. If you bring a jailbroken iPhone in to an Apple store for service, Apple may deny your warranty service. (Though you can easily install the normal, non-jailbroken firmware so that everything goes back to normal so Apple is none the wiser.)
Sorry, had to appease the lawyer bots. They wield big sticks, and not the fun kind. On with the show:
Before you begin, make sure to sync your iPhone with your computer so you have a fresh backup of all your settings and data. DO NOT SKIP THIS OR YOU'LL LOSE IT ALL. I'm not kidding here. If you perform a full sync (that means unplugging and replugging your iPhone in to your computer and letting iTunes do its thing), you'll be able to restore everything after you jailbreak your iPhone. Yes, even text messages and voicemails.
Quick side note for all of you that have updated to Mac OS 10.5.6 (to check, click your Apple Menu -> About this Mac) - Apple broke part of their USB communication kernel extension with this update and you will not be able to complete the jailbreak. Good news, though: enterprising hackers have already figured out how to fix Apple's mistake, and it's really simple - it only requires you to run a script. Check out Gizmodo's post for how to fix it. If you've got an earlier version of Mac OS X, you don't have to do anything.
Open up PwnageTool. PwnageTool guides you through all the steps you need to do, and it's pretty self explanatory.
First, you'll select which model iPhone you have.
Next, PwnageTool scans your computer for the latest version of the iPhone firmware that you have (iTunes keeps copies for recovery purposes.) Select the latest one from the list (look at the second number at the end of the file name, pick the highest number. If you're up to date on your firmware, this number should be 2.2 right now.)
Once you select the firmware, PwnageTool asks you where you want to save the jailbroken firmware. Pick somewhere you'll remember. I used my desktop.
Then, PwnageTool will ask you if you have a valid contract with AT&T and if the iPhone will activate via iTunes normally. All of you with a contract with AT&T, click yes. All of you without service from AT&T, click no.
Sit back and let PwnageTool do its thing. It'll take a while. Grab a cup of tea or something. Hey, I said it was simple, not quick. (btw, PwnageTool will ask you for your administrator password eventually. Go ahead and enter it; it's safe.)
After it's done, PwnageTool will ask you if you've jailbroken your iPhone before. Answer truthfully, and all shall be fine.
PwnageTool will now instruct you on how to set your iPhone to DFU mode. This is a special diagnostic mode that will allow you to fully wipe the firmware and install the new custom jailbroken firmware you just made. Just follow the directions that PwnageTool gives you. Don't worry. It'll be OK.
Once your iPhone is in DFU mode, PwnageTool will ask you to connect it with your computer again. When you do this, iTunes will tell you that the phone is in recovery mode and needs to have the firmware restored. Good. Acknowledge iTunes' little window, and in the iPhone pane of iTunes you're going to hold the option key (alt on Windows, I believe) while clicking the "Restore" button.
This makes a file browser pop up. Select the jailbroken firmware you made earlier (told you you'd have to remember where you put it. Hope you do! The default location is the desktop.)
Now iTunes itself will take your jailbroken firmware and install it on your iPhone (I love that.) Sit back, and let it do its thing. Maybe your tea needs a refill? A little cold?
After a couple of reboots on the iPhone, you'll have a brand new, jailbroken iPhone, and should be greeted by the familiar "Connect to iTunes to activate" screen with the Earth background on your iPhone. Disconnect your iPhone and plug it back in, and iTunes will activate it for you.
This is also when iTunes will ask you if you wish to restore from a backup. Just select the backup you made right before embarking on this little journey, and let iTunes do its thing once again. This will restore all your settings, email, text and voicemail messages.
You'll then have to let it do a full sync to restore all your media files to your iPhone. The jailbreak install wiped them all out, so iTunes will have to resync all the data again. Depending on how many music files, movies, podcasts, etc. you have to sync, this may take a while.
Celebrate! You have a jailbroken iPhone!
Now you'll have two new icons on your home screen: Cydia and Installer. These are what allow you to install third-party jailbreak apps. Tap on Cydia and let it automatically download all the latest updates.
Once that's done, tap "Search" and enter in "Qik." Install the application.
Now you have a new application on your home screen - Qik!
To get started with streaming, you'll have to register on Qik's site for an account. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Now here's the tricky part no one told me about that drove me nuts and had to figure out while visiting support forums: Log in to Qik on Qik's site and click on your member name to get to your profile. Now on the left, click "Install Qik."
In the box that says "Get Qik via SMS" put your phone number in and click "Download."
Qik will send a SMS to your iPhone. Tap the link on the SMS you just received and let it load in Safari. You might have to log in using your Qik username. This registers your iPhone with Qik's servers so it knows your phone goes with your Qik account.
Once you get a confirmation that your phone is registered, go back to your home screen and tap to launch the Qik application.
Tap "Sign In" on the top right and enter your Qik username and password and let it connect.
Voilá! You're ready to do live video streaming from your iPhone!
That little icon on the top left (the double arrows) means you're connected and ready to go!
Just point your iPhone's camera towards what you want to record, hit the camera icon at the bottom, and enjoy! Your video will show up on your Qik profile page for everyone to see. Qik will even give you embed codes so you can put your videos anywhere on the web.
You can also configure Qik to send a tweet on your Twitter account each time you're streaming video, so your friends know to tune in!
That's it! Happy streaming!
You can also check out other apps you can install via Cydia by launching Cydia and browsing its software repository. You'll find a lot of neat applications in there, including PDAnet (which turns your iPhone into a mobile wireless access point) and Terminal, which allows you access to the command line of your iPhone (for advanced users that want ultimate control.)
I'll show you how to use PDAnet next week. Until then, have fun!
Den Den Boy
Posted to Hot Stuff, In Your Pocket, Videos on 19 December 2008
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: Apple, guide, how-to, iPhone, iPhone 3G, jailbreak, Qik, video, video streaming
3D iPhone glasses. Why?
Seriously, Jay Brannan? Mr. "Don't put in my Wikipedia article that I am homosexual, even though I really am a flaming homosexual"? THAT Jay Brannan? :puke:
Wow, that was rather informative.
@SourBEAR:
And what were the conditions under which this happened? Were people trying to label him as gay needlessly? I myself don't believe that just because someone is gay that means it automatically has to be put as a descriptor when introducing someone, forever labelling him as "that gay singer/songwriter." That's just as ridiculous.
@hephaestus:
Thanks! That was the goal. I found that no one had really made a clear guide for how to do all this, so I took it upon myself to write one. Glad you liked it =)
I had never actually been to his Wikipedia page until today, figured I should check it out myself.
It is odd that there's no mention of his sexuality, considering his films and music to date are saturated with it. That's actually what I like about him is his unabashed gayness as being a part of him. Even live, he's got this crazy, queeny, self-depricating personality that suits his music well. I don't think I could ever hang out with him though, he seems very needy and attention starved.
He's cute, but he's a mess! ;)