NetUP IPTV Combine 4x Old Ver Manual

NetUP IPTV Combine Administrator’s Guide

DVB to IP Gateway / Streamer, VoD/nVoD,Middleware, IPTV Billing, Customer Interface

Contents

Contents1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3

Intended audience- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3Notation conventions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3IPTV technology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3List of terms - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -4NBS architecture - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -7IPTV Combine Overview - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -7

2 System Close-up- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9IPTV Combine- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -9STB Client - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -10IPTV Combine setup- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10

3 Usage examples - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13Working with the UCC - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 13Creating TV content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15Creating VoD or nVoD content- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -19Setting nVoD program schedule - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -21Creating media group - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -23Creating a user - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -27Creating a tariff plan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29Editing tariff plan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32Activating tariff plan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33Changing tariff plan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 34Activation code generation- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 35Making payment- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -36

4 Streamer web interface - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39Starting web interface - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -39DVB section - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -39RF/RCA section - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -46Network section - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -49STB Firmware section- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -51

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NetUP IPTV Combine. Administrator’s Guide

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Files section - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 52Update section- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 53System section- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 53Help section - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 53

5 Middleware system- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 55Media groups - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 55Media content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 55Media streams - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 56Access cards - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 57

6 VoD system - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59Media groups - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59Media content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59Media streams - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59Broadcast periods- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60Broadcast schedule- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60

7 Billing system - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 61Customers- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 61Tariff plans - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 62Media groups - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 62Media content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 63Currency rates - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 63Access cards - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 63

8 STB setup - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 65Updating user style- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 65Firmware update: Amino AmiNet- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 69Firmware update: D-Link - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 75

9 STB Client Interface - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 77Viewing TV channels - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 78Viewing VoD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 79Viewing virtual cinema - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 81Personal account - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 81Settings - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 83

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INTRODUCTION 1Intended audience

This manual is intended for IPTV service providers using NetUP IPTV Combine. An overall knowledge of TV broadcasting systems and IP networking is assumed. The document covers ba-sic functionality of NetUP IPTV Combine, as well as the typical necessary actions during its star-tup, deployment, and operation.

Notation conventionsThe following elements are emphasized in the text:

Terms (on first occurence);

Interface strings;

Notes;

Warnings.

IPTV technologyInteractive TV technology implies TV broadcasting over IP networks (IPTV). As a rule, an

IPTV solution includes components to execute the following tasks:

• Content receiving and processing (see "IPTV" - "Streamer");• Content storage and delivery (see "IPTV" - "VoD");• Content encryption (see "IPTV" - "CAS");• Billing (see "Other terms" - "Billing");• System setting and management (see "IPTV" - "Middleware");• Broadcasting of the content to end users and reproduction (see "IPTV" - "STB").

The main advantages of IPTV include its interactivity and a number of additional services, such as: video on demand (see "IPTV" - "VoD"), time-shifted TV (see "IPTV" - "TVoD"), network personal video recorder (see "IPTV" - "NPVR"), electronic program guide (see "IPTV" - "EPG"), virtual cinema (see "IPTV" - "nVoD"). IP protocol abilities allow to provide a number of interac-tive services besides just transmitting the video content.

IPTV works in IP networks with the use of the following protocols:

• HTTP or a custom protocol for interactive services organization (user menus, etc.);• RTSP (see "Networking" - "RTSP") for controlling broadcasting streams;


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• RTP (see "Networking" - "RTP") for transferring video streams;• IGMP (see "Networking" - "IGMP") for controlling multicast streams.

List of termsBelow is a list of terms used in the description of IPTV system.

N E T W O R K I N G

• DNS - Domain Name Service, a distributed hierarchical system that stores IP addresses, do-main names and various information associated with them.

• TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol, a stack of communication pro-tocols used in computer networks.

• FTP - File Transfer Protocol, an application level network protocol for file transfer.• HTTP - Hypertext Transport Protocol, an application level network protocol for data trans-

fer.• RTSP - Real-time Streaming Protocol, an application level network protocol that serves for

signalling during the multimedia data transfer.• RTP - Real-time Protocol, a transport level network protocol for delivering real-time traffic

over IP networks.• UDP - User Datagram Protocol, a simple transport level network protocol for data transfer.• TCP - Transmission Control Protocol, a transport level network protocol for data transfer

with guaranteed delivery.• DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a network protocol for obtaining IP address-

es and other auxiliary information in TCP/IP networks.• IGMP - Internet Group Management Protocol, a network protocol that manages group rout-

ing.• NTP - Network Time Protocol, a network protocol for synchronizing the internal clocks of

computer systems.• MAC - Media Access Control, a sub-layer of OSI model that provides addressing and chan-

nel access control mechanisms.• MAC address - a unique identifier assigned to a device in a network.• LAN - Local area network.• VLAN - Virtual Local area network, standard 802.1q.• NFS - Network File System, a file system distributed among multiple machines.• SSL - Secure Socket Layer, a cryptographic protocol for communications over TCP/IP net-

works.• Commutator (switch) - a device joining several nodes within a network.• Unicast - transmission of information packets to a single destination.• Broadcast - transmission of information packets to all devices in a network.• Multicast - transmission of information packets to a certain group of destinations.

Introduction

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• Multicast group - a group of destinations in a multicast transmission.• Multicast router - a router capable of routing multicast streams.

T E L E V I S I O N

• Polarization - type of the satellite signal polarization (may be vertical, horizontal, circular left, or circular right).

• Symbol rate - number of transmitted symbols per second.• Transponder - an automatic device that may receive and retransmit a signal.• LNB converter - Low-Noise Block converter, a device that converts a satellite signal for

transmission over a coaxial cable.• Receiver - a device that receives a converted satellite signal and transforms it into a form us-

able for the consumer.• DiSEqC - Digital Satellite Equipment Control, a special communication protocol for use be-

tween a satellite receiver and other devices.• Multiswitch - a device for connecting several receivers to the same satellite dish.• CSA - Common Scrambling Algorithm, an encryption algorythm used in DVB.• Codec - a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data

stream.• MPEG - a suite of data compression standards used for digital multimedia.• MPEG TS - MPEG transport stream, a container format used for transmission of multimedia

data over networks.• MPEG PS - MPEG program stream, a container format used for storage of multimedia data.• Audio PID - in a MPEG-encoded file or stream, an identifier of audio data.• Video PID - in a MPEG-encoded file or stream, an identifier of video data.• H.264 - a standard for video compression (subset of MPEG-4).• SD - Standard Definition (resolution of 720x480 or 720x576).• HD - High Definition (resolution of 1280x720 or 1920x1080).• HDTV - High Definition Television, a standard for high-resolution digital TV broadcasting.• DVB - Digital Video Broadcast, a suite of standards for digital television. Includes the fol-

lowing subsets:° DVB-S for satellite broadcasting;° DVB-S2 for high definition satellite broadcasting;° DVB-C for cable broadcasting;° DVB-T for terrestrial on-air broadcasting.

• RF - a format of analog video signal for on-air transmission.• RCA (AV) - a format of analog audio and video signal for short-range cable transmission.• S-Video - a format of analog video signal for short-range cable transmission that carries the

luminance and colour signals separately.• PAL - a colour-encoding system for analog TV accepted in Europe.


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• SECAM - a colour-encoding system for analog TV accepted in Russia.• NTSC - a colour-encoding system for analog TV accepted in USA.

I P T V

• Streamer - a device that receives an on-air or other signal and transmits it over an IP network. Particular varieties include DVB-to-IP gateway and MPEG encoder.

• Middleware - a set of software that controls the interaction between the components of an IPTV solution (streamer, VoD servers, CAS, and user STBs).

• CAM - Conditional Access Module, a module that provides restricted access to the broad-casted media data.

• MMI - Machine-Machine Interface, an interface used for interaction between CI and СAM.• EMM - Entitlement Management Message, an encrypted message stating the user’s right of

access to multimedia data.• CI - Common Interface, an interface of interaction with CAM (standard EN 50221).• CAID - Conditional Access system ID.• VoD - Video on demand.• TVoD - Television on demand.• nVoD - Near Video on demand (also known as “virtual cinema”).• NPVR - Network Personal Video Recorder.• EPG - Electronic Program Guide.• PPV - Pay-per-view, a system in which TV viewers can purchase events to be seen on TV.• CAS - Conditional Access System, a system that protects the content from unauthorized ac-

cess.• SMS - Subscriber Management System.• Time-Shifted TV - TV with pause and rewind options.• STB - TV set-top box.

O T H E R T E R M S

• XML - Extensible Markup Language, a markup language for structured texts.• RAID - Redundant array of independent disks, a fault-tolerant array of hard disks.• Database - a structured collection of data records stored in a computer system.• Cluster - a group of linked computers used as a single hardware resourse.• DRM - Digital Rights Management, access control technologies used to limit usage of digital

media or devices.• Billing - a system that collects information about services that are going to be billed to the

subscriber.• Firmware - a fixed program that internally controls some electronic device.• ISO - International Organization for Standardization.• ANSI - American National Standards Institute.

Introduction

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NBS architectureNBS (NetUP Business server) is a scalable platform for development of client-server applica-

tions used to build the NetUP IPTV Combine.

The components of the NBS platform interact via transactions using the application-level NXT (NetUP XML Transaction) protocol. Data encryption and personal authentication are per-formed via the SSL protocol methods.

When dealing with the TV set-top boxes, due to their limited resources, a binary version of the same protocol is used, called NBT (NetUP Binary Transaction). NBT also employs SSL for data encryption and personal authentication.

Each transaction may be addressed to one or several components of the system and may con-tain some events intended for the receiving component to proceed. An event consists of an event type identifier and the accompanying data. NBS guarantees the atomic processing of each trans-action.

NBS means of clustering and group routing provide a way of easy and transparent scaling (say, an addition of a new VoD server) without stopping the production software.

IPTV Combine OverviewNetUP's IPTV Combine is a complete one-box solution incorporating the following services:

• Satellite, terrestrial and cable TV channels (streaming);• Video on Demand (VoD);• Virtual Cinema (nVoD, near Video on Demand);• middleware & interactive user interface for IP set-top boxes.

Figure 1. IPTV components and processes overview.

Server partStreamer

Billing

MiddlewareVoD-B/DRM-R

VoD server

Activation system

RTSPMPEG-TSNXTNBT

EPG

End users

STB STB STB


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IPTV Combine includes all necessary components to provide TV, radio or video over IP net-works, all tightly integrated:

• Subscriber Management System;• Billing System;• Conditional Access System (CAS/DRM), protection against unauthorized access at different

levels;• Interactive graphic interface for IP set-top boxes (Middleware);• Content source and management (DVB to IP gateways, MPEG encoders, VoD/nVoD server).

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SYSTEM CLOSE-UP 2IPTV Combine

NetUP's IPTV Combine receives live satellite or terrestrial channels directly from antenna (DVB-S/ DVB-S2, DVB-T, RF) or via cable, from a studio or from third-party receivers (as ASI, AV, or S-Video). Analog TV or radio channels (A/V) are handled by real-time MPEG encoders built into the server. Received streams are multiplexed into MPEG-2 Transport Stream and dis-tributed via IP multicast.

For more info on configuring a streamer, see Streamer web interface on page 39.

NetUP's Video-on-Demand storage supports over 50 concurrent non-encrypted streams at typical MPEG-2 compression rate of 4 Mb/s per stream. Both unicast and multicast modes are supported.

Server storage comprises 1 Tbyte SATA-II hard disk or more than 250 movies in DVD qual-ity.

Movies are stored in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 AVC transport stream or program stream - both SD and HD are supported. Video content can be loaded via ftp.Movie descriptions displayed in the Middleware user interface can be synchronized with a central database on the Internet (Media Knowledge Base, www.media-kb.com). The database contains the full and structured informa-tion on multimedia content, is multilingual and freely accessible.

The VoD server is capable of encrypting the streaming content on the fly in a manner similar to that of CAS.

User interface of the Middleware system supports the following services:

• TV channels• Radio• Video on Demand (VoD) with the functions of searching by name, filtering by genre, and

viewing annotations.• Electronic Program Guide.

NetUP's Middleware supports world leading IP set-top boxes: Amino, Telergy, Hansun, D-Link, Teletec, etc.

Billing system performs the following functions:

• subscriber database maintenance;• rating of available services;• creation and management of tariff plans;• creation of accounting documents;• access cards management;


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• financial reporting.The billing system can be integrated with any third-party system controlling services of other

types (Internet access, VoIP, etc.).

STB ClientGraphical user STB interface of NetUP IPTV Combine is designed with the use of native

API, which provides an advantage in performance as compared to the browser-based interfaces.

NetUP IPTV Combine is compatible with set-top boxes of the following vendors:

• Amino Technologies (www.aminocom.com);• Telergy (www.telergy.eu);• Hansun (www.hansuntech.com);• D-Link (www.dlink.com);• TeleTec (www.teletec.com.ua).

Support of set-top boxes of other vendors can be implemented on demand.

Setting up STB Client is described in more detail in STB Client Interface on page 77.

IPTV Combine setupTo set up the NetUP’s IPTV Combine, do the following:

1. Plug the network and power cables into the device.2. Switch power on. You shall see Starting... on the LCD panel.3. Use the LCD manager for the initial setup of the system.

Figure 2. NetUP STB Client interface.

System Close-up

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LCD manager provides a way to monitor the CPU and LAN interface load on the de-vice front panel, as well as to assign IP addresses to network adapters.

Network in ter faces setupUsing the LCD panel, set up network parameters, i.e. IP address and subnet mask. To do that,

press Right on any statistics screen. A settings screen will appear. By pressing Up and Down se-lect the network interface to be set up.

Note that your local DNS server should associate the IPTV Combine IP address with mw.netup.

If you don’t want to set up any interfaces, press Left so that the screen will switch back to sta-tistics. The same will happen if no keys are pressed for 20 seconds.

When a wanted interface is selected, press Enter. Then you will be prompted to change cur-rent IP address for the chosen interface.

Pressing Left and Right gives you a way to select which byte to change (at that, ">" points to the currently selected byte). Pressing Up and Down, correspondingly, increases and decreases the selected byte value by 1.

When the IP address is entered, press Enter. Then you will be prompted to enter the subnet mask. Mask is entered by pressing Up or Down, which increases or decreases the number of bits in the mask determining the subnet address.

After entering the subnet mask, press Enter. Then you will be prompted to keep the changes just made or cancel them. Buttons Left and Right switch between Yes and No, with currently se-lected option emphasized with brackets. Select Yes to save the settings just made, or press Enterto proceed back to the network interface selection screen.

Figure 3. Network configuration.

Figure 4. IP address setup.

Figure 5. Subnet mask setup.


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Stat ist ics screenThe software contains two statistics screens. The first and principal is the screen listing the

amount of traffic through the network adapters. Lower line of the screen presents the total rate of incoming and outgoing traffic separated by “/”.

Pressing Up switches to the CPU load screen. First number is the total CPU load. Three sub-sequent numbers give, correspondingly, the portions of CPU load related to user tasks (u), system tasks (s), and awaiting data from the peripherals (w). Pressing Down switches back to the traffic statistics screen.

Pressing Right in any of the statistics screens switches to the network interfaces setup screen.

When the settings are done, set up your DNS server (via its config file) to associate the IP address just entered with mw.netup domain name.

Figure 6. Save changes screen.

Figure 7. LAN monitor.

Figure 8. CPU usage monitor.

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USAGE EXAMPLES 3This chapter contains typical scenarios of NetUP IPTV Combine usage. All actions are per-

formed via the interfaces of United Control Center (UCC) which itself is described in the first ex-ample Working with the UCC on page 13.

Initial setup of the IPTV Combine generally includes the following operations:

• content creation (see Creating TV content on page 15, Creating VoD or nVoD content on page 19, and Setting nVoD program schedule on page 21);

• users creation (see Creating a user on page 27);• tariff plan creation (see Creating a tariff plan on page 29 and Editing tariff plan on page 32);• tariff plan activation (see Activating tariff plan on page 33 and Changing tariff plan on

page 34);• making payment (see Making payment on page 36).

Working with the UCCUnited control center allows to configure the Middleware, VoD, and Billing systems.

1. Upload the archive of the united control center to the administrator’s workstation (i.e. the computer which will be used to control NetUP IPTV Combine). Archive is available for download on Files tab of the web interface. Unpack the archive.

To start the interface, Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 6.0 (Java 1.6.x) or above is needed. JRE distributive is available at http://java.sun.com/ for free.

2. Start the united control center in one of the two ways:° double-click on the control.center.se.jar file located in the folder where the

united control center was unpacked,or° in the folder where the united control center was unpacked, execute

java -jar control.center.se.jar


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A Connect to server window will appear.

Language of the united control center is set according to the system locale.

3. To start the control interface of any system, enter log-in and password in the corresponding fields in the Login fold-in group. During the initial setup use log-in root and password root. To save the login/pass-word pair, check the Save check box in this group.

It is strongly recommended to change the password immediately after logging in for the first time.

4. In the Keystore group enter the key store password. To save the password, check the Save check box in this group.

5. To set the IP address and port for the server part of a

particular system interface, press Options button next to the starting button of that interface. Enter the IP address and (colon-separated) port number used by the server part.The default port numbers are:

6. After all parameters are entered, press the button to start one of the control interfaces:

° Middleware

° Billing

° E-VoD

° VOD-B/DRM-R

° Activation system

The control interface will be started.

Figure 9. United control center starting window.

System TCP port

Middleware 50110

VoD 50130

Billing 50100

Activation system 50170

Usage examples

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The computer must have valid system date and time set, otherwise the system may work incorrectly.

Creating TV contentTo control the user’s access to TV channels broadcast by the streamer, a corresponding TV

content must be created in the NetUP IPTV Combine. Below is a model pattern of creating a TV content, which may be customized to meet particular circumstances.

1. Start the Middleware system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Media, then Media content. Media contents tab with a list of existing

contents will appear.

Figure 10. Media contents tab.


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3. Press Add . The New media content tab will appear.

4. Specify the following parameters of the media content being created:

5. Press Apply . New TV content will show up in the list.

Field name Value

Staff name Leave default: iptv-middleware

State Active

Type TV

Code Leave default (assigned automatically)

Name Name under which the new content will appear in the system

Summary (Not necessary)

Annotation that is displayed in the client STB interface.

Description (Not necessary)

Media content description

Genre (Not necessary)

Genres of the media content (a list with an option of multiple choice)

Image Do not download

Run time Do not fill

Language Do not fill

Sound mix Do not fill

Figure 11. Create new media content tab.

Usage examples

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In any of the systems, if you are missing some items (media content, media groups, etc.) created recently in other system, press Refresh in the context menu, or restart the control interface.

6. Now it is necessary to bind the content just created with the certain channel transmitted by the streamer. Media stream is an audio or video stream, either open or encrypted, going to the IP network. On the transport level, it is a MPEG-2 Transport Stream. To create a media stream, on the left pane select Media, then Media streams. Media streamstab with a list of existing media streams will appear.

Figure 12. Media streams tab.


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7. Press Add . The New media stream tab will show up.

8. Enter the parameters of the media stream being created:

9. Press Apply . New media stream will be created.

Parameter Value

Address IP address to which the TV content is streamed, with mask=32

Port 1234

Type TV

Owner Leave default: Middleware

Protocol Leave default: UDP MPEG2

Since Do not fill

Till Do not fill

Figure 13. New media stream tab.

Usage examples

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10. Select from the list the media stream just created and press Edit . The Edit media

stream page will show up.

11. In the Media content fold-in group change the Till value to the date in the future. In the same group, under Media content select the newly created TV content.

It is recommended to set the Till date to the remote future (say, 2033) in order to ensure it will not come while the content is still in use. Anyway, the user’s rights to view the content are determined via other parameters set in other interfaces.

12. Press Apply . Now the new TV content is bound with the media stream you need.

Further probably appropriate actions are described in the examples Creating media group on page 23 and Creating a tariff plan on page 29.

Creating VoD or nVoD contentTo control the user’s access to the content stored on the VoD or nVoD server, a corresponding

VoD content must be created in the NetUP IPTV Combine. Below is a model pattern of creating a VoD content, which may be customized to meet particular circumstances.

1. Start the Middleware system interface from the UCC.

Figure 14. Edit media stream tab.


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2. On the left pane select Media, then Media content. Media contents tab with a list of existing contents will appear.

3. Press Add . The New media content tab will appear.

Figure 15. Media contents tab.

Figure 16. Create new media content tab.

Usage examples

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4. Specify the following parameters of the media content being created:

5. Press Apply . New VoD content will show up in the list.

6. Upload the media file in transport stream format to the VoD server and place it at /mnt/vod/. At that, the file should have media content code for name and .ts for exten-sion, like 204.ts.If the content is intended for nVoD service, set up the program schedule for it. This is de-

scribed in Setting nVoD program schedule. Following probably appropriate actions are de-scribed in the examples Creating media group on page 23 and Creating a tariff plan on page 29.

Setting nVoD program scheduleThe nVoD service implies that a content is transmitted at regular time intervals according to

the schedule. Below is a model pattern of setting up the nVoD program schedule, which may be customized to meet particular cricumstances.

1. Start the E-VoD system interface from the UCC.

Field name Value

Staff name Leave default: iptv-middleware

State Active

Type VOD

Code Leave default (assigned automatically)

Name Name under which the new content will appear in the system

Summary (Not necessary)

Annotation that is displayed in the client STB interface.

Description (Not necessary)

Media content description

Genre (Not necessary)

Genres of the media content (a list with an option of multiple choice)

Image Do not download

Run time Do not fill

Language Do not fill

Sound mix Do not fill


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2. On the left pane select Media, then Broadcast periods to open the Broadcast periods tab.

3. Enter the time of operation for one or more periods in hh:mm–hh:mm format at the rows corresponding to the days when you want the content to be transmitted.

Names of the periods (“morning“, “day”, “evening” and “night“) are conventional and should not be understood literally. Each of the periods may be set up to start or end at any time.

4. Press Apply to save the periods just entered.

Figure 17. Broadcast periods tab.

Usage examples

23

5. On the left pane select Media, then Broadcast schedules. The Broadcast schedules tab will show up:

6. Press Add to add a new line to the schedule.

7. Select the media content from the dropdown list.8. Enter the time intervals to columns of the corresponding days. If the content should be

broadcast at several periods during the day, the corresponding intervals are to be entered comma-separated.

9. Press Apply to save the changes.

Following probably appropriate actions with the content are described in the examples Cre-ating media group and Creating a tariff plan on page 29.

Creating media groupMedia group is intended to group together items of media content in order to effectively im-

prove group operations with them. For example, in the Billing system you may set similar price for all media content items in one group.

Below is a model pattern of creating a group, which may be customized to meet particular cir-cumstances.

1. Start the Middleware system interface from the UCC.

Figure 18. Broadcast schedules tab.


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2. On the left pane select Media, then Media groups. Media groups tab with a list of existing groups will appear.

3. Press Add to add new media group.

4. Under Name type the new group’s name.

Figure 19. Media groups tab.

Usage examples

25

5. Under Type, use the dropdown list to select the type of content to be gathered in the new group, i.e. TV or VoD.

6. Press Apply . The new media group will be created.

7. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.8. On the left pane select Media, then Media content. Media contents tab with a list of existing

contents will appear. The Filter input field provides the ability of filtering by name in one of the fol-

lowing regimes: All words, Entire phrase, or At least one word. The regime to apply is selected via the context menu.

Figure 20. Media groups tab with the new group just created.


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9. In the media content list, right-click on the content to be added to the new group. In the ap-pearing context menu select Edit groups.

10. A Media content groups tab will show up.

Figure 21. Media content tab with the context menu.

Figure 22. Media content groups tab.

Usage examples

27

11. Select the new media group and press Apply . The content will be assigned to this

group.Following probably appropriate actions with the newly created media group are described in

the example Creating a tariff plan on page 29.

Creating a userBelow is a model pattern of creating a new user (AKA customer), which may be customized

to meet particular circumstances.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Customers. The Customers tab will show up.

Figure 23. Customers tab.


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3. Press Add to add new customer. The Add user tab will appear.

4. Enter the Login and Password for the new user.5. Select customer’s Type (either a Person or a Legal entity).

6. Press Add to add new person or a legal entity.

Figure 24. Add user tab.

Usage examples

29

7. Fill up the needed fields with the info about the new person or legal entity.


9. Close the Add user tab.The most likely following action with the newly created user is described in the example Ac-

tivating tariff plan on page 33.

Creating a tariff planBelow is a model pattern of creating a new tariff plan, which may be customized to meet par-

ticular circumstances.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.

Figure 25. Customer’s personal information.


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2. On the left pane select Tariffication, then Tariff plans. The Tariff plans tab will show up.

3. Add new tariff plan. The New tariff plan tab will appear.

Figure 26. Tariff plans tab.

Figure 27. New tariff plan tab.

Usage examples

31

4. Enter the tariff plan name.5. Unfold the group corresponding to the media type of your choice (VoD services, TV servic-

es, etc.)6. To add content items one-by-one (i.e. if the media content is not gathered into groups, see

Creating media group on page 23):

6.1. Press Add in this group.

6.2. Fill the columns:

6.3. Repeat steps 6.1–6.2 as needed to add more content.7. Alternatively, if the content is gathered into groups, add the groups as follows:

7.1. Unfold VoD Tariff templates or an analog with other content type.

7.2. Press Add to add a line into the table.

7.3. Fill up the columns:

7.4. Press Generate services. Every content item in the group will be assigned the given price and added to the tariff plan.

8. Press Apply to finalize the addition of content.

9. In the State dropdown list change the tariff plan state from Setting up to Active.

10. Press Apply to save the new tariff plan.

11. Close the New tariff plan page.The most likely following action with the newly created tariff plan is described in the exam-

ple Activating tariff plan on page 33.

Column Description

Media content Media content to be included in the plan.

Price Price of the service

Mandatory If checked, the service will be activated immediately on activation of the tariff plan – i.e. its price will be charged off the account, and the access to the contents will be provided.

Blockable If checked, thу service will be blocked automatically in case if the client is blocked.

State Active

Column Description

Media group Media content to be included in the plan.

Price Price of the service


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Editing tariff planBelow is a model pattern of editing a tariff plan.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Tariffication, then Tariff plans. The Tariff plans tab will show up.

3. Select the plan you intend to alter and press Edit . The Edit tariff plan tab will appear.

4. In the State dropdown list change the tariff plan state to Setting up.


While the tariff plan is in the Active state, all other control elements on this page are disabled, so it is impossible to edit the plan.

6. If needed, add some content items or groups to the tariff plan as described in Creating a tar-iff plan at steps 6–7.

If some media content belongs to two or more different groups which attempt to set dif-ferent price for it, you will notice question mark in the newly created list next to the price of this item. By right-clicking on the question mark, you may specify which of the tariffs is to be applied for this particular item (by default, the lower-price one is as-sumed).

7. If needed, alter some items in the tariff plan and press Apply to save the changes.

Figure 28. Edit tariff plan tab.

Usage examples

33

8. If needed, remove some services as follows:8.1. Change the State of the item in question to Setting up.

A service can not be removed while in the Active state.

8.2. Press Apply to save the changes.

8.3. Press Remove to remove the service.

8.4. Press Apply to save the changes.

9. Change the tariff plan State to Active and press Apply to save the changes.

Activating tariff planBelow is a model pattern of activating a tariff plan, which may be customized to meet partic-

ular circumstances.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Customers. The Customers tab will show up.3. Select the customer to whom you intend to assign the tariff plan and press Personal account

management button. The Personal account management tab will appear.

4. Press Add under the list of customer accounts in order to add new account to the list

(initially empty).

5. Press Add in the fold-in panel Activated tariff plans in order to add new tariff plan to

the list (initially empty).6. Select the tariff plan from the dropdown menu.


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7. Set the Start date and End date for the tariff plan (or probably leave the default values “now” and “forever”).


9. If necessary, repeat the procedure to define alternative tariff for other period.Further operations are described in the examples Activation code generation on page 35 and

Making payment on page 36.

Changing tariff planBelow is a model pattern of changing a tariff plan, which may be customized to meet partic-

ular circumstances.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Customers. The Customers tab will show up.3. Select the customer to whom you intend to assign the tariff plan and press Personal account

management button (or a similar context menu item). The Personal account managementtab will appear.

4. Select the active account.

Figure 29. Addition of a new tariff plan.

Usage examples

35

5. In the Activated tariff plans list select the currently enabled plan and press Disable .


While the tariff plan is enabled, it is impossible to set up another plan covering the same period.

7. Press Add in the Activated tariff plans fold-in panel.

8. Set the start and end dates for the new plan.9. Select the new plan from the dropdown list.


Activation code generationWhen using the access card for the first time, the user must enter the activation code obtained

from the IPTV provider. Below is a model pattern of activation code generation.

1. Start the Activation system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Security, then Activation codes. The Activation codes tab will

show up.

3. Press Add in order to add a new line to the list of activation codes.

Figure 30. Disabling a tariff plan.


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4. In the newly created line under the Access card number enter the number of access card which needs to be activated.

5. Press Apply to generate and save the activation code.

6. Copy the code to hand it over to the customer.

Making paymentTo view the IPTV content, a user must have above-zero balance. Below is a model pattern of

making a payment.

1. Start the Billing system interface from the UCC.2. On the left pane select Customers. The Customers tab will show up.

Figure 31. Activation code generation.

Usage examples

37

3. Select the customer to whom you intend to make a payment and press Make payment button (or a similar context menu item). The New payment page will show up.

4. If the selected customer has several accounts associated, selected the necessary one via the dropdown menu.

5. Enter the amount of payment.6. Select the payment currency, if applicable.

7. Press Apply to make the payment.

Now the services included in the customer’s tariff plan are available for use. Operations that might be required in the future are listed in the examples Editing tariff plan on page 32 and Changing tariff plan on page 34.

Figure 32. New payment page.


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STREAMER WEB INTERFACE 4Starting web interface

Web interface is intended for streamdec server setup and also for the following functions:

1. Firmware upgrade of IP STB devices.2. Review of access cards’ parameters.3. Files upload (for example, of united Middleware and VoD control center).

Start your browser and type the IP address just entered via the LCD manager (say, http://10.4.0.1). Alternatively, if your DNS server is already set up accordingly, type sim-ply http://mw.netup. You will be prompted to enter login and password. The default values are: login admin and password 123456.

It is strongly recommended to change the password immediately after logging in for the first time. This can be done in the System section of the web interface.

Web interface contains the following sections of NetUP streamer settings:

1. DVB – DVB adapter settings;2. RF/RCA – analog adapter settings;3. ASI (optional) – ASI adapter settings;4. Network – network interfaces settings;5. STB Firmware – upgrades of IP STB devices firmware;6. System – system settings;7. Files – united control center upload;8. Update – IPTV Combine firmware upgrade;9. Help – online help.

By default, the DVB section shows up first.

DVB sectionDVB section displays the full list of DVB adapters installed in the system together with their

current state.

Below is the explanation by column.

• Adapter – number of the adapter in the system, starting from 0.• Hardware – adapter state (OK / Failed).• Service – software state (Running / Stopped).


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Note that the column headers are clickable. Clicking on the column header sorts the records by this column. Second click on the same header reverses sort order.

• Actions lists possible operations with the adapter, including:° Configure – switch to Configure screen (see Configure page on page 41) to set up basic

adapter parameters;° Channels – tune channels;° EPG – switch to the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) screen (see EPG page on page 46);° Start Service – start service if it is not running;° Stop Service – stop service if it is running.

Note that stopping service stops transmitting video stream to network from this adapter.

Figure 33. DVB section.

Streamer web interface

41

Conf igure pageThis section is intended for setting up basic parameters of DVB adapter.

For convenience parameters are grouped in 7 blocks:

• Adapter Status

This block (refreshed automatically each 2 seconds) displays current state of the adapter, in-cluding the following parameters:° Service Status shows current state of the service (Running or Stopped);° Adapter Status shows adapter state, including:

* SIGNAL – presence of the signal (red means no signal);* CARRIER – presence of the carrier frequency (red means no carrier);

Figure 34. Basic adapter parameters settings.

Figure 35. Adapter Status block.


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* FEC – presence of the error correction;* SYNC – synchronization with the signal;* LOCK – adapter has locked on the signal and decodes it successfully. When the system works correctly, all indicators are green. Red means that the incoming

signal is either missing or corrupted.° Signal Level shows the signal level (the more the better);° Bytes Read shows received bytes count since last restart.

• Adapter Settings

This block contains controls for frequency, polarization and other signal parameters:° Frequency – incoming signal frequency (MHz);° Symbol Rate – rate of symbol transfer;° Polarization – polarization type;° Count – number of frames processed at once;° Character Set – character encoding for channel names and other auxiliary information;° Tone – enables a special 22 kHz tone to control the equipment.

Note that changing frequency leads to instant nulling of channel settings for the given adapter.

• LNB Settings

Figure 36. Adapter Settings block.

Figure 37. LNB Settings block.


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This block contains the converter frequencies. See http://www.netup.tv/en-EN/ articles/streamer-configuration-guide.php for more details.

• EPG Database Settings

(EPG stands for Electronic Program Guide)

This block lists the parameters of connection to MySQL database that stores the program guide: database Name, Host (database server name or IP address), Port number, User Name, Password, and Socket – path to the UNIX socket (required only if the database and streamer share the same machine).

• Middleware

This block contains controls for the following parameters: Host (Middleware server name or IP address), Port number, Login, Password, path to the Key Store, Key Store Passwordand Key Store Pass Phrase.

Key store and password to it are provided to you on purchase of the system.

• Paths

This block contains paths to temporary files of the following types:° Path to EIT files

Figure 38. EPG Database Settings.

Figure 39. Middleware connection settings.

Figure 40. Paths for temporary files storage.


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° Path to SDT files° Path to MPEG files

• Descrambling

This block contains stream decoder parameters:° Descrambler type can be chosen among:

* Internal – standard built-in newcamd server;* CI – Common Interface (EN50221), which option is required if a CAM module is

used;* External – external newcamd server, which requires also the remaining (otherwise

disabled) parameters:° Server Host – external newcamd server name or IP address;° Server Port – port number.

Channels pageThis page lists all channels found by the DVB adapter.

Figure 41. Stream decoding options

Figure 42. Channels settings.


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Note that this page will show up correctly only if the adapter software is running

Top block (Adapter Status) shows the current adapter state. Below follows the list of all channels found on the current frequency. Each channel is signed with its name, ID, audio and vid-eo PIDs, and CAID. Channel type is indicated by the sign in the left, which may be one of the fol-lowing:

• free-to-air TV stream;

• encrypted TV stream;

• free-to-air radio stream;

• encrypted radio stream.

The list begins with the channels that are already streaming, if any. For them, multicast IP ad-dresses and port numbers are also shown.

Below follow channels that are not configured yet (with Not configured mark instead of IP address).

To set up the channel, click on the block header to unroll and set the required parameters.

On pressing Save the parameters of this channels are saved.

If you want to stop the streaming of the channel, press Unconfigure.

Figure 43. Channel parameters.


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EPG pageThis page contains electronic program guide transmitted in satellite stream.

Note that this page will show up correctly only if the EPG Database Settings are con-figured.

Each program is accompanied with the following information: Event ID (unique ID of the program; last five figures contain ID of the program in the stream), Start Time, Duration, Lan-guage, and Program (name and brief description of the program).

RF/RCA sectionRF/RCA section displays the list of all installed analog adapters and their state.

• Adapter column shows number of the adapter in the system.• Hardware shows adapter state (OK / Failed).• Service shows software state (Running / Stopped).• Channel shows the description of the signal as given in the adapter parameters.• IP/Port shows the multicast IP address and port number to where the video stream is translat-

ed.

Figure 44. EPG oversight.


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Note that the column headers are clickable. Clicking on the column header sorts the records by this column. Second click on the same header reverses sort order.

• Actions shows possible operations with the adapter, including:° Configure switches to Configure screen (see Configure page on page 48) to set up basic

adapter parameters;° Start Service starts service if it is not running;° Stop Service stops service if it is running.

Note that stopping service stops streaming video to network from this adapter.

Figure 45. RF/RCA section.


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Conf igure pageThis page provides access to adapter configuration.

For convenience parameters are grouped in three blocks:

• Adapter Status

This block (refreshed automatically each 2 seconds) displays current state of the adapter. In particular, Service Status is either Running or Stopped.


Figure 46. Adapter configuration.

Figure 47. Adapter status.

Figure 48. Adapter settings.


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This block contains the following parameters:

° Channel Name – name of the channel to be displayed in the corresponding column in the list of installed adapters (RF/RCA section);

° Video Source – source of the video. Valid options are: RF, S-Video, RCA;° Frequency – signal frequency (in KHz). Valid only for RF;° Video Standard – color coding standard. Valid options are: PAL, SECAM;° Bitrate – data rate in bit/sec. Valid range is from 512000 to 8000000.

• Multicast Settings

This block contains controls to enter the IP address and port number for multicasting.

Network sectionNetwork section gives the full list of installed network adapters together with their state.

• Interface column lists the system names of the adapters.• Status lists the adapter state (ON / OFF).• MAC lists MAC addresses of network adapters.• IP lists the adapters’ IP addresses.• Multicast contains radio button that selects the adapter appointed for translation of multicast

streams.

Note: To select another adapter for multicasting just click next to its name in this column.

Figure 49. Multicast settings.

Figure 50. Network section.


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• Actions column lists the possible operations with the given adapter:° Configure – configure adapter.° DHCP – set up DHCP for this adapter.° Statistics – show graphical load statistics for this adapter.Routing button opens the control interface to the routing table.

To set the default gateway, enter 0.0.0.0 for Destination and also 0.0.0.0 for Mask.

Conf igure pageThis page contains configuration options of network adapter.

For convenience parameters are grouped in three blocks:


Figure 51. Routing table.

Figure 52. Adapter configuration.


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This block shows the adapter’s system name and MAC address;• IP Addresses

Contains IP addresses assigned to this adapter. To remove any address, press Remove button next to it. To change an address, type it in the input field and press Save.

• Add IP

To assign an additional IP address for the adapter, type address and subnet mask into the cor-responding input fields and then press Add.

STB Firmware sectionSTB Firmware section provides controls for updating the firmware of STB boxes and the

mcastbootd executable.

The section consists of the following blocks:

• Firmware uploader (mcastbootd)° Enable starts the mcastbootd daemon that performs remote firmware upgrade of IP

STB boxes on demand. Disable stops the mcastbootd daemon.° Service Status shows the mcastbootd status (enabled or disabled).° Interface allows to select interface on which mcastbootd is to be started.

• Firmware for AmiNET 110

° Bootstrap image browses to the firmware uploader image.° Bootstap image serial shows the current uploader version.° Filesystem image browses to the firmware image.° Filesystem image serial shows the current firmware version.° Upload button uploads all selected files.

Figure 53. Adapter settings.

Figure 54. IP addresses.

Figure 55. Addition of an IP address.


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• Firmware for AmiNET 125

and• Firmware for AmiNET 130

contain similar controls.

Files sectionThis section is intended for uploading of the United control center archive.

Figure 56. STB Firmware section.

Figure 57. Files section.


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Update sectionThis section lists the uploaded firmware files together with their uploading dates, version

numbers, and possible actions.

This section allows to update the IPTV Combine firmware.

System sectionThis section allows to change the administrator's password. To do so, type the new password

twice in the New Password and Retype New Password fields and press Save.

Help sectionThis section contains online help on the system.

Figure 58. Update section.

Figure 59. System section.


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MIDDLEWARE SYSTEM 5The Middleware system contain interfaces to the following entities:

• Media groups (with add/remove access);• Media content (with add/modify/remove access);• Media streams (with add/modify/remove access);• Access cards (read-only).

Media groupsMedia group is intended to collect together items of media content in order to effectively im-

prove group operations with them (such as to add to the tariff plan or to set a price for).

The interface consists of the following pages:

• Media groups displays the list of existing groups together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Columns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° ID;° Mask;° Name;° Type.

The Add and Remove buttons for operations with media groups are available.

The attribution of content to either group can be performed via the Billing interface (see Bill-ing system – Media content on page 63). Creation of an example media group and dealing with it are described in Creating media group on page 23.

Media contentMedia content is a record about a single unit of content (TV or VoD) which may be referred

to in respect to the customers’ tariff plans. The interface consists of the following pages:

• Media content displays the list of existing content units together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Col-umns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° Owner;° State;° Type;° Media content code;° Name;


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° Annotation;° Description;° Genres;° Logo URL;° Image URL;° Duration;° Language;° Sound.

The Filter input field provides a way of filtering by name. There is also a dropdown list for selection by group.The media content state is emphasized by color, with green for Active, blue for Setting upand yellow for Obsolete.

The Add , Edit , and Remove buttons for operations with media content are

available.

• New media content (opens on pressing Add ) contains input fields to enter the parameters

of a new content unit.

• Edit media content (opens on pressing Edit ) contains input fields to edit the parameters

related to the selected content unit.Creation of media content of different types and subsequent setting of the related options is

described in Creating TV content on page 15, Creating VoD or nVoD content on page 19, and Setting nVoD program schedule on page 21.

Media streamsMedia stream is a record about a certain IP address or a pool of addresses from which a

streamer is broadcasting content into an IP network. Normally it has to be associated with some media content.


• Media streams displays the list of existing media streams together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Col-umns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° ID;° Address;° Port;° Type;° Owner;

Middleware system

57

° Protocol;° State;° From;° Till;° Media content.

The Filter input field provides a way of filtering by name.

The Add , Edit , and Remove buttons for operations with media streams are

available.

• New media stream (opens on pressing Add ) contains input fields to enter the parameters

of a new media stream, except for its associated content.

• Edit media stream (opens on pressing Edit ) contains input fields to enter the media con-

tent related to the selected media stream.The creation of media stream and its association with media content are described in Creat-

ing TV content on page 15.

Access cardsThe read-only list of access cards is added to the Middleware interface to have the quick ac-

cess to the information on existing access cards and their associated tariff plans. Complete inter-face to the list of access cards is included in Billing (see Billing system – Access cards on page 63).


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VOD SYSTEM 6The E-VoD system contain interfaces to the following entities:

• Media groups (read-only);• Media content (read-only);• Media streams (with add/modify/remove access);• Broadcast periods (with add/modify/remove access);• Broadcast schedule (with add/modify/remove access).

Media groupsThe read-only list of media groups is added to the E-VoD interface to have the quick access to

the information on existing groups and the types of content included in them. Complete interface to media groups belongs to the Middleware system (see Middleware system – Media groups on page 55), while the attribution of media content to groups is made via Billing (see Billing system – Media content on page 63).

Media contentThe read-only list of media content is added to the E-VoD interface to have the quick access

to the information on existing content. Complete interface to media content belongs to the Mid-dleware system (see Middleware system – Media content on page 55).

Media streamsMedia stream in a VoD context is a record about a certain IP address or a pool of addresses

from which VoD content is transmitted into an IP network.


• Media streams displays the list of existing media streams together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Col-umns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° ID;° Address;° Port;° Type;° Owner;° Protocol;° State;° From;


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° Till;

The Filter input field provides a way of filtering by name.

The Add and Remove buttons for operations with media streams are available.

• New media stream (opens on pressing Add ) contains input fields to enter the parameters

of a new media stream.Media stream created for VoD transmission does not need to be associated with any media

content.

Broadcast periodsThe Broadcast periods page lists (for each day independently) the time periods of validity of

certain VoD transmission intervals, as they are entered on the Broadcast schedule page. Names of the periods ("morning", "day", "evening" and "night") are conventional and should not be un-derstood literally. Each of the periods may be set up to start or end at any time. Term of validity of each period may be entered as hh:mm-hh:mm (from start till end) or as +hh:mm (duration, starting from the end of the previous period).

Broadcast scheduleThe Broadcast schedule page contains the list of VoD content and its schedule. Schedule is

entered in a form of time intervals between transmission starts, set independently for each day and for each broadcast period. Intervals may be entered as hh:mm or hh. Several intervals for different periods within one day, should a need arise, are entered comma-separated.

The Add media content and Remove media content buttons for operations with

the schedule are available.

Setting up the broadcast schedule is described in the example Setting nVoD program sched-ule on page 21.

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BILLING SYSTEM 7The Billing system contains interfaces to the following entities:

• Customers (with add/modify/remove access);• Tariff plans (with add/modify/remove access);• Media groups (read-only).• Media content (with the possibility to edit group membership).• Currency rates;• Access cards;• Documents;• Reports.

CustomersThe customers list contain records about particular customers together with their personal

data and provided services. The interface consists of the following pages:

• Customers page displays the list of existing clients together with their parameters. The set-tings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Columnsitem in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° ID;° Login;° Name;° Comments.

The operations with the customers are performed by means of the buttons Add ,

Edit , Remove , Make payment, Personal account management, and Personal

account information.

• New customer (opens on pressing Add ) contains input fields to enter the parameters of

a new customer, which are:° Login;° Password;° Type;° Roles;° Comments;° Personal information (a number of fields and their meanings depend on the client type,

which may be either a person or a legal entity).


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• Edit customer (opens on pressing Edit ) contains input fields to edit the parameters re-

lated to the selected customer.• New payment (opens on pressing Make payment).• Personal account management (opens on pressing the button of the same name).• Personal account information (opens on pressing the button of the same name).

Creation of a new customer record and subsequent operations with it are described in Creat-ing a user on page 27, Activating tariff plan on page 33, Changing tariff plan on page 34, and Making payment on page 36.

Tariff plansThe interface consists of the following pages:

• Tariff plans page displays the list of existing tariff plans together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Col-umns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° ID;° Name;° State.

The Add , Edit , and Remove buttons for operations with tariff plans are avail-

able.

• New tariff plan (opens on pressing Add ) contains input fields to edit the parameters re-

lated to a new tariff plan, including the user charge and list of services.

• Edit tariff plan (opens on pressing Edit ) contains input fields to edit the parameters re-

lated to the selected tariff plan, including the user charge and list of services. Before any changes are made, the state of the plan should be switched to Setting up.Creation and editing of a tariff plan is described in Creating a tariff plan on page 29 and Ed-

iting tariff plan on page 32.

Media groupsThe read-only list of media groups is added to the Billing interface to have the quick access

to the information on existing groups and the types of content included in them. Creation of me-dia groups is performed via the Middleware system (see Middleware system – Media groups on page 55), while the attribution of media content to groups is made via Billing (see Media contenton page 63).

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63

Media contentThe Billing interface contains the following pages for working with media content:

• Media content lists the existing media content units, like at Middleware system – Media con-tent on page 55, though read-only.

• Media content groups (opens on pressing Edit groups in the context menu on the previous page) allows to attribute any content to some group.Including the media content into the group is described in Creating media group on page 23.

Currency ratesThe Currency rates pages allows to enter the exchange rates for predefined currency pairs to

be used in internal calculations.

Access cardsAccess card is an ssl certificate intended to establish an encrypted connection with Middle-

ware server, as well as for the authorization and identification of the user. Access cards are gen-erated by NetUP.


• Access cards page displays the list of existing access cards together with their parameters. The settings governing the representation of any particular parameter may be tuned via the Columns item in the context menu. The list of parameters include:° Number;° Term of validity;° Organization;° City;° E-mail;° PIN;° Name;° Role mask;° State.

The Filter fold-in group provides the options of filtering by name, by term of validity, or by state.

Active access cards are emphasized in the list with green color.


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STB SETUP 8STB firmware style (including images, text messages, etc.) may be updated by the client. The

guidelines for altering and uploading user styles are given below (see Updating user style).

The complete firmware update is performed by specialized software which is available for STBs of certain manufacturers. See the details in Firmware update: Amino AmiNet on page 69and Firmware update: D-Link on page 75.

Updating user styleThe user style includes images, text messages and other parameters of user interface screens.

Below is the description of altering different elements.

Note that each user-altered style is bound to the firmware of particular version, and needs to be updated together with it.

Changing splash screenTo change the splash screen:

1. In the default style file default_style.ini find the record corresponding to the current splash screen image:

The default_style.ini file, as well as other style and image files, are supplied together with Middleware or separately on request.

2. Enter the new image file name and message text alignment:

3. Save the file as style.ini.

[splash_screen]file=":netup_splash.gif"alignment="left"

[splash_screen]file=":new_splash.gif"alignment="right"


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4. Create design.qrc file with the following contents:

5. Compile the resource file:

The rcc resource compiler is a part of the Qt development kit which may be down-loaded from http://www.qtsoftware.com/.

Changing imageTo change one of the interface images (in the given example it is the lock screen image):

1. Find the image file you intend to change by browsing through the images of the default theme.2. Find the record related to this image in the default style file default_style.ini:

3. Enter the new image file name:

4. Save the file as style.ini.

When multiple changes are made to the default style, naturally, they all must be saved in one style.ini file.

5. Create design.qrc file with the following contents:

<RCC><qresource prefix="/" >

<file>style.ini</file><file>new_splash.gif</file>

</qresource></RCC>

rcc -binary design.qrc -o style.rcc

[label_login2]styleSheet="background-image: url(:/user2.gif); border-style: inset;background-repeat: no repeat; background-position: center;"

[label_login2]styleSheet="background-image: url(:/user22.gif); border-style: inset;background-repeat: no repeat; background-position: center;"


<file>style.ini</file><file>user22.gif</file>

</qresource></RCC>

STB setup

67


Changing colorTo change one of the interface message colors (in the given example it is the color of the

“MAC address” line from the network information screen):

1. Find the description of the screen in question in the default style file default_style.ini:

2. Enter the new color:

3. Save the file as style.ini.4. Create design.qrc file with the following contents:


Changing text messageTo change one of the text messages (in the given example it is the “MAC address” line from

the network information screen):

1. Find the description of the screen in question in the default style file default_style.ini:


[label_ifconfig_mac_value]text="MAC address"styleSheet="background-color: #344752; font-size: 13px; font-family: tahoma"

[label_ifconfig_mac_value]text="MAC address"styleSheet="background-color: #FF00FF; font-size: 13px; font-family: tahoma"


<file>style.ini</file></qresource>

</RCC>


[label_ifconfig_mac_value]text="MAC address"


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2. Enter the new message:

3. Save the file as style.ini.4. Create design.qrc file with the following contents:


User s ty le uploadingUpdated styles are distributed among client STBs by the means of the multifiles system. A

client of this system running on each STB downloads the update from the network and replaces the /mnt/nv/style.rcc file.

More detailed description of the multifiles system is available at http://www.netup.tv/en-EN/multifiles.php.

After the style.rcc resource file is created, start the update server:

The mfsrv executable file is supplied together with Middleware or separately on re-quest.

The update file is sent over the network as a UDP multicast stream to the given multicast адрес (by default, 224.2.2.4, port number 2222). Client intending to receive that file sends an IGMP request to be included in the said group, and starts receiving the file. The use of multicast allows to transmit a file to an arbitrary number of clients using just one stream.

Client performs the update only if the supplied firmware version is newer (by version number) than the already existing one.

The user styles will be updated at next STB reboot.

[label_ifconfig_mac_value]text="Adresse MAC"


<file>style.ini</file></qresource>

</RCC>


./mfsrv -a version_number -f style.rcc

STB setup

69

Firmware update: Amino AmiNet

Mass updateCentralized update of the STBs firmware is performed with multicast distribution by the

means of mcastbootd daemon as soon as new versions become available. On the moment of startup each STB checks the version number of firmware being distributed. If this version is new-er than the present one, the STB proceeds with downloading and installing it. The update consists of two files, namely bootstrap.signed (kernel and installation scripts) and mc2.mcfs(image of the file system).

The mcastbootd daemon is started as follows:

The mcastbootd.conf config file contains paths to the update files, multicast IP address-es for which they are intended, version number, and other parameters. The paths must correspond to the actual files’ locations, and the IP addresses must comply with those stated in the DHCP set-tings (see DHCP settings on page 70). Version number must be increased with each revision. The rest of parameters may be left with the values as in the example below.

In order to ensure their legitimate origin, all distributed files are signed with a certain private key and verified with the corresponding public key that is stored on each STB. The private key is used and kept by the STB vendor, and typically is not supplied to the user.

In case any of the firmware files becomes corrupted due to the download fault or some other reason, upon detecting that the STB would download the version which is currently distributed via mcastbootd.

./mcastbootd -с <path to mcastbootd.conf>

[Server]LogLevel=4[Image /usr/local/amino/images/bootstrap.signed]MulticastIPAddress=225.50.50.50MulticastUDPPort=11111FileName=/usr/local/amino/images/bootstrap.signedDescription=Linux bootstrap imageImageType=1PacketSize=1456CycleTime=0[Filesystem mc2]MulticastIPAddress=225.50.50.51MulticastUDPPort=11111ImageName=mc2Description=upgrade filesystemSerialNumber=280DirsPerCycle=128DataRate=256


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When a firmware error is detected, the STB would indicate the error code by LED flashing. Each error code consists of two numbers and is represented by two groups of flashes separated by a larger pause. First (i.e. major) number of 1 denotes network problems which do not cause STB to reboot, so that once the problem is resolved, manual reboot is required. Major number of 2 de-notes problems with the working firmware or inaccessibility of the update, and 3 stands for prob-lems with the downloaded update. These options cause automatic reboot.

Firmware update files are uploaded via the corresponding page of the web interface (see STB Firmware section on page 51).

DHCP set t ingsThe DHCP server, among other duties, informs the STBs about the IP addresses that the firm-

ware updates come from. STBs of various models (or at different steps of upgrade) may require different updates and, consequently, must be recognized by their ID strings and directed to vari-ous IPs.

Below is a fragment of an example dhcpd.conf config file:

If the STB if on the first stage of update,

it is provided with the IP address and port number to download bootstrap.signed:

class "AmiNET110 mboot"{

match if (option vendor-class-identifier ="aminoAMINET11xmboot")

or ((substring(option vendor-encapsulated-options, 2, 9) ="AMINET11x")

and (substring(option vendor-encapsulated-options, 13, 5 ="mboot"));

vendor-option-space AMINO;option AMINO.address 225.50.50.50;option AMINO.port 11111;

}class "AmiNET110 upgrd"{

STB setup

71

On the next stage,

it is directed to another address to download mc2.mcfs:

Finally, when the upgrade is over (or if it was not needed from the very beginning),

the AMINO.address and AMINO.port parameters are not set; instead, the STB is provid-ed with the time zone setting for further work:

Forced updateThe STBremoteconf utility allows to send update command to a particular STB. It may be

worthwhile to use if the STB must be updated immediately, or in case of multicast update failure or some other faults.

All transmitted commands must be signed with the special private key (different from that used to sign the update files). This key is supplied to the user by the firmware vendor, that is, by NetUP in case if the NetUP STB client firmware is used. The STBremoteconf utility requires the setting of an environment variable named STBKEY containing the path to the private key file:

match if (option vendor-class-identifier ="Aminoaminet110upgrd")

or ((substring( option vendor-encapsulated-options,2,9) ="aminet110")

and (substring( option vendor-encapsulated-options,13,5) ="upgrd"));

vendor-option-space AMINO;option AMINO.address 225.50.50.51;option AMINO.port 11111;

}class "AmiNET110 fisys"{

match if (option vendor-class-identifier ="Aminoaminet110fisys")

or ((substring( option vendor-encapsulated-options, 2, 9) ="aminet110")

and (substring(option vendor-encapsulated-options, 13,5) ="fisys"));

vendor-option-space AMINO;option AMINO.timezone="MSK-3MSD-4,M3.5.0/2,M10.5.0/2";

}

STBKEY=/hd3/itv/amino_new/conf/keys/amino/STBrc-KEY.private


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The update command is called as follows:

Multicast address for the first parameter can be used as well, in which case the command eventually will be delivered to multiple STBs.

An alternative way implies telnet connection to STB with the objective to alter (or better yet, remove) any file and then reboot. In this case, on restart the STB will detect that the firmware is damaged, and will proceed to downloading the currently distributed version.

Debugging cable connect ionIf both the regular mass update and individual update fail (that is, if due to some firmware

fault or other reason the STB does not download newer firmware version, and also neither ac-cepts STBremoteconf commands nor allows remote connection by telnet), the last-ditch effort to revive the STB may be made with the debugging cable. The cable is supplied by the STB man-ufacturer or vendor.

The connection cable must be attached to the slot named below with its missing pin facing the square hole.

When wired to a PC via direct cable connection, the STB may be controlled with a terminal program.

./STBremoteconf <IP address of STB> UPGRADEMCAST <IP address of updates server> <port>

Amino 110 J7

Amino 125 J4

Amino 130 J7

Figure 60. Debugging cable connection.

STB setup

73

The system must have virtual COM port driver installed.

The connection parameters are:

Reboot the STB with the cable connected. After some booting messages, the following prompt will appear:

To display the list of available commands, type help:

To display the list of parameters, type show all:

Speed (bit/s) 115200

Data bits 8

Parity None

Stop bits 1

Hit ENTER to stop normal operation ...I>

I>helpAmino Communications IntActOS-32 v1.44 on AMINET11x with 32Mb RAMProcessor: 51510950 running at 252.000 MHzbootos,cache,configure,go,help,time,rem,reset,show,sprogtestledchange,copy,delete,details,device,dir,format, fs,load,makefs,rename,run,save,type,verifymputgif,setavcmboot

I>show allLocked : 00BoxID : 701608F017310BoardRev : 2VideoMode : 1OutFormat : 0RFChan : 166RFMode : 2RFFreqTbl : 0CAID : F0F0F0F0NDSSoftwareVersion : 00000000NDSDriverVersion : 00ManufacturerID : 1DSTBModelType : 01HardwareVersion : 01


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The typical command sequence for restoration of STB is described below.

1. Set up the IP address and port from which the modern firmware is to be downloaded:

2. Erase all existing files:

3. Reboot the STB:

During startup the STB will communicate to the address just set in order to download the modern version of firmware.

In case if the STB’s public key for update files verification is modified by the vendor, request the corresponding private key from the vendor and the non-signed firmware version from NetUP, sign the firmware and upload it to the STB via one of the aforementioned ways.

In case if the STB itself is modified by the vendor so that the direct cable connection is im-possible, ask the vendor for further instructions.

MACaddress : 00:02:02:1C:DB:7BEthernet : 0UseDHCP : YIPaddress : 0.0.0.0Gateway : 0.0.0.0Netmask : 0.0.0.0TimeServer : 0.0.0.0DNS : 0.0.0.0McastAdr : 0.0.0.0McastPort : 0

I>configure McastAdr 225.50.50.50I>configure McastPort 11111I>

I>formatThis will erase all files in device 0Do you want to continue? (Y/N)Checking Blocks... total size = 02000000

99%Erasing...99%

Bytes used = 0000A000Bytes spare = 01FF6000Bytes total = 02000000

I>reset

STB setup

75

Firmware update: D-Link

Mass updateCentralized update of the STBs firmware is performed with multicast distribution as soon as

new versions become available with the use of program named amfus. On the moment of startup each STB checks the firmware version being distributed and downloads it in case it is newer than the present one.

The distribution utility takes the config file name, as well as the target multicast address and port from the command line parameters.

The multicast IP address and port number must correspond to those used by the client pro-gram, which are:

• With standard D-Link firmware: 239.60.8.1:37732;• With NetUP firmware for D-Link: 226.50.50.120:1000;• With mcup (see below Forced update): 226.1.2.5:1000.

The example config file netup.conf is presented below:

It contains the names of partitions where to place update files (kernel and a0_rootfs) and the names of those files (vmlinuz and dib120-netup-fs.img) together with their ver-sion numbers, sizes and md5 control sums. First of the two files is the kernel, and second is the file system image.

The names of partitions described in /proc/mtd must correspond to those given above, otherwise the update is impossible. One probable solution to this problem is described below in Changing partitions’ names.

Forced updateIf the automatic multicast upgrade fails for any reason, connect to the STB by telnet and start

the mcup program (having previously copied it to the STB, if necessary). This program will per-form firmware update by downloading the new version from the multicast address 226.1.2.5:1000.

Changing par t i t ions ’ namesIn case if the STB does not accept the update, either request the instructions from the vendor,

or use the following (though not verified by vendor) method:

1. Start a telnet connection to the STB;

./amfus -d netup.conf -m 226.1.2.5:1000

kernel vmlinuz V1.05.101 1609816 ab0fb169f14458c680901137cc5dae58a0_rootfs dib120-netup-fs.img V1.05.102 13783040

03975f13fe83380d650755b2b1c62f78


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2. Copy the /proc/mtd and /proc/meminfo files to any location outside of /proc;3. Unmount /proc;4. Make /proc writable;5. In the mtd file:

change the name of mtd2 partition to “kernel”;6. Copy /proc/mtd and /proc/meminfo files over their previous location.

If the telnet connection to STB is impossible, then requesting instructions from the vendor re-mains the only valid option.

dev: size erasesize namemtd0: 01200000 00020000 "a0_rootfs"mtd1: 00200000 00020000 "html"mtd2: 00200000 00020000 "vmlinux"mtd3: 001c0000 00020000 "a0_kernel"mtd4: 00440000 00020000 "b0_rootfs"mtd5: 000c0000 00020000 "cfe"mtd6: 00080000 00020000 "splash"mtd7: 00280000 00020000 "a0_config"mtd8: 00020000 00020000 "variable"mtd9: 00020000 00020000 "misc"

77

STB CLIENT INTERFACE 9STB Client's interface is reproduced on the TV screen by the means of the set-top box and can

be enabled or disabled by pressing Menu button of the remote control. While the interface is on, current video content continues to run and is visible in the background, though partially shaded.

Web interface enables the customer to:

• Select and view TV channels;• Select, order and view movies from VoD servers;• Select show time and view movies from the Virtual Cinema servers;• Set language and interface settings, select the tariff plan to switch to, view financial statement;• Control the process of viewing movies and TV programs.

All of the above is made via the seet-top box remote control panel.

At first launch the user is prompted to enter the activation number. On subsequent launches the authorization is performed automatically.

After authorization one of the user interface screens will show up.

Figure 61. Activation screen.


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If the screen locking code is set up in the system, the lock screen will appear first.

Interface screens are split into several section depending on the functionality included. The top-level menu section placed at the left is shared by all screens. As a rule, the remote control but-tons Up and Down serve to switch between menu items of the same level, while Right and Leftare used to switch between menu levels and open the selected menu item. Other remote control buttons may possess specific meanings which are described in each screen separately.

Viewing TV channelsThe TV channel selection and viewing interface is composed of two screens.

The Available screen lists all available channels and provides an Add to favorites option. De-scription of the highlighted channel is shown in the bottom part of the screen.

Figure 62. Lock screen.

Figure 63. Available channels window.

STB Client Interface

79

The Favorite screen lists selected channels with the options of viewing and removing from the favorites. Channel may be selected either with Up and Down buttons of the remote control panel, or by dialing its number in the list with number keys. Numbers are initially given to the channels in order of addition, and may be later changed arbitrarily.

Channel starts running on pressing OK.

Viewing VoDThe movies selection and ordering interface is composed of four windows.

At first, a movie has to be ordered. This can be done using the Order by group, Order by genre and Order by name windows. The latter is equipped with a virtual keyboard. To enter the movie name, move around the keyboard with the navigation keys and switch between upper and lower cases with the yellow functional key.

The description of the highlighted movie is shown in the bottom part of the screen.

Figure 64. Favorite channels screen.


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To order the highlighted movie, press OK.

The Available movies screen lists the already ordered movies. To view a movie, select it among the list and press OK. The movie will start reproducing.

Control the replay by video buttons of the remote control panel.

Figure 65. Order movies by name screen.

Figure 66. Available movies screen.


81

Viewing virtual cinemaThe virtual cinema interface is composed of two windows.

Movies are ordered in the Order movies window and become available in the Available movies window together with their list of seances, including those started not earlier than 15 minutes ago.

Once a show is selected, the reminder string with the indicator of time left will show up at the main menu. If an already started show is selected, the reproduction will start immediately.

Personal accountThe interface of account options consists of three screens, namely Information, Replace tar-

iff plan, and Financial report.

Figure 67. Available movies window.


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Information displays the current tariff plan, card validity period, and balance.

Replace tariff plan provides the interface for switching to another tariff plan by selecting it from the list.

Figure 68. Information screen.

Figure 69. Replace tariff plan screen.


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Financial report displays the financial report, i.e. the history of payments and expences.

SettingsThe settings interface consists of two windows, namely Lock screen and Network Informa-

tion.

Figure 70. Financial report screen.


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The Lock screen allows to enter the screen blocking password. Once a password is set up, it will be requested once to enter the interface after each STB hardware reload. To unset the pass-word, change it to empty string.

Network Information lists the IP address, subnet mask, MAC address of the STB and the middleware IP address.

Figure 71. Screen locking window.

Figure 72. Network information screen.

© NetUP Inc. All rights reserved. March 18, 2009

Phone: +7 495 543 9220

Fax: +7 499 143 5521

Address: Russia, Moscow, Olof Palme str. 1, sect. 7

Post: 119311, Russia, Moscow, P.O. Box #87

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.netup.tv