IP Television (IPTV) Section

IP Television Section

A new section with useful functionality, "IP Television" (IPTV), has been introduced in the SmartPlayer personal account.

Example of the IP Television section display in the personal account.

In this section, the user will be able to switch to IPTV mode from the SmartPlayer personal account and view the available channels.

Activating IPTV in the SmartPlayer Personal Account

To enable IPTV functionality within SmartPlayer, one needs to navigate to the "Devices" section of the personal account.

Example of the IP Television section display in the personal account.

The next step is for the user to select the desired device from the list by clicking on it.

Example of a selected device in the personal account

After selecting the device, the user needs to go to the sidebar on the right to configure the settings. In this sidebar, the user must select the "Settings" section.

Example of the sidebar display in the personal account.

After navigating to settings, the user needs to find the "Content" section and click on it.

The "Content" section in the device settings.

This section will expand, and the user will need to enable the "IP Television" option using the toggle switch.

Activating the "IPTV" option in the device settings.

Then, the user needs to click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the screen.

Operating Logic

The user needs to enable the capability to use IPTV mode on the device through the device settings in their personal account (in this case, the server saves data about the enabling/disabling of IPTV mode).
After that, in the separate "IP Television" section of the personal account, the user needs to upload or configure channels for IPTV operation. When setting up channels and categories, the server saves the data into two different databases, which are used for IPTV operation. That is, upon requesting these databases, the server provides the information to the client application.
Having configured IPTV in the personal account, the user can launch it on the device and use IPTV for their needs using a remote control/input device. The user can also conclude the IPTV session using the remote control/input device.

Main Page

The next step for the user is to navigate to "IP Television". Upon accessing the "IP Television" section, the main page will be displayed to the user. On this page, three main blocks are available at the top:

• Channels
• Sections
• Upload

Main blocks of the "IP Television" section.

After configuring these blocks, the user will be able to start working with IPTV.

"Channels" Block

Within the "Channels" block, users can add new channels to the list for broadcasting in IPTV player mode and find ready-made channels using the search bar.

Example of the "Channels" block display.

This action can be performed using the "+" icon located at the top left of the screen. Also, in this section of the page, users can delete a channel using the "Trash" icon, which is located next to the search bar.

Example of the "add" and "delete" icons located below the search bar.

To create a channel, the following parameters need to be specified:

• Name - allows entering the name of the channel.
• Number - allows specifying the channel number in the list. Important: channel numbering must not repeat, otherwise the channel cannot be created.
• IP address - this field is for entering the channel's URL that will be broadcasted.
• Category - users need to specify the category to which the channel belongs. This setting is not mandatory. Within the SmartPlayer platform, channels can exist without categories.
• Logo - allows selecting and setting an image for the channel as a logo.

Example of the list of parameters to be filled.

After filling in all the parameters mentioned above, users can create a channel by clicking the "Save" button. If necessary, users can return to the previous window by clicking the "Cancel" button. If a user has a channel they no longer need, they can delete it by clicking on the "Trash" icon, also located at the top left. Before doing this, they need to select the channel using a checkbox.

Example of the "add" and "delete" icons located below the search bar.

If a user needs to delete all channels, they can click the "Select All" button in the top right corner. If they want to deselect all channels, in the same place, they can click the button and choose "Deselect All".

Example of the "Select All"/"Deselect All" feature display.

"Categories" Block

In the "Categories" block, users can view the available sections for storing channels.

Example of the "Categories" block's start page.

If there are many sections, users can utilize the search bar.
Users can also add a new section within this block. This action can be performed using the "+" icon at the top left of the screen. When creating a section, it's necessary to specify its name.

Example of creating a category for channels.

If a user has a channel they no longer need, they can delete it by clicking on the "Trash" icon, also located at the top left. Before this action, they need to select the channel using a checkbox.

Example of the "add" and "delete" icons located below the search bar.

If a user needs to delete all channels, they can click the "Select All" button in the top right corner. If they want to deselect all channels, in the same place, they can click the button and choose "Deselect All".

Example of the "Select All"/"Deselect All" feature.

"Upload" Block

In this block, users can upload and download a ".csv" file with a prepared list of channels.

Example of the "Upload" block page.

This feature is relevant for users who have a large number of channels to upload.

Файл:Example csv file.png

Example of a ".csv" file with a list of channels.

For the correct upload of channels, it is necessary to:

• Select a file on the device (by default, a ".csv" file is uploaded and downloaded)
• Specify a delimiter for the data (default is ",")
• Choose one of two encodings (UTF-8 or Windows 1251)

Example of the content of a ".csv" file.

There might be issues with uploading and downloading the file to/from the local server if an image was selected for the channel during its creation. This is because the table inserts a link to the image rather than the image itself, which the system needs to download.

IPTV Operation on Android OS

During IPTV tests on Android OS, a remote control from a Ugoos set-top box was used.

After enabling and configuring IPTV in the personal account, the user can press and hold the central "OK" button on the remote for 5 seconds to launch IPTV mode.
If the user has configured channels (as described earlier in the article about IPTV settings in the personal account), then IPTV will start operating normally. If the channels were not added, switching to IPTV mode will result in a black screen.
IPTV on Android OS can operate with the following stream types:

• HLS
• SmoothStream
• DASH
• UDP
• HTTP

"RTP" and "RTSP" streams were not tested with IPTV operation.

The following buttons are used for operating IPTV on the device:

• The "OK" button/single press of the "Up" button/single press of the "Down" button - opens the side menu with channels. The side menu will close after five seconds of inactivity.
• A single press of the "Left" button/single press of the "Right" button - opens the channel categories catalog. This menu will close after fifteen seconds of inactivity.
• The "Back" button - closes the above menus/takes a step back. This button also allows turning off IPTV mode when pressed during channel playback.

Subtleties and Nuances When Operating on Android OS

• When adding a YouTube stream as a channel, use the link from the address bar, not the "Share" button in the YouTube menu.
• In the channel switching menu, when moving to the next channel (highlighting it without switching), the system will automatically switch to the highlighted channel after one second.
• An error may appear in the center of the screen during channel operation, and the channel playback may stop. In this case, the user needs to switch to another channel.

Работа IPTV на WEB OS

Переключение в режим IPTV на WEB OS также производится по кнопкам вправо или влево. Окно с каналами и категориями висит пять секунд. IPTV может работать со следующим списком потоков:

• HLS
• MP 4 по ссылке (Начинающийся к HTTP)
• RTSP (Могут быть проблемы со звуком и графические артефакты)

UDP поток не тестировался, но поддерживается.

Для работы с IPTV на устройстве используются следующие кнопки:

• Одно нажатие клавиши "Влево"/Одно нажатие клавиши "Вправо" - открывает каталог с категориями каналов.
• Одно нажатие клавиши "Вверх"/Одно нажатие клавиши "Вниз" - открывается боковое меню каналов.
• Нажатие клавиши "ОК" - позволяет выбрать выделенный нужный канал или категорию.
• Кнопка "0" - выключает режим IPTV на устройстве.

Тонкости и нюансы при работе с WEB OS

• Стриминг с YouTube парсится не через адресную строку, а с помощью ссылки по кнопке "Поделиться/Share"
• Если приходит не валидный поток данных, то отображаться только будет черный экран

Пример отображения каналов и категорий в работающем IPTV

Пример отображения каналов.

Пример отображения категорий каналов.

Итоговый результат

Пользователь понимает, знает и умеет пользоваться функциональностью IPTB в личном кабинете платформы SmartPlayer. Полученные знания позволят ему использовать данную возможность для реализации нескольких режимов работы устройства.