Designate a DME as a MF-STB Connector DME
If you want to display your video assets from Rev to your Vbrick MF-STB (Multi-format Set Top Box) also referred to as, simply, a STB (set top box), you must do so with a DME which acts as the connector between Rev and the STB.
STBs send out periodic multicast SAP (Session Announcement Protocol) messages and the DME is able to “listen” for them. These messages contain the information necessary for the DME and Rev to connect and communicate with the STB.
Caution: These SAP announcements are multicast and cannot go over the general Internet. Therefore, a local DME is necessary to intercept them and send them to Rev. Rev cannot communicate directly to the STB. If your STBs are on a non-multicast network, then a direct connection needs to be made between each STB and DME. To do so, you will need to SSH/login to each STB and edit the /data/config.txt file. Change the “stb.sap.packet.addr” parameter from the default multicast IP address of 224.2.133.134 to the IP address of your STB Connector DME and reboot each STB(s). You can keep the default 224.2.133.134 IP Address setting and the default 9876 Port setting in the Set Top Box Control section of the STB Connector DME's device settings on Rev as seen in the table below. This feature only works with the Vbrick MF-STB on Version 2.0.1 or greater. |
You must designate which of your DMEs will be the STB Connector so that it will begin “listening” for STBs in your network. Once designated the DME will start to listen and actively communicate the found STBs to Rev. Once found, they will automatically show up in Rev under the Admin > Devices > Set Top Boxes > Pending STBs tab form for you to then configure.
Note: The DME must be active and set up properly within Rev before it can be set as a STB Connector DME. See: Add a Distributed Media Engine (DME). |
To designate a DME as a STB Connector DME:1. Navigate to Admin > Devices > DME Management
2. Edit the DME you want to designate as a STB Connector DME. Remember, each STB is sending out SAP announcements and for Rev to see and use the STB, it must be reachable/visible by a STB Connector DME. STBs that cannot reach a DME cannot be integrated with Rev.
3. Select the Set Top Box Control check box. Each of the fields below will be auto-discovered for STBs in your network.
Field Name | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
IP Address | Yes | The IP Address is the SAP Announcement IP Address on which the STB will multicast their SAP announcements. The DME will use the SAP Announcement IP address and Port to receive STB information. |
Port | Yes | The Port Address is the port the STB will use, in conjunction with the SAP Announcement IP Address above, to send out the information for each STB. The DME will use the SAP Announcement IP address and Port to receive STB information. |
User Name | Yes | The User Name is the default User Name that will be used for initial communications between DME and STB. If STBs have unique User Names or Passwords, those can be customized on the STB Page from the Set Top Box Management Page within Rev. See: Edit Set Top Box Credentials. |
Password | Yes | The Password is the default Password that will be used initial communications between DME and STB. If STBs have unique User Names or Passwords, those can be customized on the STB Page from the Set Top Box Management Page within Rev. See: Edit Set Top Box Credentials. |
4. Click the Update button to save the DME as a DME Connector. The DME will begin “listening” for set top boxes on the network and each one found will appear on the Admin > Devices > Pending STBs tab. You can accept any of those found as current STBs at this point and configure channel settings.
5. You can see at a glance which DMEs are STB Connector DMEs in the MFSTB column on the Admin > Devices > DME Management form.
Caution: The MF-STB may, in some circumstances, reboot if the RTSP stream it is playing does not exist and is being pulled from DME v3.16.x. Please verify all your streams before sending them to the MF-STB. If you are using DME v3.17 or greater, this behavior has been corrected. |