Cabletime MediaStar 799 User manual

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QUICK START GUIDE
MediaStar 799 IP Re-Caster Installation Guide
The MediaStar 799 IP Re-Caster allows
IP TV channels to be transmitted
between remote sites, using a regular
internet connection or on a quality
controlled corporate VPN link. It can
also perform multicast and unicast
stream conversion and replication on a
LAN.
A pair of 799 IP Re-Caster ‘Blades’ can
simultaneously transfer up to 25 SD or 15 HD
TV channels across an internet connection, or
up to 70 SD or 35 HD channels across a
corporate VPN. A single Re-Caster can transfer
TV channels to multiple sites.
The 799 IP Re-Caster is a ‘Blade’ device that fits
into a MediaStar 770 rack or a 769 single
‘Blade’ chassis. It has on-board web pages that
allow it to be easily configured.
A complete remote site IP headend can be
provided with just a single 799 IP Re-Caster in a
769 single ‘Blade’ chassis (subject to the
number of TV channels required).
The Re-Caster takes source-specific multicast
streams and converts them to unicast streams
for transition across a VPN. When the unicast
stream reaches the Re-Caster on the remote
side of the VPN link, it converts it back to a
multicast stream for LAN transmission to
settops and PC/MAC clients which show the TV
pictures.
What’s in the box:
• 799 IP Re-Caster Blade
• CAT5 Patch cable
When only a regular internet connection is
available between sites or the VPN does not have
good Quality of Service (QoS), the Re-Caster can
be configured to use Secure Reliable Transport
(SRT) protocol to transfer IP TV streams to the
remote site.
The ‘source’ Re-Caster takes the local multicast
(or unicast) stream and makes it available for
remote Re-Casters to access via the internet (or
VPN). The remote (‘sink’) Re-Caster connects to
the ‘source’ Re-Caster and ‘pulls’ the IP TV
channel stream across. The video and audio
stream is encrypted as it passes across the
internet and any missing or re-ordered packets
are corrected. The ‘sink’ Re-Caster then
transmits the IP TV channels on the remote LAN
as a multicast stream so they can be viewed on
settops or PC/MACs. The whole SRT transfer
process adds a second to the stream latency.

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Installation
This IP Re-Caster should only be used in a MediaStar 770 rack or a 769 Single ‘Blade’ chassis
that has been fully installed in accordance with its safety instructions.
There are no user serviceable parts within this module. Refer all servicing to qualified service
personnel.
The use of this equipment is restricted to situations where the user has the right to distribute
the video and audio content to remote destinations. It is the responsibility of the user to
ensure no geographical content distribution or other commercial or criminal rights
infringements are taking place. If the user becomes aware of any such infringements, they
must immediately stop using this product. If the user is uncertain about their rights to
distribute content, they should refer to their content provider.
The 799 Re-Caster ‘Blade’ may be installed in a 769 chassis or 770 rack with the power on or off. If the
770 rack is to be powered down to install a new module, please remember that all video/audio services
being provided by the equipment in that rack will be lost while it is powered off. Electrical static
discharge precautions should be taken when handling the ‘Blade’.
To install the 799 ‘Blade’ in a 770 rack or a 769 single ‘Blade’ chassis, do the following:
1. Remove the existing front panel blanking plate(s) on the 770 rack. This is done by unscrewing the
finger-screw fasteners. Retain this blanking plate in case the Re-Caster module is removed from the rack
in the future.
2. Carefully align the top and bottom edges of the ‘Blade’s printed circuit board (PCB) into the plastic
rack slides, and gently push it in. As the module reaches the back of the 770 rack, the plastic aperture
cover on the rear of the rack will be pushed off by the ‘Blade’s HDMI connector. Collect the discarded
aperture cover and dispose of it correctly. If the rack or chassis is powered up, the new module will
power up as it is pushed in. If the rack has been powered down, repower it now. The status LED on the
front of the Re-Caster will show orange, then flashing orange as it boots. After a few seconds, the LCD
panel will show the boot up progress of the unit, then its operational status.
3. Tighten the finger screw fasteners to hold the module in the rack/chassis.
4. Set the unit’s IP address, using the front panel display and buttons as described below. Only use IP
address details that have been supplied by your network administrator. Each Re-Caster unit is
preconfigured with a static IP address of 172.21.51.210. This will need to be re-configured, so it is not
in conflict with other MediaStar equipment. Use the front panel LCD and push buttons to set the correct
IP address settings (described below).
Press the front panel UP or DOWN buttons to move through the LCD menu options. Press the OK button
to select a menu or confirm a change. Press the UP and DOWN buttons together to move back up a
menu level (or allow it to time-out).
Press the DOWN BUTTON to move to the IP Settings menu and press OK to enter the menu. Press
DOWN then OK to select the static IP address settings. Press OK to edit the current static IP address.
Use the UP or DOWN buttons to select the appropriate digit and press OK to set it. The next digit can
then be edited in the same way. It is not possible to move back to a previous digit. Press UP and
DOWN together to abort the input if necessary. Once the last digit is entered, the IP address is checked
and then applied.

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The IP netmask, gateway and DNS server can be set in the same way. It is important to set the
gateway and DNS server addresses if domain host names are to be used for stream routing.
The MAC address of the unit can be found under the Unit Details/ MAC Address menu, or on the label on
the bottom face of the unit.
If a DHCP allocated IP address is required, navigate the menus to the IP Settings –DHCP menu and
press OK to select DHCP. The display will show the allocated IP address details once a lease has been
obtained.
6. Plug the Re-Caster into the LAN switch using the CAT5 patch cable supplied. It will Auto-negotiate up
to a 1000 Mbps link with your network switch. This unit can be used with a 100Mbps network switch,
but it is recommended that the total outbound data rate does not exceed 80Mbps (the network usage
can be found on the Re-Caster’s Status web page).
7. Connect to the LAN-Caster’s configuration web pages using a PC/MAC and Web browser software
(e.g. Edge, Chrome or Firefox), by entering the Re-Caster’s IP address into the browser’s address bar.
Click through any warnings and the Re-Caster’s specification page will then be shown.
8. Click on the Date/Time page link on the left-hand side panel and set up an NTP time server. If no
local time server is available, the internet based pool.ntp.org server is recommended. Ensure the Re-
Caster’s network settings have been configured to allow it access to the internet.
9. Click on the Routing page link on the left-hand side panel and configure the Re-Caster for use. There
is no limit to the number of simultaneous Routes that can be configured; however, users should ensure
the CPU Memory and Network usage indicators on the status page do not go far above 80% in use. This
provides a margin to allow for any transient peak conditions. If the capacity of the Re-Caster is
exceeded, TV picture disruption may occur.
The status page usage indicators keep the peak readings previously seen. These peaks can be reset on
the Enablement web page by clicking the appropriate check box followed by Apply.

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Stream Routing
The IP Re-Caster can be configured for a variety of stream routing use cases. Multiple use cases can be
used at the same time as long as the unit is operating within its CPU, network bandwidth and memory
usage constraints.
Inter-site stream transfers using an Internet connection
In this scenario, the live IP TV channels are ‘created’ at Site A in an ‘IP Headend’. This is typically a 770
Rack with a mixture of IP Encoders and RF to IP Gateway (LAN-Caster) ‘Blades’. The multicast channels
are picked off the LAN by the Re-Caster and made available for pull-down over the internet by the Re-
Casters on sites B & C (blue and green routes above).
If all the live IP TV channels on the remote sites are sourced from site A, only a single IP Re-Caster
‘Blade’ in a 769 chassis is required at site B and site C.
If site B needs to transmit an IP TV channel to site C, it can use the same Re-Caster that is receiving
channels from site A (yellow route above).
If a VPN link does not have good QoS, then an SRT link can be set up over the VPN. SRT will perform
any packet re-ordering or lost packet retransmission so a good quality remote picture is produced at the
destination site.
To set up an internet based SRT link from site A to sites B and C, configure the Re-Caster routing table
on Site A as follows:
1. Click on the Routing web page link on the left-hand side panel.
2. Check the Enable Source checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting from the Source field drop-down
and enter the local multicast address of the IP TV channel you wish to distribute. If you wish to
distribute a unicast IP stream being sent directly to the Re-Caster, enter its receiving port number
only.
3. Click on the list box symbol at the right-hand end of the Source field. Enter the IP address (or
host name) of the Encoder or LAN-Caster device that is producing the IP stream (not the stream
address!). The Re-Caster will check all the stream data being transferred comes from that
device. Any stream data that comes from another IP address will not be forwarded.
4. Check the Enable Destination checkbox. Select the SRT:// setting from the Destination field drop-
down and enter the port number that the Re-Caster will listen on for incoming SRT connections.

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Note: When a SRT stream connection request comes via an internet connection, the user must
configure their Firewall to forward all data from the incoming port to the specified SRT source port
on the Re-Caster. Any non-SRT traffic or unauthorised SRT servers will be ignored.
5. It is recommended that all IP stream traffic passing across the internet is encrypted. If this is
required, click on the Destination field padlock symbol and enter an encryption passphrase of at
least 6 characters.
6. Click on the list box symbol in the Destination field and enter the internet IP address (or host
name) of the site that you will to allow to access this SRT stream. This would be the IP address of
Site B & C in the example above.
7. Enter the logical name for the route in the Route name field (Channel 1 shown here) and then
Apply the settings.
8. After a few seconds check that an incoming data rate is shown (near the bottom of the Route
entry right-pointing arrow). This indicates the Re-Caster is successfully accessing the incoming IP
TV stream. If this remains at zero, check the correct IP address (or host name) of the device
providing the stream has been set (click on the Source field, list box symbol). After that, disable
(+ Apply) and re-enable (+Apply) the source to re-join the incoming multicast stream.
When an external Re-Caster (from site B or C) connects successfully to this Re-Caster, the
outgoing data rate (left pointing arrow) will then increase to reflect the total outgoing data rate of
that TV channel.
On Sites B and C, the Re-Casters that want to access the Channel 1 stream should be configured as
follows:
1. Click on the Routing web page link on the left-hand side panel.
2. Check the Enable Source checkbox. Select the SRT:// setting from the Source field drop-down
and enter the public IP address (or host name) and port number of the source SRT Re-Caster on
site A.

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3. Click on the padlock symbol at the right-hand end of the Source field. Enter the same passphrase
that the stream is being encrypted with at site A.
4. Check the Enable Destination checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting on the Destination field drop-
down and enter the multicast stream address and port number that the Re-Caster will use to
stream the IP video stream onto the LAN.
If the Re-Caster needs to stream the same IP TV channel source to another multicast or unicast
address or other SRT linked site, click on the Enable checkbox on the Destination field below and
add more destination addresses.
5. Set the TTL and DSCP settings for the multicast stream.
6. Enter the logical name for the route in the Route name field (Channel 1 shown here) and then
Apply the settings.
7. As before, after a few seconds the incoming and outgoing stream data rates will be shown so you
can see the SRT connection has been made and the outgoing stream is making its way onto the
LAN.
If the SRT connection cannot be established with the remote site, then an error message will be
shown on the Route entry. In this case, check the IP address of Site B has been set correctly on
the Site A Re-Caster as a valid stream destination and check a valid internet network gateway has
been configured on this Re-Caster. Also disable (+Apply) and re-enable (+Apply) the SRT
connection to Site A on this Re-Caster to reset the connection.
To allow Site B to transmit a live IP TV channel to Site C, add a new multicast to SRT route in the Site B
Re-Caster and an SRT to multicast route in the Site C Re-Caster.

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Inter-site stream transfers using a corporate VPN
When there is a ‘quality-controlled’ VPN joining different corporate sites, it is possible to use Re-Casters
to transfer live IP TV multicast streams across the VPN.
A VPN link is rarely capable of transferring a multicast IPTV stream directly across it and so the Re-Caster
on the source side (Site A) collects the multicast stream from the LAN and transfers it across the VPN as
a unicast stream directed at the Re-Caster on the destination side (Sites B and C). The destination Re-
Caster then re-launches the stream onto the local LAN as a multicast stream again. Settops and PC/MAC
viewer software on the remote (destination) site can then access the multicast stream for viewing in the
usual way.
A ‘quality-controlled’ VPN is one where it can be assumed that the QoS is the same as for multicast
streams passing across a LAN. This means little or no IP packet re-ordering or packet loss. If you set up
your system as described below, and you are seeing TV picture breakup on the destination LAN, then it is
likely the quality of your VPN connection is not good enough. In this case you can set up the Re-Casters
to use an SRT connection over the VPN which will then correct the packet losses. The ‘cost’ of this is an
additional second of stream transfer latency and the ability to transfer fewer IP TV streams per Re-Caster
pair.
To set up a VPN link from site A to sites B and C, configure the Re-Caster routing table on Site A as
follows:
1. Click on the Routing web page link on the left-hand side panel.
2. Check the Enable Source checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting from the Source field drop-down
and enter the local multicast address of the IP TV channel you wish to distribute. If you wish to
distribute a unicast IP stream being sent directly to the Re-Caster, enter its receiving port number
only.
3. Click on the list box symbol at the right-hand end of the Source field. Enter the IP address (or
host name) of the Encoder or LAN-Caster device that is producing the IP stream (not the stream
address!). The Re-Caster will check all the stream data being transferred comes from that
device. Any stream data that comes from another IP address will not be forwarded.
4. Check the Enable Destination checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting on the Destination field drop-
down and enter the IP address (or host name) and port number of the receiving Re-Caster device
on Site B.
If the Re-Caster needs to stream the same IP TV channel source to another multicast or unicast
address or other SRT linked site, click on the Enable checkbox on the Destination field below and
add more destination addresses.

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5. Set the DSCP settings for the unicast streams (TTL is not used on unicast streams).
6. Enter the logical name for the route in the Route name field (Channel 1 shown here) and then
Apply the settings.
7. After a few seconds, check that an incoming data rate is shown (near the bottom of the Route
entry right-pointing arrow). This indicates the Re-Caster is successfully accessing the incoming IP
TV stream. If this remains at zero, check the correct IP address of the device providing the
stream has been set (click on the Source field, list box symbol). After that, disable (+Apply) and
re-enable (+Apply) the source to re-join the incoming multicast stream.
The outgoing data rate (left pointing arrow) will reflect the total outgoing data rate of that TV
channel.
On Sites B and C, the Re-Casters that want to access the Channel 1 stream over the VPN link should be
configured as follows:
1. Click on the Routing web page link on the left-hand side panel.
2. Check the Enable Source checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting from the Source field drop-down
and enter the port number that the stream is being send to on this unit.
3. Click on the list box symbol at the right-hand end of the Source field. Enter the IP address (or
host name) of the Re-Caster device that is producing the unicast IP stream. The Re-Caster will
check all the stream data comes from that device. Any stream data that comes from another IP
address will not be forwarded.

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4. Check the Enable Destination checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting on the Destination field drop-
down and enter the multicast stream address and port number that the Re-Caster will use to
stream the IP video stream onto the LAN.
If the Re-Caster needs to stream the same IP TV channel source to another multicast or unicast
address or other SRT linked site, click on the Enable checkbox on the Destination field below and
add more destination addresses.
5. Set the TTL and DSCP settings for the multicast stream.
6. Enter the logical name for the route in the Route name field (Channel 1 shown here) and then
Apply the settings.
7. After a few seconds check that an incoming data rate is shown (near the bottom of the Route
entry right-pointing arrow). This indicates the Re-Caster is successfully accessing the incoming IP
TV stream. If this remains at zero, check the correct IP address of the device providing the
stream has been set (click on the Source field, list box symbol), and check the receiving port
number set here is the same as that set in the Destination field of the site A Re-Caster.
The outgoing data rate (left pointing arrow) will reflect the total outgoing data rate of that TV
channel.

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Unicast Stream Replication
On some customer networks it is not possible to implement multicast IP TV stream distribution with
IGMP. These networks can use IP TV distribution, but it does mean a single stream from the Encoder or
LAN-Caster is replicated to each of the settops or PC/MAC devices that want to access it. This is not an
efficient network distribution technique but sometimes it is a necessity or a stopgap before a full
multicast network is implemented.
In this case a single Re-Caster ‘Blade’ can provide the IP stream replication that is required. To do this,
the source stream should be transmitted from the Encoder or LAN-Caster directly on to a port address on
the IP address of the Re-Caster. The Re-Caster should then be configured as shown below:
1. Click on the Routing web page link on the left-hand side panel.
2. Check the Enable Source checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting from the Source field drop-down
and enter the port number that the stream is being send to on this Re-Caster.
3. Click on the list box symbol at the right-hand end of the Source field. Enter the IP address (or
host name) of the Encoder or LAN-Caster device that is sending the IP stream (not the stream
address!). The Re-Caster will check all the stream data being transferred comes from that
device. Any stream data that comes from another IP address will not be forwarded.
4. Check the Enable destination checkbox. Select the UDP:// setting on the Destination field drop-
down and enter the IP address (or host name) and port number of the receiving Settop or PC/MAC
device. Repeat this for all devices that require the IPTV stream.
5. Set the DSCP settings for each of the streams (TTL is not used on unicast streams).
6. Enter the logical name for the route in the Route name field (Channel 1 shown here) and then
Apply the settings.
7. After a few seconds the incoming and outgoing stream data rates will be shown so you can verify
the incoming unicast data is arriving, and the outgoing streams are making their way onto the LAN
for the allocated settops or PC/MACs to receive. If the incoming data rate remains at zero, check
the correct IP address of the device providing the stream has been set (click on the Source field,
list box symbol).