VBrick Systems ETHERNETV 4410-0118-0009 Manual

EtherneTV v4.4 Portal Server
Admin Guide
January 15, 2009
4410-0118-0009
VBrick
EtherneTV Portal Server

Copyright
© 2009 VBrick Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
12 Beaumont Road
Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA
www.VBrick.com
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About VBrick Systems
Founded in 1997, VBrick Systems, an ISO 9001 certified vendor, is a privately held company that has enjoyed rapid
growth by helping our customers successfully introduce mission critical video applications across their enterprise
networks. Since our founding, VBrick has been setting the standard for quality, performance and innovation in the
delivery of live and stored video over IP networks—LANs, WANs and the Internet. With thousands of video
appliances installed world-wide, VBrick is the recognized leader in reliable, high-performance, easy-to-use
networked video solutions.
VBrick is an active participant in the development of industry standards and continues to play an influential role in
the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), the MPEG Industry Forum, and Internet2. In 1998 VBrick
invented and shipped the world's first MPEG Video Network Appliance designed to provide affordable DVD-
quality video across the network. Since then, VBrick's video solutions have grown to include Video on Demand,
Management, Security and Access Control, Scheduling, and Rich Media Integration. VBrick solutions are
successfully supporting a broad variety of applications including distance learning and training, conferencing and
remote office communications, security, process monitoring, traffic monitoring, business and news feeds to the
desktop, webcasting, corporate communications, collaboration, command and control, and telemedicine. VBrick
serves customers in education, government, healthcare, and financial services markets among others.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide iii
Contents
Portal Server v4.4 Admin Guide
Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x
Font Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Printer-Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
1. Introduction
Portal Server Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Server Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Desktop Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Copyright Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
MySQL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Portal Server Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
End User Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Administrative Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Portal Server Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
VBrick Encoders/Decoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ETV VOD Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
ETV IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ETV Network Video Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
VB-PC Remote Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Amino Set Top Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
WM IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Portal Server Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Downloading Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Decoder Closed Captioning Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Port Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Installing Serial Numbers and License Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Admin Console Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Admin Console Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Internet Explorer 7.0 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. Global Settings
Global Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Custom Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Stream Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Adding VOD Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Adding FTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Adding File Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Add/Modify Video On Demand Content Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

iv Contents
VBricks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
VBrick Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Multimedia VBrick Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Adding Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Adding User-Defined VBIRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Connecting Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Configuring Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Updating the VBIR Command Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
IP Receivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Recorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Synchronizing the Portal Server and the NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Script Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Creating a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Finding VBrick Parameters and Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
URLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Add/Modify a URL for a Live Video Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Add VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Add Non-VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Priority Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Program Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Manage Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Access Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Extended Logging Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Using EthernetTV Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Using an Excel Spreadsheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3. Server Administration
Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Channel Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Custom Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Modify VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Purchased Content Expiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Diagnostics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Expired Content Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Access Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Use LDAP Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Using LDAP with Single Sign-On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Using LDAP with SSL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Use RSA Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Live Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide v
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
User Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Resource Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Logout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4. Users and User Groups
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
User-Related Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Configuring Users and User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
1. Setup and Configure ETV Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
2. Choose an Authentication Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3. Create User Groups on the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4. Create Resource Groups on the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5. Create Users on the ETV Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6. Assign Resources to Users or User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Configuring Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Add/Modify User Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Add/Modify User's Group Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Add/Modify User's Resource Group Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Add/Modify Live Channel Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Add/Modify Live Program Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Allow Access to Specific FTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Allow Access to Specific Recorder Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Allow Access to Specific VOD Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Allow Access to Specific VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Allow Viewing by Content Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Allow Content Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Allow Content Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Default Content Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Allow VBrick Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
IPR Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Schedule Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Priority Alert Privileges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Copyright Restrictions & Expiration Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Content Edit Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Configuring User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Add/Modify Group Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Add/Modify Group's User Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Add/Modify Group's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Resource Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Add/Modify Resource Group Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Add/Modify User's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Add/Modify Group's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
IPR Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

vi Contents
Authentication by PIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Authentication by Host Name or IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5. Configuring for SSL
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
SSL Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
1. Generate a Certificate Request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
2. Submit a Certificate Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
3. Install the Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
4. Configure ETV Resources for SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Configuring Hardened SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Configuring Non-Hardened SSL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
6. Network Video Recording
NVR Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
NVR Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
NVR Performance Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
NVR Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Standard NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Standalone NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
NVR Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Synchronizing the Portal Server and the NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
NVR Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Configuring a Standard NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Configuring a Standalone NVR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Using an NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
7. VBPresenter
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Working with Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Configuring MCS for VBPresenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Configuring an MCS FTP User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Configuring an MCS Presentation User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Configuring for Live Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Configuring for Stored Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
8. Auto Content Ingestion
AutoIngest Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
AutoIngest Content via XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
AutoIngestXML Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Using the XML Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Removing MPEG-4 Closed Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
9. EtherneTV Backup
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide vii
ETV Backup Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Configuring ETV Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
1. Enter License Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
2. Set Profile IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
3. Configure the Scheduler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
4. Reset Database Backup Versioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
5. Enable the Warm Backup Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
6. Test the Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Turning a Warm Backup Server into a Live Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Bringing a Failed Machine Back Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Bringing a Failed Machine Back Online as a Warm Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Bringing a Failed Machine Back Online as a Primary Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
10. Amino Set Top Box
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Connecting the Amino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Configuring the Amino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Changing the IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Configuring a Direct Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Configuring the Remote Control for a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Configuring the Amino for a Widescreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Setting the TV Display Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
11. ACNS Configuration
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
ACNS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
VOD-W Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Portal Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
ACNS Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Verify Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
12. Rebranding the User Interface
Customizing the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Changing the Title and Header Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Rebranding the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Rebranding Other ETV Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
VBrick IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Amino Set Top Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
VBrick IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
13. NXG-to-VOD-W Content Migration
Creating an Asset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Sample Asset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

viii Contents
Using the Migration Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Increasing the Ingestion Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Running the Migration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Recovering from Migration Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Verifying the Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
14. Purchased Content Ingestion
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Configuring IIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Ingesting Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Configuring a VOD-W Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Ingesting Purchased Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Backing Up the Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
15. Manual System Backup
System Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
System Restore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
16. VBrick Internet Streaming
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Streaming Service Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Portal Server Hosting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
VBrick Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Portal Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide ix
Portal Server v4.4 Admin Guide
This Portal Server Admin Guide is written for anyone who will be using or evaluating the
VBrick EtherneTV Portal Server. This includes system administrators, software developers,
network technicians, and others. The ETV Portal Server is a web-based portal for accessing
and managing video assets including both live or stored audio and video files. The ETV
Portal Server is a key component in VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System. The
ETV Portal Server provides a simple, intuitive interface that auto-discovers available media
assets in your network. Key components in VBrick's EtherneTV solution include:
• EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand Servers – Provide all standard Video-on-Demand
(VOD) features including support for MPEG, Windows Media, and H.264 for maximum
flexibility.
• VBrick Hardware Encoders/Decoders – Rugged, reliable video appliances that can
reside anywhere on your network to provide either distributed or high-density centralized
encoding/decoding of MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WM (Windows Media), and H.264
video.
• EtherneTV IP Receivers – Leading-edge digital set top boxes that provide a low-cost
standalone decoder for MPEG, Windows Media, and H.264 video assets.
Organization
Note The Amino STB is a compact set top box that plays MPEG-2 streams only. It is fully
integrated with the Portal Server and provides access to most Portal Server viewer
functionality. It does not, however, support Access Logging, Scheduling, Device Control,
Emergency Broadcast, or Copyright Restrictions.
Introduction provides an overview of the application including server
and desktop requirements and an overview of features and
functionality.
Global Settings explains high-level configuration settings and parameters
that apply to the entire system.
Server Administration provides detailed explanations of all ETV Portal Server
global settings and configuration options, as well as
diagnostics and status windows.
Users and User Groups explains how to configure the system for access control. It
explains how to create users and groups with specific
permissions and access to resources.
Configuring for SSL explains how to securely configure the system using the
Secure Sockets Layer.
Network Video Recording explains how to configure and use an NVR to offload
recording tasks from the Portal Server to a separate
"recorder server" machine.

xPreface
Getting Help
If you need help, or more information about any topic, use the online help system. The
online help is cross-referenced and searchable and can usually find the information in a few
seconds. Use the tree controls in the left pane to open documents and the up and down
arrows to page through them. Use the Search box to find specific information. Simply enter
one or more words in the box and press Enter. The search results will return pages that have
all of the words you entered—highlighted in yellow (Internet Explorer only). The Search box
is not case-sensitive and does not recognize articles (a, an, the), operators (+ and –), or
quotation marks. You can narrow the search by adding words.
If you can't find the information you need from the online help, or from your certified
VBrick reseller, you can contact VBrick Support Services on the web. Support Services can
usually answer your technical questions in 24 business hours or less. Also note that our
publications team is committed to accurate and reliable documentation and we appreciate
your feedback. If you find errors or omissions in any of our documents, please send e-mail to
[email protected] and let us know. For more information about any VBrick
VBPresenter explains how to configure and launch rich media
presentation from the Portal Server including those created
with VBPresenter.
Auto Content Ingestion explains auto content ingestion. This is the process
whereby video content is automatically populated on the
portal server.
EtherneTV Backup explains how to automatically backup the MySQL database
and other key directories if you purchased EtherneTV
Backup.
AminoSetTopBox explains how to connect and use the Amino set top box to
view MPEG-2 streams.
ACNS Configuration explains how to configure the Portal Server and Cisco's
Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) to
work together.
Rebranding the User Interface explains how to modify the Portal Server "user" interface.
You can simply replace images or you can modify the .css
stylesheets and thoroughly rebrand the look-and-feel of the
application.
NXG-to-VOD-
W Content Migration
explains how to migrate MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video files
from a VBrick NXG (Linux) VOD server to a VBrick
VOD-W (Windows) VOD server.
Purchased Content Ingestion explains how to mass ingest separately purchased video
content to any or all configured VOD servers.
Manual System Backup explains how to manually backup the MySQL database and
other key directories if you did not purchase EtherneTV
Backup.
VBrick Internet Streaming The VBrick Streaming Service is available for those users
who wish to extend the ability to view live events to
Internet clients.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide xi
products, all of our product documentation is available on the web. Go to www.vbrick.com/
documentation to search or download VBrick product documentation.
Font Conventions
Arial bold is used to describe dialog boxes and menu choices, for example: Start > All
Programs > VBrick
Courier fixed-width font is used for scripts, code examples, or keyboard commands.
Courier bold fixed-width font is used for user input in scripts, code examples, or keyboard
commands.
This bold black font is used to strongly emphasise important words or phrases.
Folder names and user examples in text are displayed in this sans serif font.
User input in text is displayed in this bold sans serif font.
Italics are used in text to emphasize specific words or phrases.
Related Documents
ETV Portal Server User Guide
ETV Reporter User Guide
IPR Receiver Admin Guide
STB Admin Guide
STB Quick Start Guide
NXG Server Quick Start Guide
VOD-W Server Admin Guide
VOD-WM Server Admin Guide
VBPresenter User Guide
Printer-Friendly
Click on the following link to print a hard copy of the document.
ETV Portal Server User Guide
ETV Portal Server Admin Guide
ETV Portal Server Release Notes
TTo save or print a PDF document
1. Click once to open the PDF document in Acrobat Reader.
2. To save or print a PDF document, right-click and select Save Target As or Print Target.

xii Preface

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide 1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Topics in this section
Portal Server Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Portal Server Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Portal Server Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Portal Server Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Admin Console Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Portal Server Overview
VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System consists of a group of products that includes
the EtherneTV Portal (ETV Portal Server), EtherneTV Encoders, the EtherneTV-VOD
Video-on-Demand Server, EtherneTV IP Receivers and StreamPlayer software. This
integrated system delivers both live and on-demand audio and video over an IP-based
infrastructure. The ETV Portal Server functions as a video portal, permitting end users to
view live and on-demand MPEG, WM (Windows Media), and H.264 streams on a Window
PC, a Macintosh, a Linux PC (or a set top box). The ETV Portal Server comes as software-
only solution that can be installed on a Windows Server or as a pre-configured hardware/
software combination.
Figure 1. EtherneTV Media Control Server Suite
The VBrick EtherneTV (ETV) Portal Server is a web-based portal for accessing Live and
On-Demand audio and video files. A key component of VBrick's EtherneTV Media
Distribution System, the ETV Portal Server provides a simple interface to easily locate
available media assets on your network. Upon accessing the main portal page, users can

2© 2009 VBrick Systems, Inc.
navigate or search for specific videos, select the video, and immediately begin viewing DVD
quality video. For on-demand videos, users can Fast Forward/Rewind and Seek to specific
points in the video. Standard access control functionality provides restriction of certain
content to particular users, user groups, or IP receivers. An optional scheduling module
allows users to schedule devices to send video, receive video, record video, or to initiate a
two-way conference.
Server Requirements
The minimum server requirements include:
• Windows Server 2003 (Web Edition or Standard Edition with Service Pack 2).
• Pentium IV or Xeon Processor 1.26 GHz Minimum (2 GHz or higher recommended).
• RAM 512 MB Minimum (1 GB or more recommended).
• Hard Drive 36 GB Minimum (larger for frequent recording).
Desktop Requirements
Windows-based PC and Macintosh users access the ETV Portal Server through a web
browser. For Windows-based PCs, on the first access to the server, VBrick StreamPlayer
software is automatically downloaded to the PC. StreamPlayer software lets end users select a
stream and view TV-quality video directly on a PC. Macintosh users view MPEG-4 video
through the QuickTime player.
Table 1. Desktop Requirements
Note VBrick has tested the ETV Portal Server on Windows 2003 Server Web Edition and
Standard Edition. Note also that ETV Portal Server also will not operate correctly on
a server that is configured as a primary domain controller or with other network-
related services and software.
PC Type Requirements
Windows PCs • Windows 2000, XP (Service Pack 3), or Vista.
• 750 MHz Pentium III processor (Pentium IV required for H.264).
• 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended for H.264).
• SVGA video card 1024x768, video card acceleration and 32 bit color
recommended.
• Minimum 250 MB hard disk space for installation.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.
• Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher.
•Firefox2.0orhigher.
• DirectX Media Version 8.1 and higher.
Macintosh PCs • Mac OS X 10.3 or higher for PowerPC.
• Mac OS X 10.4 or higher for Intel-based PC.
• Firefox for Macintosh 2.0 or higher.
• QuickTime Player 6.0 or higher.
• Internet Explorer on a Macintosh is not supported.
Linux PCs • Red Hat Fedora 9.1
•Firefox2.0.
• 512 MB RAM.

Introduction
ETV Portal Server Admin Guide 3
Copyright Protection
The Portal Server uses copyright restrictions and content expiration to protect the rights of
content owners and to enforce rules against unauthorized usage or distribution. Copyright
restrictions are specifically used to enforce license requirements. Content is often restricted
to a limited number of viewers and you may need a license, for example, to view MPEG-2
content. In the Portal Server, Max. Concurrent Viewers is used to enforce copyright
restrictions for any live, stored, or recorded video. If the number of concurrent viewers
exceeds the configured value, the content will not play. (The Max. Concurrent Users
restriction does not apply to viewers who tune in to a scheduled broadcast.)
Content expiration controls the length of time that specific content can be viewed. Content
expiration is used for time-sensitive, copyrighted, or otherwise protected content that cannot
be legally displayed after a specified date or a period of time. Users with appropriate
permissions (see Copyright Restrictions & Expiration Privileges on page 113) can assign
expiration dates or a viewing period when they use the Add Video feature. The viewing period
starts at the time the content is added to the server. If desired, administrators can restrict
expiration privileges to particular users or groups in which case only those specified users or
groups (and administrators) can set content to expire.
Administrators can also assign an Expiration Date or Viewing Period for any stored video
using the Modify VOD Content page. By default, recordings from live streams have no
expiration date. However administrators can set default viewing periods for content recorded
from specific live streams (see "Viewing Periods" in Stream Restrictions on page 29).
The ETV Portal Server enforces content expiration by preventing the streaming or
scheduling of content that is expired or will expire before the scheduled event. Once content
has expired, administrators can set a new expiration date or viewing period. By default,
expired content will remain in storage indefinitely unless you choose to delete it automatically
using the Set Expired VOD Content Treatment option in Global Assignments.
The Portal Server writes to a log that tracks content expirations; administrators can view or
purge this log as necessary (see Expired Content Log on page 89). In many installation an
administrator is assigned to monitor and/or renew content that is about to expire. To
facilitate this process, the Portal Server can be configured to automatically generate e-mail
that notifies the designated administrator when content is about to expire by using the option
in Global Assignments.

4© 2009 VBrick Systems, Inc.
MySQL
EtherneTV Portal Server is shipped with MySQL as the database. The MySQL database is
installed as part of the Portal Server installation package. If the hardware/software
combination was purchased from VBrick, MySQL will already be installed on your machine;
the default user name is root. To protect the integrity of the database, you should change the
default password (vbrick_18) after initial installation and periodically thereafter as explained
below. To backup the MySQL database, see EtherneTV Backup on page 145.
TTo change the MySQL password
1. Open a Command Prompt window.
2. At the C: prompt type cd program files\mysql\mysql server 4.1\bin and press Enter.
3. Type mysql -uroot -pvbrick_18 and press Enter.
4. Type set password for 'root'@'localhost'=password ('new_password'); (where
'new_password' in single quotes is the new password) and press Enter.
5. Type exit.
Portal Server Features
End User Features
• Windows-based PCs, Macintoshes, or IPRs (connected to televisions or display
monitors) can all access the Portal Server.
• Users can view video at Full Screen for a television-like user experience.
• Users can view Video-On-Demand assets with full VCR/DVD control, including Play,
Pause, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, and Seek.
• Video can be viewed in a preview window or launched in multiple external, re-sizeable
player windows (PC and Macintosh).
Note MySQL Query Browser is an Open Source front-end that provides a graphical
interface to the MySQL database. MySQL Query Browser is available with the free
software/open source GNU General Public License at to http://www.mysql.com

Introduction
ETV Portal Server Admin Guide 5
• IP Receiver users can use familiar Channel Up/Down keys and other hot keys on the IR
remote control to navigate through video listings.
• Users can search through the list of Live or On-Demand videos by Title, Keyword,
Description, or other custom fields defined by an ETV Portal Server administrator.
• Users can record and store videos on the EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand server via
ETV Portal Server.
• Users can publish pre-recorded content and thumbnails directly to the VOD server.
• Users can view closed caption text (Windows-based PCs and IP Receivers only).
• Users can launch pre-configured emergency broadcasts. (Optional. Requires Scheduling
module.)
• Users can schedule recordings or broadcasts. (Optional. Requires Scheduling module.)
Figure 2. ETV Portal Server Live Broadcasts
Administrative Features
• Access Control - allows administrators to allow/deny access to specific functions of the
ETV Portal Server server. Access control functionality can use the local ETV Portal
Server database or authenticate to an LDAP directory server.
• Clustering support – multiple EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand servers can be
clustered to increase total throughput. The ETV Portal Server will automatically load
balance all servers defined in ETV Portal Server; no additional configuration is necessary.
See Servers on page 30 for more.
• SSL/TLS security – the ETV Portal Server can be set up to provide encrypted access to
the Login pages and/or the Admin pages. See Configuring for SSL on page 119.

6© 2009 VBrick Systems, Inc.
• Customer defined URLs – can be entered into the system and displayed in the ETV
Portal Server interface. The URLs can point to video assets or other assets such as PDFs
or PowerPoint documents.
• Autoingestion to the EtherneTV-VOD server – content placed in autoingestion folders
on the ETV Portal Server will be automatically transferred and ingested into the
EtherneTV-VOD server.
• Customized global messages can display on the ETV Portal Server interface.
• Channel numbers can be assigned to live streams.
• Define a startup channel for IPRs – the IPR will automatically tune into this channel
when users select the Live TV option.
• Emergency broadcasts – can define pre-configured emergency broadcast templates that
can be launched instantaneously. See Priority Alert on page 66 for more.
• Status window – shows the status of videos being added, recorded, or ingested.
• Diagnostics window – displays a complete log of system events by source, time, and IP
address.
• Custom fields and streams – the ability to add customized information and search
parameters to live and stored streams.
• A Channel Guide Server can be configured to automatically provide third-party
programming data for configured TV Stations.
Portal Server Components
VBrick Encoders/Decoders
VBrick's VB4000-5000-6000 Series MPEG-2 network video appliances provide DVD quality
video and CD quality audio at 1–15 Mbps of bandwidth. MPEG-2 is the world's most
popular digital compression technology and is used to encode DVDs as well as Digital Cable
and Digital Satellite broadcasts. VBrick's VB4000-5000-6000 Series MPEG-4 encoders and
decoders are versatile and reliable video appliances for one or two-way interactive
communications over low or medium bandwidth IP networks. The VBrick MPEG-4
encoder/decoder can be used for webcasting, multicasting, transcoding, and two-way
interactive video. Designed for streaming over the Internet at lower bit rates (56K, 128K,
384K) and over a LAN at higher rates (1Mbps and above). VBrick's WM (Windows Media)
video appliances provide scalable quality at webcasting rates up to 2 Mbps. It features built-in
live streaming server, automatic multicasting, and state-of-the-art reliability. A key benefit of
the WM appliance is its compatibility with the Windows Media Player, thus eliminating the
need for desktop player installation. VBrick H.264 appliances represent VBrick's newest
networked video appliances. The new H.264 appliances can deliver vastly improved quality
for a given bit rate, allowing organizations to deliver a better customer experience for any
given bandwidth.
ETV VOD Servers
EtherneTV Video on Demand (VOD) servers provide the ETV Portal Server with a source
of available video content organized in folders. The VOD content is displayed by name in the
ETV Portal Server user interface, along with the duration of the video, and associated
descriptions, key words, and other custom information entered by an administrator. You play
content from the VOD server by selecting the program name from the application interface
(see the Portal Server User Guide for details). The ETV Portal Server currently supports all of

Introduction
ETV Portal Server Admin Guide 7
the VOD servers shown in Table 2. The configuration for each server is essentially the same
(see Servers on page 30 for details) and there is little difference in functionality for end users.
ETV servers can be LAN-based or Internet-based depending on how the range of Internet
addresses is defined (see "Assign LAN/Internet Address Range" in Global Assignments on
page 21). VOD servers accessible to Internet users are called Internet-zone servers; VOD
servers assessable to LAN users only (within a secured corporate network and behind a
firewall) are called LAN-zone servers.
Content added by users in the LAN zone will be ingested to all VOD servers for which they
have permissions using the Add Video page. Users in the Internet zone have the Add Video
page available only if they have permissions for at least one VOD server that is also in the
Internet zone. Content added by LAN users is added to all configured servers that can handle
the content (for example you cannot add MPEG content to a Windows Media server) and for
which you have permission. The content available for viewing may also be limited by the
server type. For example, Internet users will see only MPEG-4 and Windows Media content
on VOD-D and VOD-WM servers respectively. LAN users however will see all content on all
servers.
Table 2. Supported EtherneTV VOD Servers
ETV Internet-Based Servers
ETV Portal Server supports the installation of LAN-based servers and Internet-based
servers. As part of an ETV Server installation, you can configure a VOD server to run in the
"zones" (LAN or Internet) specified in Table 2. Before server configuration, you assign a
range of IP addresses that define the LAN domain, or vice versa, that define the Internet
domain. Any IP address outside that range will assumed to be from an Internet source, or
vice versa, from a LAN source. (See "Assign LAN/Internet Address Range" in Global
Assignments on page 21.)
You can purchase an Internet-based VOD-W or VODWM server from VBrick (in which case
they are configured by VBrick) or you can purchase and configure a VOD-WM yourself using
the Microsoft documentation (not recommended). You can also install a Darwin Open
Source server which is fully-compatible with ETV Portal Server but is not sold or supported
by VBrick. (For more about downloading, installing, and configuring a Darwin server, go to:
http://developer.apple.com/opensource/server/streaming/index.html) As noted, ETV
users can be on the Internet or on a LAN; Internet users can only access MPEG-4 and
Windows Media content stored on Internet-based servers. LAN users can access all content
Server Type Description Zone
NXG Linux-based NXG1/2 VOD server. LAN only
VOD-W Windows-based VOD-W VOD server. Available in
three versions depending on throughput: VOD-50W,
VOD-125W, and VOD-300W
LAN only
VOD-D Darwin Open Source server for Linux, Windows, Mac,
etc. Ingests and plays MPEG-4 content only. Requires
an FTP server.
LAN or
Internet
VOD-WM-Standard Microsoft Windows Media Server (unicast only).
Requires an FTP server.
LAN or
Internet
VOD-WM-
Enterprise
Microsoft Windows Media Server (unicast or
multicast). Requires an FTP server.
LAN or
Internet

8© 2009 VBrick Systems, Inc.
on all servers both inside and outside the firewall. To summarize, Internet-based servers and
users are subject to the following limitations:
• Internet servers support MPEG-4 and Windows Media content only.
• Internet servers support unicast only (they do not support multicast).
• Internet ETV users can add video only to VOD servers in the Internet zone.
• Internet users can only see MPEG-4 and Windows Media content stored on Internet-
based servers.
• Internet servers do not support ETV scheduling features.
ETV IP Receiver
EtherneTV-IPRs access the ETV Portal Server through a web browser within the IP
Receiver. Using the IP Receiver remote control, users can navigate and search for specific on-
demand content or live video streams, select a stream, and begin viewing television-quality
video. IP Receiver users can also record video directly on the ETV Portal Server using the
remote control or the wireless keyboard. See the IP Receiver documentation for more about
how to configure and use an ETV IP Receiver.
ETV Network Video Recorder
The ETV Network Video Recorder and the ETV Live Portal Server are optional components
that are purchased and installed separately. They have different license files that must be
installed separately. See Installing Serial Numbers and License Files on page 15. The ETV
Network Video Recorder lets you off-load all recording tasks from the ETV Portal Server
machine to one or more separate "recorder server" machines. This optimizes recording
performance and improves ETV Portal Server performance as well. The Network Video
Recorder uses ETV
Portal Server components and typically requires two machines: the ETV Portal Server is
installed on one machine; the Network Video Recorder software is installed on a different
machine. Once installed, the NVR machine is used for all ETV Portal Server recording tasks.
See Network Video Recording on page 127 for more information.
Note A standard ETV Portal Server permits two concurrent recording operations. If you
purchase a Network Video Recorder, the number of concurrent recording operations
(10 or 40) is fixed by the terms of your licensing agreement with VBrick.