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The Soft Top Box plays
live MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and WM video from VBrick appliances, and
stored video from WM servers and web servers. It includes direct
stream recording and instant playback of local video files.
The
Soft Top
Box can eliminate the cost and complexity of a hardware Set Top
Box and is designed to operate with the VBrick PC-Remote (IR Remote
Control).
Features
- Automatic Program Guide for live
VBrick video
- Opens multiple windows to display
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media live video streams
- Simple or Full Program Guide display
- Record live video
- Play video recordings
- Closed Caption support
- Automatic Alert on Closed Caption text
match
- Low Delay video-only mode for WM video
type
- Keep-on-top player option
- Option to start videos in mute mode
- Plays WM and MPEG-4 video via URL
entry
- Built-in "Hot List" for
popular live or stored videos
- Plays local video files
- IR Remote Control operation via VBrick
PC-Remote
Requirements
- Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista
- VBrick PC-Remote (optional)
- Windows Media Player Version 9 or
above
Operation
- Double-Click on a Program to play
- Click on any open video window to
mute, click again to unmute
- Right-Click on video window
to show controls
- Double-Right-Click for full screen
video
- Select "Hot List" then
Double-Click on any program to view
- Set Caption Alert -- see Installation
& Setup
- PC Remote function:
- Power -- Show/Hide
- Mute
- Volume Up/Down
- Channel Up/Down
- Menu -- Show list
- Note that the menu shows all
of your live VBrick live multicast videos, followed by all
of the "hot
list" video entries.
- Record Button -- start/stop
recording
- Play/Pause/Stop/FF/RW
- Green -- toggle CC (if enabled)
- Yellow -- select local
video file
- Full Screen -- Full screen video
- Number buttons select programs in
the order displayed
Installation & Setup
- Follow installation instructions
- Preferences
- New Player For Each Video -- if
checked, then a new player is selected for each new video. You
may have as many open video windows as your computer will
support (typically at least four, depending on video type)
- Simple Program Guide -- check to
toggle between list of Program Guide only, and detailed IP
address listing
- Keep On Top -- check to cause video
window(s) to stay on top of other desktop applications
- Show Captions -- if checked, video
windows will open with captions shown on the right panel (if
captions are available for the selected video)
- Set Caption Alert -- Select to set
caption alert. Enter a word or phrase. When there is an exact
match of the entered text, the following may be configured:
- Audio Alert -- if checked, a
sound will play
- Show Player -- if checked, the
video windows will open if it has been minimized
- Unmute Audio -- if checked, the
audio will unmute
- Maximize Player On Start -- if
checked, the video window will open to fill your screen (see
Tips)
- Mute On Start -- if checked, the
video window will open with the audio muted
- Setup Recording -- set the default
recording parameters
- Recording Path -- sets the path
for recording (normally, should be the same path as set
under "Local Video")
- Maximum Duration -- sets the
number of minutes for recording. The "percent
complete" shown during recording is based on this
- Low Delay WM -- check to show live
VBrick WM video in low delay mode (no audio). The delay is less
than 500 milliseconds
- URL -- Enter a http (WM video type) or
rtsp (MPEG-4 video type) and press "Ok" to play
- Hot List Setup
- Enter "DEFAULT" to use the current
list of sample video delivered to the Soft Top Box via the
public Internet
- Enter a URL that points to your own hot
list file. To create a hot list file, simply create a .xml file
and enter the required data.
Put this file on your web server. For example, using
wordpad, create a file like this
(right-click and select 'save as').
Use http:// or mms:// for WM video and use vbrtsp:// for MPEG-4 video.
- You may install an automatic program list
generator on your MCS, WM or IIS Web server -- this software
automatically lists all your stored video so that it appears in
the program list.
- Select "Show Files" and then
select "Setup". Enter the path of the folder to
list your video files (e.g. c:/video).
- Record
- Start -- starts recording
- Stop -- stops recording
- Local Video
- Setup -- sets the path to the local
video files
- Play -- Double-click on any video
file to play
- Register -- Enter registration code
Registration
- A banner will periodically appear if the player is not registered.
Except for this, the unregistered version is fully functional.
- You may obtain a registration code
from VBrick.
- You may purchase a VBrick PC-Remote
from VBrick Systems, Inc.
Tips
- The live programs only appear if you
have VBrick MPEG or WM video
- Resize and reposition the video
window. The next time you open the video window, it will
"remember" the last size and position. Note that if
you have selected "full screen on start", that size will
be remembered even if you unselect "full screen on start".
Simply resize and reposition the video window as desired.
- VBrick Appliance Usage
- The Program Guide displayed in the
Soft Top Box comes from the "Announce (SAP)" setting
of your VBrick appliance
- Multicast -- Configure
the VBrick to transmit multicast and enabled the
"Announce (SAP)" feature for multicast. By
default, the announcement is sent via multicast
- Unicast -- The VBrick
MPEG-4 and WM Appliance has an internal live streaming
server. You may advertise availability of this server via
"Announce Server" function (listed under
"server" in your VBrick). By default, the
announcement is sent via broadcast
- Normally, you should not enable
both multicast and unicast announcements in your VBricks. If you do, you will
see multiple entries of the same video in the program list (each
delivered to the viewer using a different protocol). Multicast
scales to an unlimited number of viewers, while unicast scales
to the number of viewers supported by the VBrick and/or
reflector. Typically, you use unicast in cases where
multicast is not available.
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