amino and avn configuration manual

2060 Alameda Padre Serra, Suite 100 Santa Barbara, CA 93103 Tel: (805) 845-8900 Fax: (805) 845-8889 www.vsicam.com

Visionary Solutions, Inc.

Configuring Amino Set Top Boxes to Decode/View AVN Series

Encoder Streams v. 1.1.4 August 2012

Introduction

This document is intended to assist users of the AVN series encoders in the configuration of the Amino Set Top Boxes (STB) to decode/view Multicast and Unicast streams. This document is NOT intended to provide installation instructions for either the Amino or AVN products. See the appropriate hardware documentation for installation information.

Requirements

This manual is intended for the following Amino products only: Section I: Aminet A140, Aminet H140 VSI version / build Section II: Amino A130, Amino A130H. In order to configure the Amino STB, the user must have an IR or USB Keyboard. For information on Amino compatible IR Keyboards see the Amino Communications Ltd. documentation.

**** Special Note ****

No RTP Support on Amino STBs. The Amino STB cannot decode AVN series encoder streams encoded with RTP encapsulation. Make sure the AVN series encoder streams have the Encapsulation setting configured to UDP.

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Section I

VSI Preconfigured

Aminet A140, Aminet H140

For VSI configuration of Aminet A140 & Aminet H140 models only! Not intended for use with other Amino products!

Step 1. Main Page

*** Alert *** The Aminet A140 and Aminet H140 require an HD compliant, digital monitor for initial configuration. The STBs output is set to HD by default. If not using an HD compliant, digital monitor, nothing beyond the initial splash screen will be displayed. See Section I, Step 5 below for information on configuring this parameter. **** NOTE **** Screen shots may vary dependent upon product model, firmware version and/or browser. Set up the Amino STB as instructed in the units documentation. After installation, the VSI splash screen will appear momentarily, then the screen will go blank, with a channel number blinking on and off slowly.

*** Special Note ***

VSI pre-configured Aminet A140 and Aminet H140 require NO SPECIAL CONFIGURATION OR MIDLEWARE, in most cases. When installed on a DHCP network, on the same subnet as the encoders streaming to them, simply set-up the AVN encoders to stream to the VSI channel map as described below. Skip to step 7, Section I, for details.

Step 2. Enter Management Password

In order to bring up the management pages, the user must first enter the management password. From the Keyboard (IR or USB), pressing: m

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This brings up the Password edit box. The password is set by default to leaves. After entering leaves, click the button.

Figure 1 - Password Request

Step 3. Management Pages

The main STB Management page lists all available Amino STB pages. Using the Keyboard, scroll down to the desired page and press /. There are three pages of major interest to AVN series encoder users: Network Configuration, Browser Setup and the DHCP pages. These pages are shown below in more detail.

**CAUTION**

Do not initiate the Update option. Initiating the Update option can cause the Amino STB to malfunction. This malfunction will necessitate reprogramming of the unit by VSI. Reprogramming will cost $50 per unit, plus shipping both ways.

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Figure 2 - Management Page

Step 4. DHCP (basic network configuration)

Note: the DHCP page is used for basic network configuration settings, such as IP address, Netmask, Gateway and DNS.

DHCP Configuration Enabled by default

The Amino STB has Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) turned on as the factory default. If your network has a DHCP server on it, the Amino STB will automatically acquire all necessary network values, which will be displayed on this page (see Figure 3). Figure 3 shows the Amino STB set for DHCP (Enabled). To change, select in the left-hand column and press . In the right hand column, navigate to and press again to edit this value. Use the left & right arrows keys to change the value then press and input the Password (snake by default) to save.

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Figure 3 - DHCP Page (DHCP Enabled)

Static IP Configuration

If your network does not have a DHCP server, or you wish to statically configure the Amino STB on your network, you will need to set DHCP to Disabled and fill in at minimum, the IP address, Netmask, and Gateway fields. Figure 4 shows the Amino STB being configured to statically use IP address 192.168.13.88, with a Netmask of 255.255.255.0, a Gateway of 192.168.1.1 and a DNS of 4.2.2.1. Note you will need to set DHCP to Disabled prior to setting any other network values. Each network value, including DHCP needs to be configured separately. Each time the Password is entered the setting is automatically saved.

Figure 4 - DHCP Page (DHCP Disabled)

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Step 5. Browser Page (HD vs SD monitor output)

The Browser page is optional and not required to configure the Amino STB to work with the AVN series encoder, when outputting to an HD compliant, digital monitor. By default the Amino STB is set to output to an HD monitor / TV / display (see Figure 5).

Figure 5 - Browser page set for HD monitors

If any display monitor will not be an HD compliant, digital monitor, the setting needs to be changed to SD graphics as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 - Browser page set for SD monitors

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Step 6. Video page (optional NTSC vs PAL)

The Video page is optional and is only required if switching between NTSC and PAL formats. Use the setting to switch between formats.

Step 7. Using the VSI Pre-Configured Channel Map

Overview VSIs Amino STB model numbers Aminet A140 and Aminet H140 ship with a pre-configured channel lineup. Channels 1-99 are configured to receive Multicast streams, channels 100-199 to receive Unicast streams, and channels 200-299 to receive PackeTV Mobile generated streams. After initial setup on the network, the Amino STB is ready to receive up to 299 unique streams. Simply set your AVN encoders or PackeTV Mobiles Stream Destination address to match one of the preconfigured channel lineup formats and start streaming / viewing.

Multicast Channels 1-99 are configured to receive Multicast streams using the format 225.168.1.XX:1234, where XX is the channel number (1-99).

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For example to send an AVN Multicast stream to channel 5, you would set the AVN encoders Stream Destination to 225.168.1.5:1234. 225.168.1.5 is the Multicast IP address, 1234 is the Port Number and they are separated with a colon :. The only value that changes in this Multicast format is the last value (octet) of the IP address. The rest of the values, including the port number remain the unchanged.

Unicast Special Note: If many Unicast streams are sent to a single Amino STB, playback may become erratic, as the data rate gets too high. The allowable number of streams is dependent upon stream bitrates and should be evaluated for playback quality at desired levels.

Channels 100-199 are configured to receive Unicast streams using the format :Port #, where the Port # = 1XXX and XXX is the channel number (100-199). Note the number one 1 before the XXX, for a total of 4 digits. For example, to send an AVN Unicast stream to channel 105 on a VSI Amino STB at IP address 192.168.1.75, you would set the AVN encoders Stream Destination to 192.168.1.75:1105. 192.168.1.75 is the IP address of the STB, 1105 is the unique Port Number for channel 105 (1+channel #) and they are separated with a colon :.

PackeTV Mobile Channels 200-299 are configured to receive PackeTV Mobile streams using the format / URL http://server/hls/XXX.m3u8, where XXX is the channel number (200-299). For more information on PackeTV Mobile configuration and its use, please refer to the devices documentation.

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Section II

Amino A130, Amino A130H

For configuration of Amino A130 & A130H models only! Not intended for use with other Amino products!

Step 1. Main Page

**** NOTE **** Screen shots may vary dependent upon product model, firmware version and/or browser. Set up the Amino STB as instructed. After installation, the Main Amino Web page should be displayed on the monitor.

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Step 2. Enter Management Password

In order to bring up the management pages, the user must first enter the management password. From the Keyboard (IR or USB), pressing m brings up the Password edit box. The password is set by default to leaves. After entering leaves, click the button.

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Step 3. Management Pages

The main STB Management page lists all available Amino STB pages. Using the Keyboard, scroll down to the desired page and click /. There are four pages of major interest to AVN series encoder users: Network Configuration, Browser Setup, Video Setup, and the Channel pages. These pages are shown below in more detail.

**CAUTION**

Do not initiate the Update Software option. Initiating the Update Software option will cause the Amino STB to malfunction. This malfunction will necessitate reprogramming of the unit by VSI. Reprogramming costs $50 per unit plus shipping costs both ways.

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Step 4. Network Configuration Page

**CAUTION**

Do not initiate the Packet Ordering option from the Network Configuration Menu. Initiating the Packet Ordering option will cause the Amino STB to malfunction. This malfunction will necessitate reprogramming of the unit by VSI. Reprogramming costs $50 per unit plus shipping costs both ways.

DHCP Configuration

The Amino STB has Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) turned on as the factory default. If your network has a DHCP server on it, the Amino STB will automatically acquire an IP address. The following screenshot shows the Amino STB being set for DHCP. After checking the check box, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter the correct Password (snake by default), and click the button.

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Static IP Configuration

If your network does not have a DHCP server, or you wish to statically configure the Amino STBs IP address, you will need to fill in at minimum the IP address, Netmask, and Gateway fields. The following screenshot shows the Amino STB being configured to statically use IP address 192.168.1.55, with a Netmask of 255.255.255.0, and a Gateway of 192.168.1.1. Note you will need to UNCHECK the check box in order for your changes to take effect. After setting up the static IP configurations as desired, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter the correct Password (snake by default), and click the button.

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Step 5. Browser Setup Page (optional)

The Browser Setup page is optional and not required to configure the Amino STB to work with the AVN series encoder in standard mode. If however you would like to have the Amino STB go to a certain web address upon boot-up, you can give the Amino STB a Home Page address. This may be desirable if the Amino STB connects to an AVN series encoder set for boot streaming (See AVN series encoder documentation), and you want the Amino STB to automatically go to the steam address and begin decoding upon boot-up. To set the Amino STBs Home page to an AVN series encoder streams Destination IP address, set the address according to the rules outlined in Step 8 (Channel Configuration) below.

**CAUTION**

If entering a new home page on the Amino 125, 130, 130H, or 130M, it is critical to change/enter and save the following text into the Help Page editbox: about:/start.htm . There is a bug in the Amino firmware on these units, which can cause them to enter into an infinite and potentially un-correctable loop if the Home Page address is changed from about:/start.htm and the Help Page address is not modified as directed above. If for some reason the newly entered Home Page address is unreachable or not streaming, the device will enter into a loop and the only way to recover it will be to select the Help button on the IR keyboard, assuming the Help Page address has been set to about:/start.htm. This will allow the user access into the devices configuration menus. This malfunction may necessitate reprogramming of the unit by VSI. Reprogramming costs $50 per unit plus shipping costs both ways.

An optional Help Page address is also available. This address directs users of the Amino STB Help feature to a given web address. See Caution above if programming an Amino 130, 130H, or 130M, as Help Page address should always be changed to about:/start.htm, to allow for recovery if the home page address is unreachable. The other options on this page should remain unchanged for basic configurations. The screenshot below shows the Amino STB having its Home page set to an AVN series encoders Multicast steam address (225.168.1.88 on port 50688) and its Help page set to a fictitious web address. After setting up the Browser configurations as desired, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter the correct Password (snake by default), and click the button.

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Step 6. Video Setup Page

The Video Setup page allows the Amino STBs video connections to be set. The key option on this page TV Standard (NTSC or PAL)

After configuring the video settings as desired, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter the correct Password (snake by default), and click the button.

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Step 7. Channel Range Selection Page

The Channel Selection page allows the user to select a range channels to edit. Enter a range, by default 0 to 10, and click the button, or click one of the predefined channel range groups. This will bring up the Channel Configuration page.

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Step 8. Channel Configuration Page

From the Channel Configuration Page, enter the AVN series encoder stream information (Destination IP address, and Destination Port) to be decoded and viewed, into the channel edit boxes. Multicast

For Multicast streams (streams with a Destination IP address in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255) enter the following on the desired channels edit box: igmp://: For example, igmp://225.168.1.88:50688 would decode the AVN series encoder multicast stream at destination IP address 225.168.1.88 and destination port 50688.

Unicast

For Unicast streams (any streams with a Destination IP address NOT in the range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255) enter the following in the desired channels edit box: udp://: For example, udp://192.168.1.55:50698 would decode the AVN series encoder Unicast stream at destination IP address 192.168.1.55 and at destination port 50698. Note that for a unicast stream to reach the Amino device, the destination IP address of the stream must match the actual IP address of the Amino device.

For older units, with pre 0.9.0 firmware versions, please use the following unicast format.

udp://: For example, udp://:50698 would decode the AVN series encoder Unicast stream at destination port 50698. Note the second colon after the forward slashes.

Important Note: In order to start a unicast stream to an Amino device, the AVNs web or console interface must be used. The PackeTV Manager can only start a unicast stream to the destination IP address of the host PC and not another device or application.

URL

To have the Amino STB display/view a URL/web page, simply enter the URL into the desired channels edit box.

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Note: the Amino STB can decode/view a single AVN series encoder stream or any URL without configuring the channels by simply typing in the appropriate string in the URL edit box at the top of each Amino STB web page and pressing /. Screenshot shows Channel Configuration page with three configured channels. Channels 00-02 are set to decode multicast streams. Channel 03 is set to decode a unicast stream. Channel 04 is set to display a web page.

After configuring the channels as desired, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter the correct Password (snake by default), and click the button. The Config OK page should be displayed. Click .

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Step 9. Edit Video Settings (optional)

In order to change the output video settings of the Amino STB, you must use the Preferences menu. Using the proper IR Keyboard press the button. Using the Amino remote control (NOT THE KEYBOARD), press the button. Navigate to the Video Settings option and click the button the remote or the key on the IR keyboard. This will display the Video Settings page.

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From the Video Settings page you may change the TV Aspect Ratio and Video Output Format, among other things. The available options and choices are dependent upon the type of Amino STB. Using the Amino remote controls arrow keys and OK button configure the settings as desired and click the button when done. From the Preferences updated OK page, select the link. From the Preferences page, you can configure other settings or if done select either the or the link. Use the Reboot link if one of the configured settings required a reboot as noted by an * .

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Step 10. Configuring Auto Resume (optional) Automatically refresh video after loss of power or network communication. To configure the Amino STB to auto resume, following these steps: Multicast

a) Enter the Video Setup page. (Refer to Step 6.) b) Change the "No IGMP event timeout" and "IGMP End of media event timeout" to "0"(zero). c) Enter the Browser Setup page. (Refer to Step 5.) d) In the "Home Page" field, enter a text string describing the channel to be used during auto resume. The format of the text string is the same as that used during Channel Configuration (Ex: igmp://225.168.1.88:50688 ). This will set the default home page to the channel desired upon power up or resumption of network communications. e) In the Help Page field enter the following text string about:/start.htm. This will enable recovery from an infinite loop bug in Amino 130, 130H and 130M devices, caused when the home page address points to an inactive or unreachable stream/page. See the following Caution warning below:

**CAUTION**

If entering a new home page on the Amino 125, 130, 130H, or 130M, it is critical to change/enter and save the following text into the Help

Page editbox: about:/start.htm . There is a bug in the Amino firmware on these units, which can cause them to enter into an infinite and potentially un-correctable loop if the Home Page address is changed from about:/start.htm and the Help Page address is not modified as directed above. If for some reason the newly entered Home Page address is unreachable or not streaming, the device will enter into a loop and the only way to recover will be to select the Help button on the IR keyboard, assuming the Help Page address has been

set to about:/start.htm. This will allow the user access into the devices configuration menus. This malfunction may necessitate reprogramming of the unit by VSI. Reprogramming costs $50 per unit plus shipping costs both ways. Note: Make sure to save all changes with the correct Password (snake by default). To verify auto resume, remove the Ethernet cable from the STB, while running video, and then plug it back in to see if the video comes up automatically.

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Unicast a) Enter the Video Setup page. (Refer to Step 6.) b) Change the "No UDP event timeout" and "UDP End of media event timeout"

to "0"(zero). Note: Make sure to save all changes with the correct Password (snake by default). To verify auto resume, remove the Ethernet cable from the STB, while running video, and then plug it back in to see if the video comes up automatically.

Step 11. Finished The Amino STB is now configured to receive and decode the AVN series encoder streams. Use the Amino STB remote control to change to the configured channels and start viewing. **** NOTE **** No RTP Support on Amino STBs. The Amino STB cannot decode AVN series encoder streams encoded with RTP encapsulation. Make sure the AVN series encoder streams have the Encapsulation setting configured to UDP.

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