Video on Demand and IPTV platform
The solution consists of the following elements:
- Advanced billing system with graphical administrator interface
- Web interface for managing content
- Web Portal with content catalog and ordering movies functionality
- Customizable players
- Sign up component working with several payment systems
- Transcoding module converting the content to required formats
- Encryption system for content protection
The platform is fully scalable allowing for load balancing by introducing several streaming servers sharing the same billing system.
The platform shares the same billing system as our VoIP solution which enables provides to offer VoIP and streaming services using the same user accounts.
Supported streaming technologies:
- Flash streaming (RMTP, also encrypted RTMPE)
- Apple http live streaming (iPhone, iPad, Roku)
- RTSP with RTP h264 streaming
In all the protocols our implementation allows for trick play i.e. play/pause, rewind, forward, seek.
Supported devices:
- All devices that support flash 9 or 10.1 version
- iPhone, iPad, iPod
- Android based handsets through RTSP player or Flash
- Roku player HD and SD (the most popular vod player)
- Boxee Box player through our Boxee VOD plugin
- Blackberry handsets
- RTSP set top boxes, Internet TVs
Content protection
In the VOD business model it is crucial to have a proper content security implemented preventing the content from being intercepted and copied. Our system offers full protection on different levels: Content access management: In our system the content is never stored on the client’s side, it is being streamed on request only based on the rights assinged to a user account. The system administrator can decide which accounts are allowed to watch particular content, when they have access and through what duration. Each user has to log in prior to start streaming, the user authentication is based on username/password credentials. This does not apply when a free content is offered but even so the content itself is still protected from being copied.
The content is protected from unauthorized access using secure ticketing model in which the system generates dynamic links which are unique for each user and each session. The user has to log in first providing the username and password. When she wants to watch the content the server sends back a link which is valid only throughout the user’s session. In addition the user can receive only one stream at the same time. This solution guarantees that only registered users have access to the content and that the user’s account can not be shared with others.
The security is implented in all our VOD clients including mobile portal with apple http live streaming, RTSP and RTMP.
Stream encryption: the content encryption refers only to encrypting the streams so they cannot be intercepted over the network. If your content requires stream encryption we do support it for the apple http live streaming (using AES encryption) and RTMP protocol but not for RTSP. Therefore in such a case it is recommended to use the AIR based application for Android devices. For Blackberry handsets we are going to have the standalone application with encryption in near future.
The stream is protected from being intercepted from the network by the means of different technologies:
- Flash streaming – encrypted RTMP protocol
- Apple http live streaming – AES encryption
User side software
The following user side components are delivered as the part of the system:
- Flash player with built-in authentication procedures (fully compatible with the standard flash installation). Can work with the VOD Portal or as embedded into any website
- VOD portal for PC – cross system, cross browser flash/flex based web interface for browsing the content catalogue and ordering movies. Fully customizable from the Admin interface. Can be incorporated into an existing website
- VOD mobile portal – support for user authorization, browsing catalogue, ordering and playing movies.
- Android Set-top-box – with custom Media Center allowing your end-customers to browse, order and watch their VOD/IPTV library on a TV set (via HDMI).
- Roku player channel – support for user authorization, browsing catalogue, ordering and playing movies. Available to the Roku users thru public or private channels, can be submitted to the Roku Channels Store.
We provide branding and customization for all the above components
VOD Admin Portal
The VOD/IPTV solution shares the billing engine with the Voipswitch inheriting all the sophisticated features offered in voice products. They are configurable from the VOD Admin Portal which is simplified to show the functionalities used in VOD scenarios only. The main features include:
- Real time charging
- Prepaid accounts
- Fixed price for a whole movie
- Rental time i.e. the duration when a user is allowed to watch the content, eg. 24 hours, 48 etc
- Limiting number of minutes of watching a movie during the rental time
- Packages: including weekly, monthly plans. Possibility to offer certain movies at fixed price for a given period eg. 50 movies per month, 10 movies a week. Possibility to set a plan for a particular movies or movies category only, eg. 10 movies from Children category a week
- Creating unlimited number of rates sheets
- Assigning different rates to different users or groups of users
- Invoicing
- Detailed reporting
The configuration of the billing and accounting part of the system is carried out from the graphical user interface application. Uploading and managing the content is realized by the Web Flex based interface. The movies are then transcoded on the server side to the desired formats. The system can optionally be connected to themoviedb.org movies information database for retrieving the movies details (cast, description, images etc.).
