Streambox StreamOn Server Quick Start

This document describes best practices to send reliable and high-quality video/audio streams to one or many viewers using a Streambox Spectra or Chroma Encoder to send, Streambox Server to carry and replicate the signal, and Streambox Media Players and Decoders to receive using a pair of 6-digit codes for getting everything connected.

Introduction

Streambox Server can provide your video to a mixed variety of receiving devices, such as iPads, AppleTV, Mac and Windows PCs, Streambox decoding hardware including Node, Halo, Chroma+, Chroma X, and Chroma rackmounts.

There are 3 sets of settings that need adjustment to use the Streambox Sessions successfully:

- Session creation on a Streambox Server, and

- Two Encoder settings,

- Session setup on the Media Player or Decoder

Step 1. Create Session

Start by creating a Session for your project. Log in to your Streambox Server and click the Request public session from broker link to create a new session. Broker is a Streambox-maintained online asset which generates Session codes and negotiates the stream connection between server and client once a stream is established. Here’s the blank form for requesting a session, followed by an example.

Give the Session a name related to the project or clients/viewers. As a general rule, one should create a different Session each time one has a different set of clients/viewers.

Name: Enter a name, for your reference only, for the Session.

Port Range: If Auto is checked, the session will be assigned a single port that’s available.

To enter a single port, enter that port number both boxes.

To enter a range of ports, enter the lowest port number in the first box and the highest port number in the range in the second box.

Lifetime: The lifespan of the Session in hours. If left blank, Lifetime will be set to “unlimited.”

Note: The Name and Port Range fields are required to successfully generate a Session.

After clicking the Request button to request the Session, a pair of codes appear:

Click OK and the Session will appear on the list of sessions in the Streambox Server interface.

Step 2. Configure Encoder

To set the Encoder to stream to the Session, you will be making changes to the Network and Metadata settings, and potentially the Transport settings.

Network Settings:

In order to use Streambox Server, it’s necessary to set the Destination IP address and Port Number. Additionally, the Transport settings must be appropriate for the stream, just as with any stream.

Set the Destination IP address (sometimes called Target IP Address) to the IP address of the Streambox Server. If the Streambox Server is on the same local network as the Encoder, then this can be a local address, such as one starting with 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x. If the Streambox Server is hosted on the public internet, such as a virtual machine hosted by AWS/Azure/Google Cloud etc., then you will set its public IP address.

Note: Only IPv4 addresses are supported.

Set the Port number, sometimes called UDP Port, into the Encoder. A Session generated in the Streambox Server will have a single port or range of ports (most likely starting with 17 or 18) which are to be used by the Session. Enter one of those into the UDP Port field. You can also set it to port 1770 or any other port supported by the Server, but by selecting a port in the range assigned to the Session, the already small potential for network conflict is reduced.

Transport Settings: (these may appear in the Network tab if your Encoder uses a web interface, or in their own Transport Tab)

UDP or LDMP modes will work with Streambox Server. Consult your Encoder manual for details on using these modes.

Metadata:

Streambox Server uses the metadata attached to the stream to determine stream ownership, and consequently, which viewers are allowed to view the stream. By setting the Encoder to send the Encoder DRM code generated by Streambox Server, the Server identifies the stream to connect it to stream requests from Media Players and Decoders.

On the Metadata tab of the Encoder, locate the field labelled “DRM” or “DRM/Session” and enter the Encoder DRM into that field, which will start with $S followed by 5 letters/numbers. The $ is a required part of the code. Click Apply to save the changes you’ve made.

Step 3. Set Media Players or Decoders to receive the stream

Streambox has software media players on several platforms, as well as hardware decoders, any of which can be used to receive a session.

1) iOS Player for iPhone/iPad:

To pull the Server stream, enter the Session ID, including the $, into the Session ID field, as indicated in the left image.


Alternately, you may set up a channel by accessing the settings, adding a Channel, and setting the channel to Session Mode, as seen in the right image.

  • Start with the Settings button in the bottom center of the main screen.
  • Select Set Up Channels
  • Select Edit to enter the channel edit mode
  • Select Add to create a channel
  • Select Session as the channel mode
  • Enter the Session ID with $, and select your preferred Color Profile.
    • You may also enter the optional Decryption Key if the Encoder is using Encryption.
  • Click Save to save your settings


Return to the main screen, select Channels, and select your new channel.

2) MacOS/Windows Media Player

Download or Update in the App Store: [App Store Link]

Windows Media player download: [Download]

To access the Quick Session field, use the mouse to re-size the Player Window until it's tall and narrow, as if in a portrait orientation; the viewing area will shrink to the top and reveal an info screen. Enter the Session ID in that Session Field and click "Go!"

A user may also create a Channel which has a Session Mode, where they can enter the Session ID and if needed, a decryption key.

3) Streambox Iris

In the Info tab enter the session ID then click Start. When done receiving, click Stop to revert to the passive receiver mode used for some point-to-point.

4) Chroma Hardware Decoder (any Chroma Model that can be set as a Decoder)

After logging in to the Decoder web control panel (default credentials are administrator / demo ), click on the Network tab, and locate the Pull Stream section. Input the following information

  • IP: [Streambox Server IP where session was created] (See Streambox Server IPs here)
  • Port: 1770
  • Login: defaultsession
  • Password: defaultsession
  • Group/DRM (the first of the Network Groups fields): [Enter the Session ID starting with $]

Though the last field is called "Group/DRM," that refers to a different workflow than the Session workflow. It's important to put the Session ID, not the Encoder DRM, into this field.